Abstract: Disassembly complexity is the extent to which individual parts or subassemblies have geometric and physical attributes causing difficulties or problems in handling and removal. Managing the complexity of disassembly at the design phase has positive effects on End of Life disassembly. This work explores and improves an existing solution that quantifies the disassembly complexity of products, allowing for an assessment since the very early stage of design. The index becomes applicable to any kind of product and results comparable. The present paper integrates the aspect of the evaluation of the complexity of manipulation with the model of the quantitative evaluation of the complexity of disassembly. The complexity index proposed by Soh et al., based on the average handling and disassembly complexity indexes was reviewed and updated. Calculation is done considering both the liaison and the part or subset. The main criticalities (i.e., low sensitivity on similar cases, limited parts dimensions) are overcome. The case study provides an application of the new index and shows the main improvements from the existing one. The designer is thus provided with consistent quantitative feedback.

Keywords: Design for disassembly | Disassembly complexity | Disassembly index | Eco-design

Abstract: The increasing awareness of the necessity for a circular approach in both the government and private sectors has led to the adoption of circular business models aimed at enhancing sustainability efforts and reducing waste production. Despite this recognition, there remains a lack of empirical research on how companies evaluate their environmental impacts to forecast the consequences of applying circular models. This study aims to address this gap by examining the environmental impact perception and diffusion of methods and tools in the furniture sector. Through literature review and questionnaire surveys, the study identifies key concepts and highlights varying levels of commitment to sustainability across different company sizes. The obtained evidence underscores the importance of simplified Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tools in guiding designers towards sustainable product choices, especially in small companies with limited environmental sustainability culture.

Keywords: Eco-design | Environmental Impact Assessment | Furniture Industry | Life Cycle Assessment | Sustainable Manufacturing

Abstract: The decommissioning of offshore oil rigs presents complex environmental challenges and opportunities, particularly in the context of energy transition goals and marine ecosystem protection. This study applies a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach to evaluate the energy and environmental impacts associated with two different decommissioning approaches: full removal and partial removal. The analysis considers greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, material recovery, and long-term waste management. The study demonstrates important energy savings through the recovery and recycling of steel, which offsets energy-intensive operations such as cutting and marine transport. In addition, the analysis underscores the potential of integrating decommissioned infrastructure into offshore renewable energy systems, highlighting synergies with circular economy principles and the decarbonization of offshore operations. The findings highlight the importance of site-specific assessments and integrated policy frameworks to guide environmentally sound decommissioning decisions in offshore energy infrastructure. The analysis shows that full removal results in 14,300 kg CO2 eq emissions during cutting and transport, compared to 3090 kg CO2 eq for partial removal. Meanwhile, steel recycling generates environmental benefits of −3.80 × 106 kg CO2 eq for full removal and −1.17 × 106 kg CO2 eq for partial removal.

Keywords: decommissioning | energy transition | LCA | oil rigs | recycling | renewables

Abstract: This paper presents the method and architecture of a novel software tool designed to support energy efficiency evaluation and environmental sustainability assessment in the industrial sector. By integrating principles from Lean Management (LM), specifically Resources Value Mapping (RVM), the tool enables users to identify energy inefficiencies and correlate energy use with production processes, concurrently providing Carbon Footprint (CF) assessment. The proposed approach allows companies to analyze energy flows through key indexes used as KPIs for energy performance quantification. Furthermore, the tool's flexible data input capabilities make it adaptable across different industrial settings. The tool was tested and tailored for the Off-Site Construction (OSC) sector in the Italian geography, where it demonstrated its utility in managing supply chain energy interactions and highlighting critical inefficiencies both at the energy and sustainability level, aligning with the European Union's Net-Zero ambitions. © 2025 Elsevier B.V..

Keywords: Carbon Footprint | Energy efficiency | Resources Value Mapping

Abstract: Environmental impact assessment during the initial design phases is essential to guide designers towards more eco-sustainable choices. This paper proposes a method to parameterize production processes considering the energy and material contributions involved. The case study focuses on the welding process of a component of a steam turbine. The goal of the method is to obtain functions that, parameterized with respect to the mass of the finished component, determine the consumption of the process. The functions are obtained considering different dimensionally scaled components. Commercial software was used to calculate the process times and mass flows.

Keywords: Lifecycle design | Parametric model | product environmental impacts

Abstract: According to the European energy consumption reports, the highest energy/fuel consumption in the residential sector is due to space heating, followed by water heating. Generally, the product used to warm water in residential buildings is a boiler system where a heat exchanger is the core of the system. The paper provides a Life Cycle Assessment analysis of a traditional heat exchanger used in domestic boilers with the aim to identify critical aspects and environmental hotspots for the development of a novel concept of the heat exchanger. The methodology used to collect eco-design guidelines from the Life Cycle Assessment analysis is proposed within the paper. Several eco-design actions were put into practice to reduce the environmental issues in each phase of the life cycle from the materials used, the manufacturing processes as well as the product geometry to increase energy efficiency during the use. Concerning the materials and manufacturing phase, a novel design based on a different material (e.g., stainless steel) was developed to replace a mix of materials (i.e., copper and aluminum alloy). Concerning the use phase, the overall product efficiency was increased allowing important savings in terms of gas/energy consumption, by the adoption of a novel design (e.g., spiral pipe).

Keywords: Eco-design | Energy Consumption | Heat exchanger | LCA | Life Cycle Engineering | Sustainable design

Abstract: The main challenge to face in the development of energy-related products is represented by the adoption of effective design for sustainability strategies that encompasses the adoption of engineering design tools, knowledge collection, and reuse/sharing in technical departments. This present paper proposes an engineering design for sustainability methodology that assists engineers in developing energy-related products in compliance with ecodesign standards. The methodology uses virtual prototyping tools to assess energy consumption in compliance with energy labeling directives and analyze different use scenarios. The results obtained by numerical simulations (e.g., Finite Element Method—FEM, Computational Fluid Dynamics—CFD) are used to create specific design eco-knowledge in the field of energy-related products. Numerical results are linked with design configurations to understand the benefits introduced by engineering design choices. This knowledge is stored in a structured database with the aim of being reused when a new product is developed or improved/upgraded. The case study of an induction hob, belonging to the household appliance product family, is investigated to understand the potential and drawbacks of the presented approach in a real application. The results show that potential energy and environmental performance benefits are achieved (e.g., reduction of energy losses, achievement of A+ energy class, and overall life cycle environmental impact reduction).

Keywords: ecodesign | life cycle engineering | virtual prototyping

Abstract: The benefits of process optimization brought by multiple tools that appeared in shopfloors with the fourth industrial revolution are undiscussed; however, they need electricity to run and require critical materials. Additionally, the significant impact on sustainability that early design decisions can have over the entire lifecycle is well-recognized. The literature counts several environmental analyses of electric vehicles but narrows almost uniquely on passengers’ cars. Currently, the literature should i) enwiden the range of analyzed products, ii) consider all stages of the product life cycle, iii) provide tools suitable for the early stage of design, able to return consistent results handling very little data. As electrification is concerned, in the literature there are approaches intended to assess the environmental impacts or focused on the design tool. The proposed approach, further applied to develop an eco-design tool, overcomes the existing literature by providing a tool i) able to handle few data, ii) that considers all the product lifecycle phases, and iii) allows designers to assess and compare alternative scenarios. A method is proposed, and a tool derived. Two applications concern an electric shuttle and an autonomous mobile robot; with the latter the gap of assessing the environmental impact of autonomous mobile robots is also filled. The obtained results are reasonably comparable with other existing works. Results are compared to a full LCA for the frame assembly and prove that i) the tool is reliable, and it more likely overestimates the impacts; ii) the design phase is subjected to high variability, and this affects the tool results. Future works may introduce additional types of batteries, deeper focus on the manufacturing phase; machine learning techniques may support future extension of the tool and create parametric models for conceptual and early design.

