In accordance with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined in Agenda 2030 from the United Nations as a strategy "to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all", the concept of sustainable development, regardless of sector or company size, is becoming an increasingly important design factor that is often subjectively evaluated at the end of the product development process. Therefore, the design of products and services today cannot be done ignoring the sustainability assessment throughout their life cycle.
In this area, the research activities are developing in several directions:
- New technologies and approaches to estimate the effect of design choices on the environment, humans and ecosystems;
- Automated solutions for data collection and management (Life Cycle Inventory) through CAD systems and PLM systems capable of interfacing with system databases for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Social LCA;
- Development of innovative approaches that permit to consider and assess environmental, economic and social impacts for different stakeholders in an integrated and synergic way;
- Tools, methods and guidelines for designing/re-designing products, processes, services and minimizing impacts especially in the industrial context, where tools must be simple, effective and easy to use;
- Use of patent databases to propose solutions, methodologies and approaches that can provide concrete solutions from a sustainable development perspective.
Keywords:
Circular economy; Design for Sustainability; Eco-design; Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability; LCA (Life cycle assessment); Sustainabilty awareness.