Indicator for measuring sustainable product design: A review and further research

The focus of engineering design on achieving a superior product from functional and economical factors is now shifting towards sustainable product design which considers environmental, economical and social aspects. As the consumers have gained more awareness on the environmental issues, the demand for sustainable product has been increasing proportionally. Therefore, a new product development method is required to fulfill today’s market needs. This can be achieved by integrating the sustainable elements of environment, social and economical aspects into the engineering design throughout the product’s lifecycle. The life cycle assessment is being used in assisting the designer or engineer in the product design but the process possess drawback which is due to the large amount of data requirement and it is time consuming. As a result, simplified and understandable methods and tools are required in guiding the designer in developing sustainable product. This paper aims to summarize the current methods and tools for integrating sustainability perspective into the product design process. In addition, any potential room for improvement can be identified from this study. As a conclusion, this paper also proposes future research in developing a new tool for measuring sustainable product design by considering the three main elements of sustainability i.e. environmental, economical and social aspects. Keyword : Sustainable product, product design, life cycle assessment, sustainable indicator

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