Keywords: Autonomous vehicles | Eco-design | Electric vehicles | Environmental analysis | Simplified analysis | Tool

Abstract: Technological innovation is profoundly transforming industrial production, notably through automated systems like robotic production lines.To harness their full potential, effective monitoring and evaluation are essential, facilitated by Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).This study conducts a thorough analysis of KPIs within industrial automation, focusing on a robotic production line assembling heat exchangers for refrigeration equipment.The aim is to measure, evaluate, and optimize performance in a smart, adaptable manner, creating a robust database that is not currently available as intended.Identified KPIs include standards such as cycle time, utilization, efficiency, and tailor-made metrics for this application, aligning with Industry 4.0 principles and sustainable manufacturing by monitoring energy and resource consumption as well.A granular data analysis approach captures the daily performance of each robot, enabling comprehensive assessment.Operational, daily, and line-level indicators provide insights into specific improvement areas.The methodology's scalability allows for easy adaptation to larger production lines, highlighting its versatility and potential applicability across various industrial settings.

Keywords: Industrial automation | Key Performance Indicators | Sustainable Manufacturing

Abstract: Environmental sustainability-oriented design is becoming increasingly important in the industrial field partly because of the effects of climate change. Sustainable development-oriented choices are most effective at the early design stage. The design team must be able to assess approximately and quickly the environmental impact early in the design phase. From these motivations comes the need for a method that quickly and with few parameters can estimate the product environmental impact during the conceptual design phase. Machine learning techniques appear to be well suited to meet this challenge. Machine learning is an established research topic in Industry 4.0 and its adoption is increasing. The integration of machine learning within conceptual design quickly facilitates the approximate assessment of environmental impact through high-level data.

Keywords: Data Science | Design | Life Cycle Assessment | Machine Learning | Sustainability

Abstract: The growing use of additive manufacturing (AM) processes pushes research towards studying methods to reduce their environmental impact. The part build orientation is a significant process variable, which can be chosen through the Energy Performance Assessment (EPA), a straightforward method. The paper presents a method for identifying the best part build orientation considering energy consumption. The EPA has been adapted for this purpose, resulting in an approach based on four steps.

Keywords: 3D printing | additive manufacturing | ecodesign | energy efficiency | sustainable design

Abstract: Designers need to be aware early in the design phase of the environmental impact of their choices over the entire product life cycle. This paper proposes an eco-design method to support designers of different categories of electric vehicles, such as self-driving vehicles, cars, shuttles and buses. The methodology developed aims to realize a model for predicting the environmental impact of industrial electric vehicles. The proposed approach exploits machine learning methods to develop models with the design features of a generic electric vehicle, such as vehicle mass and distance traveled during its entire lifetime as independent parameters, to estimate the emissions of new products. The environmental impact indicator for this study is Climate Change, the dependent parameter chosen for the impact model. Machine learning algorithms were trained on training data retrieved from an automatic environmental impact estimation software tool based on an analytical approach. All stages of the product life cycle have been considered in the construction of the database, and the model provides quantitative results that consider the consumption of material and energy resources.

Keywords: Data Science | Design | Life Cycle Assessment | Machine Learning | Sustainability

Abstract: The improvement of environmental product performance is an important driver for product development. It is also related to the optimization of product packaging solutions. This paper addresses the question related to packaging eco-design strategies. A simplified approach, based on the Life Cycle Assessment methodology and Material Flow Analysis, is proposed to quickly compare alternative design solutions in terms of environmental impacts. Quantifying impacts and identifying the most significant design parameters for these products can assist industrial companies in avoiding potential impact transfer issues and finding the best solutions for their products. Multiple environmental impact categories and indicators are included to comprehensively consider impacts on the environment, resources, and human health. The proposed approach is applied to the environmental performance evaluation of several alternative design solutions for the packaging of a professional coffee machine.

Keywords: Circular economy | Ecodesign | Environmental sustainability | Packaging

Abstract: Nowaday the industrial interest, as well as the academic one, on the development and implementation of circular approaches is growing. In parallel, the use of composite materials steeply increased in the last decades which are hardly disposable. The present work proposes an eco-design method that guides the reuse and remanufacturing of scraps. The core is the re-design of processes that introduce materials derived from scraps from other value chains. Two cases are investigated: the first concerns the production of panels for the wind sector. Using scraps from the wind blades’ trimming almost eliminates the emissions derived from the panel production. Also, the material of a component of an espresso coffee machine has been replaced by scraps from kitchen sinks; this process requires resources only for shredding.

Keywords: Circular Economy | Composite materials | Design for de-manufacturing | Industrial Symbiosis | Remanufacturing

Abstract: The present paper aims to analyze the influence on Life Cycle Assessment results of the inventory datasets selected, considering their recentness and their customization operated by practitioners, also including the modeling of certain parameter temporal evolution (e.g., electricity grid mix). The source of uncertainty still needs to be treated in detail and quantitatively analyzed, especially regarding the practitioners’ choices. These can significantly affect the final results, so evaluating their impacts and effects is needed. This paper would like to contribute to this sector, by investigating energy-using products. The product selected as the case study is a professional coffee machine, an energy-using product category, produced by an Italian manufacturing company in the Marche region. A Life Cycle Assessment analysis for one reference product is realized, based on ISO 14040/44 standards, using different inventory datasets, all suitable to model the product but characterized by different levels of customization. The quantification of the result range allows producing supporting guidelines for inventory data selection and arbitrary customization, but also correct results interpretation and external communication of product life cycle environmental profile.

Keywords: Life Cycle Assessment | Practitioners choice | Sensitivity

Abstract: Sustainable production and consumption consist of using goods and services that respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life without jeopardizing the needs of future generations. Over the last decades, this has become a topic of increasing importance for companies and consumers. Consequently, from one side methods and tools to assess and quantitatively measure the environmental burden of products and processes arose; from the other side, more and more consumers have raised their sensitivity concerning sustainability. However, consumer perceptions and objective data need to be aligned. The present paper addresses the topic of the discrepancy between the environmental sustainability of product lifecycles as perceived by consumers and actual results obtained with well-known and accepted methods and tools. The paper quantifies through Life Cycle Assessment the environmental burdens of three products for the textiles/apparel sector, particularly swimming sport: a pair of goggles, a pair of swimming pool slippers and a swimsuit. Those were subsequently compared with 102 responses to a questionnaire about environmental sustainability. The comparison was made between the qualitative expectation of the customers and the results of the Life Cycle Assessment for the Climate Change impact category, due to the higher awareness and sensitivity of the customers for this indicator, than others. Respondents belong to three distinguished groups: scholars, employees and students. According to the analysis of obtained results and discrepancies, three main recommendations are outlined by the authors to improve the environmental sustainability of apparel products: the need to promote the development of software tools and databases to support the integration of sustainability into products design; training on products sustainability in the academic world must be encouraged in order to provide future designers/product managers with the tools needed to cope with actual challenges; and consumers should be adequately informed. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Keywords: Consumer awareness | LCA | Product Sustainability | Questionnaire survey | Swimming product

