Model-based Impact Analysis for Engineering Sustainable Products in Value Creation Networks

Engineering decides upon the environmental impact of technical products. In corresponding decision-making, ecological factors are still undervalued compared to economic and technical factors. The complexity of ecological factors and their interdependencies in value creation networks require a model-based approach for sustainability impact analyses. For such analyses, relevant sustainability decisions are identified. Influencing factors are derived, combined, and modelled. A new approach is developed in five steps: collection of impact analysis approaches through literature review (1), analysis of included sustainability influencing factors (2), derivation of a viable model (3), application to a case example (4) and validation (5).