Developing an Eco-Design Process to Address Resource Circulation and Lifecycle Cost

The increasing environmental awareness has highlighted the importance of sustainability and life cycle assessment (LCA) in product development. This study addresses the challenges of integrating LCA results into the design process by developing the “LC design navigator” a tool that support the integrated evaluation of environmental impact, performance, and cost throughout the product life cycle. The LC design navigator provides a structured approach to balance these factors by offering feedback and optimization during the design stages. Verification experiments were conducted using scenarios involving recycled materials and remanufactured parts for a stick cleaner. The results revealed the trade-offs between environmental impact and performance, emphasizing the complexity of LCA. The “LC design navigator” demonstrated its potential in balancing environmental impact reduction and cost in the design process. However, further improvements in evaluation model accuracy and applicability across different product fields are necessary. The practical implementation of this tool is expected to facilitate more sustainable product development by enabling data-driven decision-making from the planning and design stages.