Abstract: It can be hard for enterprises to make the first move towards circular business models; technologies, information and design need to be linked and dynamic. The present paper proposes a methodology that guides enterprises in integrating environmental and economic aspects during the optimization of products’ end-of-life. It overcomes the current literature limits because it focuses on multiple lifecycle stages and is not limited to end-of-life strategies; secondly, it encompasses both the economic and environmental sustainability perspectives. It expects its implementation to be supported by commercial solutions that enable the quantification of environmental and economic indices, such as degradation index, target price and target cost. The methodology was applied to an industrial case study (an electrospindle) enabling its validation and a deep reflection on the potential consequences of the analyzed scenario throughout the value chain and business departments. The results of the case study show that not all the scenarios are convenient; only the cases that expect components of the pneumatic cylinder group and shaft kit to be re-manufactured are environmentally and economically convenient. The first scenario, which is about disassembling the product to optimize the recycling flow, is currently not feasible from the economic perspective; however, the acquisition of a higher number of used electrospindles could increase its economic convenience, as the disassembly phase may be optimized. De-manufacturing strategies could extend the useful lifecycle of products and introduce additional revenue streams, with intangible effects: information about the use phase, marketing leverage, end-of-life treatment, policies forecasting and strengthened customer relationships. However, it may bring high risks as well, such as cannibalization and investments. For a more aware prioritization of to-be scenarios, future works may exploit more in detail the disassembly time quantification; additionally, the analysis of the main failure modes and events may stand aside from the economic and environmental as-is analysis. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Keywords: Disassembly | Eco-design | Life cycle assessment | Life cycle costing | Re-manufacturing

Abstract: In Industry 4.0, electric vehicles for logistics are widely used, such as shuttles for transporting people and Autonomous Guided Vehicles for industrial equipment. Environmental impact analyses and eco-design guidelines are essential tools in the design phase, where choices have a decisive effect on the entire product life cycle. This work proposes a method and tool aiming to make industrial electric vehicle designers aware of their choices. The proposed tool allows the preventive analysis of the different life cycle phases to highlight the consumption of materials and energy required to optimize the use and the End of Life strategy. Furthermore, it is intended to support the designers who are not provided with much product lifecycle information to obtain an overall picture of how environmental impacts are spread throughout the lifecycle; this will help provide feedback on their choices a pave the way for a more sustainable use phase in the manufacturing plant. It is based on developing a simplified and modular structure where the main product parameters are included for each life cycle phase. The tool is validated in a case study regarding the customization of an Autonomous Mobile Robot, equipped also a robotic arm; the two are connected by a customized structure. The results, which focus both on environmental and economic perspectives, contribute to filling the existing gap in the environmental evaluation of the analyzed product segment; moreover, they highlight how the material and manufacturing phase may be outstanding over the use or End of Life.

Keywords: Lifecycle analysis | Sustainability | Sustainable manufacturing | Three pillars | Worker well-being

Abstract: The Life Cycle Assessment is a well-stated methodology whose application has recently spread over a multitude of sectors. Thus the need for very accurate and reliable analysis. The present work investigates how to achieve reliable and faithful results while still maintaining a micro-systemic approach and how to handle the evolution of the real cases through commercial solutions available. The works present an innovative dynamic approach that aims at filling the discrepancy between the attributional Life Cycle Assessment which is focused on the product at the point to appear short-sighted and isolated from the surrounding evolving system and the consequential, which is willing to include the consequences of the evolution of the surrounding system, with increased complexity. The approach is applied to the case of a domestic refrigerator; the application reveals a discrepancy of 16% between the results of the dynamic and attributional analysis and registered doubled environmental impacts than the consequential, carried out with the support of commercial datasets.

Keywords: Ecodesign | Product modelling / models | Research methodologies and methods | Sustainability

Abstract: Approximately 10% of hospitalized patients develops decubitus ulcers that quickly degenerates into chronic illness that reduces the quality of life and requires expensive clinical management. The use of an anti-decubitus active mattress, that automatically redistributes the pressure loads, reduces the occurrence of new lesions and promotes the healing of the pre-existing ones. The aim of this work is to design and develop two tools to support the design of an anti-decubitus active mattress. Almost all the systems found in literature are based on the classification of pressure maps through machine learning and are difficultly usable in the design context. This work proposes a pressure map Classifier and an Interactive Simulator of the mattress, based on a simpler logic, by integrating image processing techniques and functioning simulations. The Classifier can recognize the patient's pressure maps and classify them according to six reference sleep postures.

Keywords: Active Anti-decubitus Mattress | Images Classifier | New product development | Simulation | User centred design

Abstract: The extension of the product lifecycle is crucial in the application of Circular Economy principles. However, when Energy Related Products are concerned, managing a durable product does not necessarily mean dealing with sustainable products. This happens because components and/or materials are affected by aging and lead to increased requirement of resources to run (i.e. electricity); there are certain trends that, although distinct from the previous facts, balance the effects of aging, i.e. energy grid mix decarbonization. In the present work an approach that considers both the economic and environmental consequences of durable products is proposed. The Durabot tool has been developed to accomplish the environmental analysis.

Keywords: Decision making | Design to X | Research methodologies and methods | Sustainability

Abstract: Environmental sustainability represents an unavoidable design driver. The consciousness of the importance of tackle the topic of environmental sustainability since the first stages of the product lifecycle is slowly spreading through enterprises. However, although they reach this grade of awareness, it is hard to introduce additional considerations to the traditional drivers of functionality, manufacturability, assembly, cost, etc. Therefore, it is crucial to identify methods and tools to support companies in efficiently integrating environmental sustainability issues in their design process. This paper proposes an approach to identify the inputs, functionality and outputs suitable to each industrial reality. Its core is the eco-design tool matrix, that estimates the tool implementation time and suggests proper outputs; from this the necessary inputs and functional blocks are derived. The approach is applied to the cases of two Italian industries, very different one another. This proves the wide applicability of the approach.

Keywords: Design management | Design methodology | Design process | Ecodesign

Abstract: Sustainability and durability are not always synonyms when related to Energy Related Products. Europe has set goals to reduce the environmental impact due to the production of electricity. This paper accomplishes needs to investigate whether using a durable product for many years is more convenient, from an environmental perspective, than substituting the good with a new one. It assesses the environmental sustainability of durable products, taking the case of two single-door freestanding refrigerators used in Europe. In doing so the change in the composition of sources used in the production of electricity is considered. This is then compared with durability results, assuming the yearly energy consumption to be stable over time. The results highlight that introducing additional parameters that describe more accurately the real case can help in drafting a more precise description of reality, even though makes the use of full indexes mandatory. Water use and Mineral Resource Scarcity indicators there are clear trends, whose common thread is the use of simplified or extended durability index formula. The reduction of fossils and the decreased impact related to the consumption of energy make the weight of production and disposal phases heavier in the lifecycle impact distribution and increase the positive contribution of the durability index (PPnn + EEnn). For Global Warming Potential impact category (for which use phase retains at least 80% of the environmental impacts) there isn't any clear trend: it urges to describe energy grid mix variations or other factors according to realistic parameters.

Keywords: Durability | energy mix composition | Energy Related Products | energy transition | environmental assessment

Abstract: Besides the rising attention dedicated to environmental matters, there is the need to consider and make available for companies structured procedures that can guide managers and designers in the implementation of the right steps toward sustainability, considering their scope and context. The present paper presents a structured procedure able to guide managers and designers in the selection and implementation of the most effective analysis and capitalization tools and methods. Via the implementation in a company that produces armchairs, the method was revealed to be successful, also in an entity that approaches the environmental analysis topic for the first time. The enterprise was able to identify the best type of environmental assessment and the most accurate data collection strategy. The environmental analysis outlined the main product criticalities, both related to the employed materials and the management of armchairs at their End of Life (i.e. impact of polyurethane, disassemblability of wooden structure).

Keywords: Decision-making tool | Eco-design | Environmental sustainability | LCA

Abstract: Intersecting value chains for the sake of sustainability is a very challenging target; however, eco-design can enable it. The high performing products required by the customers have boost the research, development and employment of composite materials, that often cannot be handled at their End of Life. The literature lacks hints and methodologies that support this. The paper presents a methodology whose core is the redesign of components, so that their material can be substituted with scraps deriving from other products. It aims to a symbiosis between enterprises that are active on different sectors; it is applicable to composites, as shown in the case study and offers an alternative to the cannibalization and low demand for remanufactured products because, unlike previous works, it investigates how materials can be employed in different products. The case study quantitatively evaluates the environmental benefits derived from the symbiosis of two companies, active in different sectors. Process scraps and product are analyzed; a re-design follows; the scraps are remanufactured and used as new material. The results highlight the need for a strong cooperation between companies, to take advantage of value hidden in their products.

Keywords: Circular economy | Composite materials | Design for de-manufacturing | Design for disassembly | Industrial symbiosis

Abstract: In the present market, Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing represent considerable tools to achieve better design and optimize the manufacturing phases. To customize and tailor these tools to the company’s needs, knowledge-based engineering solutions have been developed. The present paper proposes a method to support designers in the optimization of environmental sustainability aspects of their products, through a Knowledge Based Engineering approach. It allows the identification of design criticalities under the environmental issue, and on a life cycle perspective, supporting designers in their activity and favoring the knowledge use and re-use. The approach proposed was applied to develop a prototype version of a tool.

Keywords: Design for Environment | Design for X | Design rules | Knowledge-based engineering | Sustainability index

Abstract: Customers are aware of the complexity of supply chains and link this to a high environmental burden. However, if not coupled with quantitative results, this may be overestimated. The present paper proposes a general method used in the specific case of deep environmental evaluation of a swimming goggles distribution. The results are compared to the consumers’ perceptions, collected and analyzed from questionnaires, and the remaining product lifecycle stages, assessed through the life cycle assessment (LCA). The design and prototyping phases take place in Italy, the goods are manufactured in Asia, and further commercialized worldwide. The environmental analysis enabled the identification of the most impacting lifecycle phases. Results highlight that for small products, with a simple use phase like the goggles, the distribution phase retains a small percentage of the overall environmental impact; thus, it is reasonable to simplify the modeling of the supply chain by selecting a limited number of significant scenarios. This work proves how important is to quantify and rationalize the environmental impacts of a complex system. The end of life and transport phases are perceived as high impacting, but the life cycle assessment analysis reveals that the materials and manufacturing phases retain the highest impacts and are the first that should be improved.

Keywords: computational foundations for engineering optimization | data-driven engineering | knowledge engineering

Abstract: Sustainability and durability are not always interchangeable concepts, especially for products that require many resources during their long use phases, like energy related products. In addition, the literature either focuses on how the product performances change over time or evaluates the convenience of durable goods. In this context, the present work presents a durability assessment from an environmental perspective. Unlikely the existing literature, it simultaneously compares the different methods that describe how the product performances may vary with time, specifically how the foam aging influences the yearly energy consumption of refrigerators and assess the durability from the environmental point of view under different circumstances. The primary outcomes highlight the need to introduce a more accurate description of product performances during their lifetime (i.e. aging of components) to obtain realistic results. Furthermore, this work enlightens the need to align the analytical report on the deterioration of refrigerators' components and provides alternative exemplifications to assess the environmental sustainability of durability.

Keywords: Durability | Energy related products | Environmental assessment | Foam aging | Part substitution

Abstract: Municipal waste management, especially in developed countries, has a significant impact on the environment and humans that need to be quantified and mitigated. This study aims to investigate and compare the environmental impact and occupational risks of the following three municipal waste collection methods in Italy: street bins, door-to-door collection, and a smart bins system. Six waste categories (paper, plastics, glass, metal, organic materials, and residual waste) are analysed. Environmental performances are calculated by the life cycle assessment (LCA) and material and flow analysis (MFA) methodologies. The ergonomic analysis is based on direct observation of municipal waste collectors and the application of standard assessment methods as RULA, NIOSH, and Snook Ciriello. Results: show that the smart bins collection method is environmentally more effective in all the impact categories considered, thanks to the better quality of collected waste. The residual waste flow directed to landfills has a lower value in the case of smart bins (36.63%) in comparison with door-to-door (52.90%) and street bins (89.56%). The use of smart bins allows higher environmental benefits, passing for the Climate Change impact category from −2.80E+01 kg of CO2eq. of the door-to-door system and −2.74E+01 kg of CO2eq. of street bins to −7.13E+01 kg of CO2eq. of smart bins. Regarding the transport phase, the smart bins system determines a reduction of the impact of about 60% if compared with the door-to-door system for all the impact categories considered. On the other hand, acceptable occupational risks result in street and smart waste collection methods, while poor ergonomics conditions are observed during the door-to-door collection.

Keywords: Ergonomics | Life cycle assessment | Occupational risks | Sustainability | Waste collection

Abstract: The literature lacks methodologies to make supply chains of composite materials circular. The proposed approach aims to transform scraps and off-specification products into secondary raw materials. Its novelty is to find innovative applications, instead of re-introducing scraps in the loop they come from. The case study investigates how scraps can be re-worked and re-used as raw material. First, the processes are analyzed; some components are then re-designed to be made of the discarded scraps (composites material).

Keywords: circular economy | composite materials | design optimisation | ecodesign | industrial symbiosis

Abstract: De-manufacturing is at the basis of the Industry of the Future that competitively and sustainably will manage natural resources. This review retrieved 106 papers investigating the main obstacles that prevent Circular Economy from being a reality and the possible actions to overcome them. The analysis of the literature outlined a great discussion regarding the key topics of CE, de-manufacturing, disassembly and re-manufacturing. The CREDIT analysis proposed by the authors clusters all the risen barriers in 6 factors (Culture, Resources, Economy, Design, Information, Technology) and 18 sub-factors. The CREDIT analysis highlights among the two most critical barriers, the costs of the activities that occur at the EoL stage and the urgency to train designers to approach design thinking to the whole Product Lifecycle; here an innovative focus of research can be more incisive to overcome the actual barriers. Future research needs to focus the attention on the potentialities hidden behind a strong cooperation between academies and enterprises in order to find a balance among the several existing DfX or unveil and tackle their single limitations.

Keywords: Circular economy | De-manufacturing | Design for de-manufacturing | Design for X | Industry 4.0

Abstract: Buildings are one of the largest contributors to negative environmental impacts because of the high consumption of energy and materials during their life cycle. The present work proposes a framework, able to make available information, both of general materials and specific commercial solutions; moreover, it overcomes the current state of the art, since, although focused on environmental sustainability, provides the opportunity to compare simultaneously several choices, also considering their properties and characteristics. Based on the proposed methodology, a tool structure and workflow are presented. The main potentiality is represented by the possibility of executing sustainability assessment already in the early stages of building design using the proposed tool when design choices significantly contribute to the global environmental impact of solutions.

Keywords: Eco-design | Environmental impact | Environmental sustainability | Knowledge

Abstract: Industry 4.0 represents the last evolution of manufacturing. With respect to Industry 3.0, which introduced the digital interconnection of machinery with monitoring and control systems, the fourth industrial revolution extends this concept to sensors, products and any kind of object or actor (thing) involved in the process. The tremendous amount of data produced is intended to be analyzed by applying methods from artificial intelligence, machine learning and data mining. One of the objectives of such analysis is Zero Defect Manufacturing, i.e., a manufacturing process where acquired data during the entire life cycle of products are used to continuously improve the product design in order to provide customers with unprecedented quality guarantees. In this paper, we discuss the goals of the Electrospindle 4.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence | Design for X | Industry 4.0 | Zero Defect Manufacturing

Abstract: The total quantity of food waste in the European Union has been estimated at around 88 million tons per year. 53% of waste is thrown out by households; among this, up to 45,8% is avoidable and strictly related to users' awareness and behavior. In this context, the present research work aims to develop an integrated system able to reduce household food waste. It consists of a smart fridge able to track the stocks, a web application, and a set of services aimed at guiding the user in the food-related daily activities (proper food storage, purchase planning, etc.). Expiration date traceability and proper information management are the cornerstones of the proposed system.

Keywords: environmental sustainability | food waste | household waste | smart fridge

Abstract: Environmental policy has paid more and more attention to the impact of products and their life cycle, by establishing goals to be reached very shortly. Decisions at the design stage have a significant impact on the downstream activities, easing or making them difficult, although these take place at a very later time. The paper presents an approach to include in the traditional design process environmental sustainability aspects next to functional and economic drivers. Its novelty stands in the support for companies to structure the acquired knowledge about sustainability; recently a growing number of industrial companies faced the environmental question, and now the problem is not related to the absence of environmental data, but to its effective capitalization and related scarce strategies to support and improve it. The method, starting from the company's data and information, identifies the best strategies to simplify and effectively support the decision-making process. In this way, it not only allows the designers to take advantage of the information coming from product life cycle phases but also it makes possible to lower the environmental impact of a product through their decisions. The output of the method consists of charts, maps, and graphical materials; using them designers can compare, in environmental terms, design alternatives. Different combinations can be analyzed and interpolated to select the best design combinations. The implementation in an industrial case of the method and its output allow its applicability and validation.

Keywords: Eco-design | environmental sustainability | knowledge

Abstract: According to the European energy consumption reports, the highest energy consumption in residential sector is due to space heating, followed by water heating. Generally, the product used to warm water in residential building is the boiler where heat exchanger is the core of the system. The paper aims to develop a novel concept of heat exchanger by following eco-design actions retrieved by the analysis of life cycle performance. Several eco-design actions were put into practice to reduce the environmental issues in each phase of the life cycle. Concerning the materials and manufacturing phase, a novel design based on different material (i.e., stainless steel) was developed to replace a mix of materials (i.e., copper and aluminum alloy). Concerning the use phase, the overall product efficiency was increased allowing important savings in terms of gas/energy consumptions. Finally, concerning the end-of-life phase, brazing processes was replaced by other joining processes to increase component’s disassembly and varnishing process was avoided due to the better corrosion resistance performance of the stainless steel.

Keywords: Ecodesign | Energy consumption | Heat exchanger | LCA | Life cycle

Abstract: De-manufacturing and re-manufacturing are well-known solutions for recovering value from products that have reached their End of Life (EoL) and thus reducing resource exploitation. Although such scenarios are implemented after the use phase, they must be considered since the very early stage of design. The paper proposes a methodology that can be applied at the design stage to detect space for product design improvements, also representing a baseline for organizations approaching de-manufacturing for the first time. The methodology consists of four main steps, in which firstly target components are identified according to their environmental impact; then the disassembly sequence is qualitatively evaluated, and successively quantitatively too. This leads to the identification and evaluation of different EoL scenarios.

Keywords: De-manufacturing | Ecodesign | Environmental sustainability

Abstract: The paper presents an interactive methodology partially inspired by Japanese Kaizen concept and applicable in several industrial contexts; its implementation starts when different circumstances arise, e.g. an analysis is carried out and some criticalities emerge. The proposed methodology aims at continuously improving processes under the environmental and economic perspectives. It is made up of eleven steps that leads the group from the issue identification to a new status, improved than the previous one, and improvable than the following. The case study describes an implementation of the methodology in an Italian medium company acting in the clothing sector, demonstrating its validity and efficacy.

Keywords: Energy analysis | Environmental sustainability | Kaizen | Life cycle assessment | Sustainable manufacturing | Waste reduction

Abstract: De-manufacturing and re-manufacturing are fundamental technical solutions to efficiently recover value from post-use products. Disassembly in one of the most complex activities in de-manufacturing because i) the more manual it is the higher is its cost, ii) disassembly times are variable due to uncertainty of conditions of products reaching their EoL, and iii) because it is necessary to know which components to disassemble to balance the cost of disassembly. The paper proposes a methodology that finds ways of applications: it can be applied at the design stage to detect space for product design improvements, and it also represents a baseline from organizations approaching demanufacturing for the first time. The methodology consists of four main steps, in which firstly targets components are identified, according to their environmental impact; secondly their disassembly sequence is qualitatively evaluated, and successively it is quantitatively determined via disassembly times, predicting also the status of the component at their End of Life.

Keywords: Circular economy | Demanufacturing | Ecodesign | EoL strategies | Mechatronics

Abstract: Refrigeration applications is responsible for approximately 17% of the total electricity and around 8% of greenhouse gas emissions. This study presents a comparative life cycle assessment between two refrigeration systems, the first operating with a traditional fluid and the second with a natural refrigerant. The analysis was performed in accordance with international standards ISO 14040/14044 and adopted the attributional life cycle assessment approach. The functional unit was: ‘the storage of meat products, at the temperature of 0°C for a lifetime of 10 years, in refrigerating cells of a medium city supermarket’. Three different scenarios were analysed to investigate the effect of the energy mix in relation to the use of the machines. Results highlight how the choice of the refrigerating fluid has a higher effect on the environmental performances of the machine with a reduction of approximately 10% in a whole life cycle. Scenario analysis shows how the use of such machines in different countries allows a significant reduction of environmental impacts mostly related to the use phase.

Keywords: ecodesign | Life Cycle Assessment | Refrigeration technology

Abstract: Product eco-design includes several methodologies aimed at supporting companies in the development of sustainable products. Currently, this theme is assuming an important role in both the academia and industry worlds due to the increasing attention to environmental problems and the need for a transition toward circular economy business/organizational models. In this context, the present paper focuses on the industrial sector of espresso coffee machines manufacturing which has several unexploited potentialities. The analysis of the sector specificity (internal and external contexts), as well as of the product lifecycle allowed to define an eco-design framework to guide companies involved in the design and production of espresso coffee machines. Effective eco-design strategies should include the combined use of specific methods, tools and metrics to manage all the most important lifecycle phases (beginning of life, middle of life, end of life) during the design activities in order to set preventive actions that avoid future potential environmental impacts. Only in this way, the environmental and economic benefits of the circular economy paradigm (e.g. remanufacturing/reuse of selected components) can be practically exploited in real industrial contexts.

Keywords: Circular economy | Coffee machine | Product eco-design | Recycling | Remanufacturing

Abstract: The fashion industry is responsible for a significant contribution to environmental pressure in the European Union. The present study aims to quantify the environmental impacts of a leather shoe production chain and identify the most criticalities in terms of companies, processes, and materials. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was used to assess the impacts related to the production of a pair of classic man leather shoes. Slaughtering and tanning resulted in the less environmentally sustainable stages for almost all the analysed impact categories, except water resource depletion and ozone layer depletion. Such outcomes are mainly due to the high distance from animals’ skin suppliers to slaughterhouses and tanneries, the use of lorries transport, and the large use of unsustainable chemicals to treat the leather. Going downstream, the main hot spot refers to the use of cotton during upper manufacturing and shoe assembly and finishing. Three alternative realistic production scenarios were simulated to find the best sustainable mix. They focused on alternative means of transport, the substitution of cotton, and green purchasing of upper and lining.

Keywords: environmental impact | footwear industry | Leather shoe supply chain | Life Cycle Assessment

Abstract: This study presents an augmented reality-based system for the training of assembly line operators in the context of the high-end footwear industry. The proposed multi-layer software architecture, in combination with the AR viewer (Microsoft HoloLens™), guides operators of the shoe assembly/finishing line during the offline training activities.

Keywords: Augmented Reality | Footwear Industry | Manufacturing | Operator Training

Abstract: In the recent years, many methodologies and tools to support the energy efficiency re-design of production systems have been developed, however, they do not investigate the real-time manufacturing process. In this paper, a methodology for energy efficiency re-design of production systems in a context of smart manufacturing is proposed. The continuous production-machine data collection with operator feedbacks enables the creation of a knowledge-based repository that provides useful support during the design of manufacturing systems.

Keywords: Energy efficiency design | knowledge management | manufacturing systems | smart manufacturing

Abstract: Especially in the footwear sector, the transition from the mass production to the mass customization increasingly requires Industry 4.0 solutions that do not reduce the human contribution to production processes but facilitate and value it to increase the job satisfaction. In this context, this paper proposes a method to (re)design the workplace according to a multiperspective ergonomic assessment. It efficaciously combines the analysis of physiological and environmental parameters by Internet-of-Things, the ergonomics risks identification by experts and the subjective evaluation of workers well-being.

Keywords: Artisanal production | Ergonomics | Human-centered manufacturing | Workplace

Abstract: Product customization is largely considered one of the most important competitive factors in several industrial sectors, including high-end footwear. However, in this sector, products are generally manufactured through manual and artisanal operations, processes are not standardized and repeatable, and the personal skills of expert operators play a leading role. The objective of the present paper is to propose a workflow enabled by a framework including several technologies (computer aided design tool, augmented reality systems, traceability infrastructure), to support industrial companies of the high-end footwear sector during the different phases of shoes customization (from configuration to delivery).

Keywords: Customization framework | Customization process | Shoes configuration

Abstract: In last years, increasing attention on environmental matters is registered and companies are forced by legislations, normative and protocols to increase the environmental performances of their products. Observing the industrial context, it emerges there are several barriers for an effective implementation of eco-design strategies inside design departments. The paper presents a knowledge repository tool, which aims at both, providing a basic guide on environmental sustainability issues and favoring knowledge sharing among design departments. The tool is mainly based on a structured repository in which company materials, organized in different forms, are collected. The repository contains training section, well-organized guidelines, company specific knowledge and milestone.

Keywords: Company knowledge | Environmental sustainability | Knowledge sharing

Abstract: Eco-design strategies aim to integrate environmental considerations into product design and development. Several regulations, directives and standards have been issued on this topic during last years. In particular, European Directive (2009/125/EC) establishes the eco-design requirements related to domestic and commercial kitchen appliances (e.g. cookers, hobs, grills). The present paper focuses on the virtual product eco-design of domestic induction heating cookers, which are becoming one of the leading cooking systems due to their advantages, e.g. energy efficiency, rapid heating, cleanliness, and user safety. The adoption of numerical analysis tools for the simulation of cooktops use phase, based on thermodynamic modelling, allows to provide useful information regarding the performance of cooking system at each phase of cooking. The paper provides a progress beyond the state-of-art on thermodynamic models for induction hob simulation considering interaction between the cooktop and the pot in the work environment. The goal of the paper is therefore to propose a methodology able to support designers in evaluating heating performances of induction cooking appliances, early in the design phases, through a virtual and multi-physical product model. Thermodynamic performances are determined by measuring several parameters and reproducing the energy consumption test by the mean of a virtual prototyping tool. Results highlight how the proposed model is adherent with the real tests following a specific standard in this sector with a maximum deviation of 3.

Keywords: Design methodology | Eco-design strategies | Virtual Prototyping

Abstract: The growing attention to environmental sustainability is not reflected in the effective implementation of ecodesign principles in the industrial context. The main barriers are related to the propensity of companies to optimise only specific aspects directly affected by legislation and to the higher priority given to other drivers such as performance, cost and aesthetics. The present paper faces this issue by proposing an approach to support designers to concurrently deal with environmental, economic and technical performance in all the key phases of the product development process (selection of drivers, evaluation of design alternatives, preservation, sharing and reuse of knowledge, etc.). The approach is grounded on a multi-criteria index, called Product Impact Index (PII), which allows weighting different drivers, verifying the satisfaction of the company’s goals, and comparing different design solutions. The method has been successfully applied in two case studies to support the redesign of a cooker hood and a freestanding cooker.

Keywords: ecodesign | engineering design for sustainable development | knowledge management | Multi criteria index | sustainability

Abstract: The eco-design of industrial products is a complex task that requires a high level of expertise in environmental science and a very large amount of data about the product under development. Product data for eco-design are not limited to geometrical and technical aspects; they also include information related to the product life cycle. The present paper aims to define a life cycle standard data model (LCSDM) that manages and shares life cycle information along the product development process. The LCSDM is defined as a common and structured framework for data collection in comparative evaluations. The need of a “standard” data model emerges in the context of life cycle assessment (LCA), mainly due to the subjectivity related to the life cycle inventory phase. The standard structure of the LCSDM facilitates the interoperability of eco-design software tools by creating a common framework for the implementation of eco-design initiatives inside product manufacturing companies. The LCSDM is a data structure that is able to represent the relationships among parts and assemblies. Each part or assembly is defined by a set of nodes that characterize the life cycle phases (e.g., Material, Manufacturing, Use, End-of-life, and Transport). A list of attributes is identified according to the environmental features that describe the product life cycle. The LCSDM structure is implemented in an encoding document for data sharing through a generic software language (e.g., XML – eXtensible Markup Language). The implementation of the proposed LCSDM in the design department of a manufacturing company using an eco-design software platform leads to the following benefits: (i) the fulfilment of the LCSDM (XML file) along the product development process, (ii) the use of a unique standard for data sharing among the several eco-design software tools, and (iii) the creation of a robust framework for life cycle assessment.

Keywords: Data-exchange | Eco-design | Environmental analysis | Inter-operability | Life cycle inventory | Product life cycle

Abstract: Product customization aims to consider individual customers preferences in the design of new products, in order to directly involve them in the product development process and to maximize their satisfaction. It can be considered a key competitive factor and a "hot topic" in several industrial sectors, including luxury apparel goods and high-end footwear products. However, currently the design and manufacturing of customized shoes are carried out through artisanal and non-standardized processes, based on the individual expertise of operators. The objective of this study is to define an innovative framework to support the different processes affected by customization. This framework is enabled by different digital technologies, as CAD-based tools, virtual/augmented reality systems, etc., opportunely integrated in the product development process.

Keywords: Design for X (DfX) | Design process | Integrated product development

Abstract: In last years, an increasing attention on environmental matters is registered. Companies face environmental matters to increase the environmental performances of their products, forced by numerous legislations, normative and protocols and induced to the growing attention of consumers toward environmentally friendly products. However, observing the industrial context, it emerges there are several barriers for implementation of eco-design strategies inside design departments. The paper presents a tool which aims at both providing a basic guide on environmental sustainability issues and favouring the knowledge sharing among the different actors of the product design process. The core of the tool is a repository in which company materials, organized and collected in different forms, are collected. The repository contains several parts: training, guidelines, knowledge and milestone, accordingly to the type, structure and form of materials stored.

Keywords: Design engineering | Ecodesign | Sustainability

Abstract: The increasing focus on environmental practices has led academia and industry to address eco-sustainability in different ways. Recent improvements to supply chain management (SCM) have also included environmental sustainability as a key factor, in addition to common drivers such as risk, supply quality, and cost. Although several eco-sustainable SCM approaches have been proposed, often those solutions remain too theoretical and difficult to implement. This paper contributes to this research topic by proposing a web-based platform capable of tracing suppliers and related processes along the entire product supply chain (SC). This platform is a powerful decision-making tool for improving overall SC environmental sustainability. A structured methodology is defined and implemented that can efficiently model complex SCs, share data between actors, and measure its environmental sustainability.

Keywords: Environmental sustainability | Supply chain management (SCM) | Supply chain traceability | Web-based platform

Abstract: Green building design and architecture have become widespread tenets in the development of sustainable buildings. In this context, the use of sustainable materials and the awareness of resource/energy consumption are strategic aspects to consider for the improvement of building performances. This paper presents a new and structured approach to address uncertainty and sensitivity analysis in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to support the decision-making process in building renovation. This "probabilistic" approach to LCA allows for the obtaining of results expressed as ranges of environmental impacts and for alternative solutions, offering an idea of the meaning of input parameters' uncertainties and their influence on the result. The approach includes (i) the assessment of inputs' uncertainties (represented by Probability Density Functions-PDF); (ii) the data sampling; and (iii) the uncertainty propagation (Monte Carlo method). Variance decomposition techniques have been used to sample inputs' PDFs and assess their impact on the LCA result distribution (sensitivity analysis). The methodology application is illustrated through a case study where three building retrofit measures were assessed. Results provide an insight about the uncertainties of LCA indicators in terms of climate change and nonrenewable energy.

Keywords: Building retrofit | Inputs uncertainties | Monte Carlo | Probabilistic LCA | Sensitivity analysis

Abstract: The paper aims to analyse and compare the environmental performances of the most widely used cooking appliances (the induction hob vs. the gas hob) considering a typical Italian scenario in terms of food, family and social habits. Cooking appliances are subject to energy labelling, and they represent the most impacting system inside households. This study was performed in accordance with the international standard, ISO 14040/14044, by using an attributional Life Cycle Assessment (aLCA). The functional unit is defined as the “preparation of a complete homemade meal (lunch) for 20 years consumed by a four-member family in Italy”. This study shows the dominance, in terms of environmental impact, of the induction hob with respect to the gas hob for most of the selected midpoint indicators. In particular, the induction hob accounts for more than 60% of the climate change and ozone depletion impact categories and more than 70% of the metal depletion category. The same trend is also noticed in the end-point categories (human health, ecosystem qualities and resources) and for the Cumulative Energy Demand indicator. Based on the experimental evidence of this work, the use phase is the most important due to the different energy carriers (natural gas vs. electrical energy). This finding is the result of the nature of the energy carrier (the electricity grid mix) in the Italian scenario, which is mainly based on non-renewable sources. In addition, concerning the production phase of the two appliances, the induction hob shows a relevant dominance in terms of the human toxicity and metal depletion impact categories due to the use of rare metals and coppers in the cooktop part manufacturing.

Keywords: Cooking appliances | Energy consumption | Environmental impact assessment | Food cooking | Life cycle assessment

Abstract: The growing attention on environmental and social sustainability issues is pushing companies to move towards new business models. In this context, PSS (Product Service System) seems to be one of the most suitable model to foster the transition to sustainable economic models. The PSS is composed of a mix of tangible products and intangible services. The method proposed in this paper supports the PSS design. The objective of this work is to integrate careful assessment of economic, environmental and social sustainability supporting the transition towards new business models and strategic company decision-making.

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability | Product-Service System | PSS method | Social Sustainability

Abstract: The paper defines a framework called virtual eco-design aiming to support designers and engineers in the development of sustainable energy-related products. Virtual prototyping is used to perform energy consumption tests according with ecodesign and energy label regulations. The goal is to build a knowledge-based repository in which virtual tests are stored and classified to create eco-knowledge.

Keywords: eco-design | eco-knowledge | energy labelling | energy-related products | virtual prototyping

Abstract: Energy label is an important strategy to save energy in the household appliances sector. There are many publications related to standards and labels but little information about their potentialities and limits. Although successful standards and labels have been launched in many Countries, their implementation does not have a unique structure, the same energy policy framework and citizens awareness. This study aims to perform an analysis of principal aspects related to Energy Label framework to understand its main potentialities and limitations.

Keywords: eco-design | Energy label | household appliances | standards

Abstract: Promoting a more sustainable and energy-saving economy is one of the main goal of the European Community. In this context, home appliance manufacturers are researching and developing more efficient and sustainable products. Home automation and smart objects, by implementing specific energy management strategies, can significantly reduce energy waste. This paper aims to investigate the benefits offered, in terms of environmental impacts, by a smart system for kitchen air treatment. The system is composed by two inter-connected smart devices: a kitchen hood and an additional aspiration system able to assure a constant indoor comfort minimizing energy consumption and heat losses. Three different configurations were analyzed and compared: conventional extractor kitchen hood, smart extractor kitchen hood, and smart filtrating kitchen hood with smart additional aspiration system.

Keywords: air quality assessment | household appliance | kitchen hood | life cycle assessment | smart objects

Abstract: This paper aims to analyze the attitude and the awareness of environmental sustainability issues within diverse Italian industrial companies. A survey has involved a balanced sample of companies operating in different industrial sectors. Considering the survey's results it can be concluded that: (i) environmental sustainability is an opportunity and a current market requirement, (ii) environmental sustainability is not formalized, since specific methods and tools are not used in technical departments, and (iii) environmental decisions are mainly made by specific key figures (i.e. energy/environmental manager).

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to perform a new literature review of the principal ecodesign methods and tools published in the literature over the last twenty years with the objective of understanding the main obstacles that limit their actual and effective implementation in industrial companies. The main research studies on ecodesign issues are presented and classified in a structured framework on the basis of the scope perspective.

Keywords: Ecodesign methods | Ecodesign tools | Implementation barriers | Implementation strategies

Abstract: In the last few years, the environmental problem has become a very serious issue and the research world has answered to this growing interest with the development of a high number of ecodesign methods and tools. However their use in real contexts is still quite low, due to their complexity, time consuming and need for specific knowledge. From this reason, it comes the need for tools that support designers in the implementation of ecodesign strategies. This paper presents the Case Based Reasoning (CBR) methodology and tool, which represents the knowledge and the best practices for manufacturing products. It supports designers in the re-design process of products, by allowing them to gradually acquire knowledge and to solve problems in a rapid and simplified way, through the collection and sharing of ecodesign knowledge in a structured Database.

Abstract: The adoption of an eco-design approach is a key challenge for the total quality environmental management (TQEM). Recently, several eco-design methodologies have been presented, but none can be easily integrated in the traditional design process of manufacturing companies. The research presented in this paper aims to define a methodology, called G.EN.ESI, to help designers (especially those ones without a specific know-how on eco-design), during the development of sustainable products. In order to aid designers in the assessment of the environmental and cost impacts of a product, also a set of software tools have been defined. Using such a platform, the designer is supported by a robust workbench to perform all the analyses required to evaluate the product eco-sustainability for each phase of the product lifecycle. This software platform is essential for companies which want to implement the G.EN.

Keywords: Eco-design | Eco-design methodology | Environmental assessment tools | Environmental strategy | Integrated platform | Supply chain management | Sustainable design | Total quality environmental management | TQEM

Abstract: Due to the increasing pressure of legislations and market, the environmental sustainability is becoming a key competitive factor for companies. In specific markets, as the Northern Europe one, customers are very careful on the quality and sustainability of products, thus companies has to design and manufacture green goods. In this context, there is a strong need of effective design tools and platform which allows to configure products applying the life cycle paradigm and with the "environment on mind". Currently in the market there are only few examples of products designed taking into account the ecodesign concepts. In particular, for mechatronic or energy using products only the use phase is usually considered and all the re-design strategies aim to reduce the energy consumption. This is essentially due to the fact that there is a lack of tools and design platforms, which are easy to use and well integrated with the traditional design tools and with the design processes of companies. This paper wants to demonstrate the usefulness of a set of interoperable eco-design tools, the G.EN.ESI platform, in supporting the re-design of a mechatronic product. The proposed case study, realized in collaboration with an Italian leading company in the sector of household appliances, focuses on the improvement of a domestic cooker hood with the final objective to obtain a more sustainable product. The in-depth experimentation, for the duration of more than 3 months, involved different stakeholders within the company (designers, environmental expert, etc.), with the aim to validate the G.EN.ESI platform tools in different phases of the re-design process. The case study showed that the use of the platform has supported the company in the identification of the environmental hot-spots and during the product re-design phase, considering the whole life cycle. The re-engineered cooker hood exhibits relevant improvements in the most important environmental and economic indicators (environmental impact, energy efficiency, disassemblability, recyclability, etc.). Also a detailed analysis of the platform usability has been performed in order to measure if the tools completely fulfil the expectations of the final users. Finally, the level of integration within the company processes has been evaluated with a dedicated questionnaire. The results of these last analyses showed that the G.EN.

Abstract: This study presents an approach for the evaluation of the energy efficiency and environmental impacts of a new modular and integrated system of renewable electricity generation and intelligent electrochemical storage systems, that allows auto-production and self-consumption of electricity in residential buildings. Homes with installed these renewable energy production systems are compared from an environmental and economic point of view, to the traditional ones, that draw electricity energy directly from the grid. In this context different scenarios are considered together with different configurations of power production and storage capacity, in order to compare different use cases.

Keywords: Energy efficiency | Environmental impact | Self-consumpion

Abstract: Recently, the environmental problem has become a key issue for the modern society, due to the increase of pollution and global warming. Manufacturing industry is recognized as one of the main responsible of this situation, since it uses a large amount of energy and emits a relevant part of the total carbon dioxide. The only possible way to face this problem is the implementation of sustainable manufacturing approaches, in order to measure and reduce the global environmental impact of companies. In this context, the present paper focuses on a method for the pre-emptive evaluation of the environmental and economic sustainability of manufacturing lines/plants, considering the whole life cycle from line manufacturing and initial set-up, to the end of life (i.e. reuse/dismantling). A special attention has been paid in the use phase, since this one represents the most critical stage, as for all the energy using equipment. Its accurate modelling, considering each energy typology (electrical, thermal, etc.) with the relative detailed use scenarios (multiple working points for each equipment), is an essential prerequisite to estimate the global sustainability with an acceptable accuracy. The concurrent LCA and LCC analyses, realized on the basis of the production line life cycle model, considering the different cost items and environmental impacts, permits a company to estimate the overall sustainability of an existing or new line, understanding the most important criticalities, and evaluating possible alternatives through comparative analyses. A case study has been conducted thanks to the collaboration of a manufacturer of plastic extruded pipes.

Keywords: Energy consumption | Environmental and economic sustainability | Sustainable manufacturing

Abstract: Nowadays, the environmental issue has become increasingly important and has taken a leading role in the product design process. The product sustainability pass through the use of specific software tools supporting the design phase. Their integration, to build up a platform, is a key aspect toward the implementation of an effective eco-design approach. Even if the approaches presented in literature to create an eco-design platform aim to integrate environmental aspects during the design process, a proper tools integration is not existing. To overcome these limitations, the paper presents an ecodesign platform in which tools for the improvement of the product environmental characteristics are contained. The tools of the platform are used to calculate the environmental impact of a product for each product life cycle phase: manufacturing, transportation, use and End of Life. The platform is completed by a tool containing the eco-design guidelines, also specific for the industrial sector of the company, used to suggest the designers how to improve the product eco-sustainability. The end users of the platform consist of designers from the design office but also from every department relevant for the project, mainly R&D, production, purchasing department, and quality. In particular, the following roles have been considered as users: designer, product manager, environmental manager and buyer. Designers and company experts use the same workspace, made of different tools.

Abstract: n order to favor the implementation of closed-loop scenarios at the product End of Life (EoL), it is essential to consider the disassembly phase during the design process. In this context, the paper presents a design for disassembly approach to quantitatively estimate the product disassemblability. The methodology is based on a knowledge database about liaisons, which have been classified and characterized with different properties, in order to take into account the liaison specificity and real conditions in the moment of the disassembly. Starting from the product structure and liaisons between components, the methodology allows to analytically calculate the disassembly time and cost of components/sub-assemblies.

Keywords: Corrective factors | Design for disassembly | Disassembly time and cost

Abstract: The product eco-sustainability is recognized as a key factor for competitive products and recently lots of international directives (guidelines) have been issued. This paper aims to define a new methodology integrated in the product development process that, through the application of the most common eco-design guidelines and design past experiences, supports designers in the development of eco-sustainable products. Eco-design guidelines retrieved from the literature are subdivided according to a well-organized structure in "high level of abstraction" and "high level of detail" ones. In addition, Eco-knowledge is defined as all the choices and their related environmental performances, designers made during the design process of a product. The implementation of the proposed methodology in the product development process of an Italian cooker hood producer, allows to analyze the benefits achievable in terms of product eco-sustainability improvement.

Keywords: CBR | Decision making | Eco design | Eco-design guidelines | Sustainability

Abstract: Purpose During past years several eco-design methodologies have been previously defined but none can be easily integrated in the traditional design process of manufacturing companies. This paper wants to overcome this lack and aims to define a methodology, called G.EN.ESI, to help also those designers without a specific know-how on eco-design, during the development of sustainable products. Design/methodology/approach The proposed methodology is composed by six main steps defined to link the eco-design activities with the traditional design activities, to the aim of defining a TO-BE design process. Also new tools have been defined in order to help designers in the assessment of the environmental and cost impacts of a product. These tools have been integrated in an univocal software package, called G.EN.ESI platform. The platform is composed by four tools for the definition of the life cycle model of the product (one for each product life cycle phase), two tools for the assessment of the environmental and cost impacts and a tool to guide the decision-making process. Furthermore, a web module to retrieve the necessary data from the supply chain subjects has been defined. Finally, the link with the CAD and PLM systems is proposed to increase the usability of the platform. Originality/value Using such a platform, the designer is supported by a robust workbench to perform all the analyses required to evaluate the product eco-sustainability for each phase of the product lifecycle.

Keywords: Eco-design methodology | G.EN.ESI platform | Sustainable design

Abstract: The product eco-sustainability is recognized as a key factor for competitive products and recently, lots of international directives (guidelines) have been issued. However, in literature does not exist research on the practical application of the guidelines during the design phase. The paper aims to define a new approach to support the product design, applying the most common eco-design guidelines integrated with the designers past experiences. This approach consists in a Case- Based Reasoning tool containing a repository of eco-design guidelines and knowledge relative to the past designers experience.

Keywords: CBR | Eco-design guidelines | Eco-sustainability