Interest in environmental issues has increased enormouslyover the last few decades and environmental problems areperceived to be on the increase. Due to the fact that thenumber of products on the market increases enormously, it isevident that we face a great challenge to overcome the problemconcerning our consumer society. An increasing barrage oflegislation accompanied by the public’s awareness of, andconcern for, the environment forcing the industry to respond.Products and their environmental impact have moved to thecentre stage and it is widely believed that designers have akey role in adapting products to a sustainable society. Threekey issues are identified in this development scenario: (a) theimportance of adapting products to a more sustainable society,(b) the specific situation facing the designer, especially inearly design phases, and (c) balancing environmental impactswith functional preferences. Research in this thesis presents a theoretical framework fordescribing environmental issues and the role of the designer inproduct development, as well as functional characteristics ofproducts in the early phases of design. Based on anengineering-design science foundation, theoretical models andconcepts have been developed describing how both functional andenvironmental preferences can be visualised in design forenvironment and product development. Case studies andinterviews have been performed and integrated into a coherenttheoretical model for identifying and evaluating functional andenvironmental preferences within ecodesign approach andreasoning. The overall concept proposed in this thesis is called theeco functional matrix, based on two parts: functional profileand environmental profile. The functional profile represent thefunctional characteristics and environmental profile theenvironmental characteristics respectively of a product in theearly phases of design. One of the objectives behind theconcept is to highlight the importance of balancing functionalrequirements and environmental impacts, presenting both theadvantages and disadvantages of the product. The basic idea isto account for user and societal preferences as well asenvironmental impact when assessing alternative productconcepts at early design stages. Balancing both the functionalrequirements and the negative environmental impacts of productsis the road to sustainable development. <b>KEYWORDS</b>Design for environment, life-cycle design,eco-design, eco-design methods, product environmentalcharacteristics, product functional characteristics, customerbenefit, value analysis, functional profile, environmentalprofile, eco functional matrix, product properties.

<p>Interest in environmental issues has increased enormouslyover the last few decades and environmental problems areperceived to be on the increase. Due to the fact that thenumber of products on the market increases enormously, it isevident that we face a great challenge to overcome the problemconcerning our consumer society. An increasing barrage oflegislation accompanied by the public’s awareness of, andconcern for, the environment forcing the industry to respond.Products and their environmental impact have moved to thecentre stage and it is widely believed that designers have akey role in adapting products to a sustainable society. Threekey issues are identified in this development scenario: (a) theimportance of adapting products to a more sustainable society,(b) the specific situation facing the designer, especially inearly design phases, and (c) balancing environmental impactswith functional preferences.</p><p>Research in this thesis presents a theoretical framework fordescribing environmental issues and the role of the designer inproduct development, as well as functional characteristics ofproducts in the early phases of design. Based on anengineering-design science foundation, theoretical models andconcepts have been developed describing how both functional andenvironmental preferences can be visualised in design forenvironment and product development. Case studies andinterviews have been performed and integrated into a coherenttheoretical model for identifying and evaluating functional andenvironmental preferences within ecodesign approach andreasoning.</p><p>The overall concept proposed in this thesis is called theeco functional matrix, based on two parts: functional profileand environmental profile. The functional profile represent thefunctional characteristics and environmental profile theenvironmental characteristics respectively of a product in theearly phases of design. One of the objectives behind theconcept is to highlight the importance of balancing functionalrequirements and environmental impacts, presenting both theadvantages and disadvantages of the product. The basic idea isto account for user and societal preferences as well asenvironmental impact when assessing alternative productconcepts at early design stages. Balancing both the functionalrequirements and the negative environmental impacts of productsis the road to sustainable development.</p><p><b>KEYWORDS</b>Design for environment, life-cycle design,eco-design, eco-design methods, product environmentalcharacteristics, product functional characteristics, customerbenefit, value analysis, functional profile, environmentalprofile, eco functional matrix, product properties.</p>

Examensarbetet har genomförts vid Högskolan i Skövde i samverkan med Nobia AB. Målet var att implementera ekodesignmetoder i Nobias befintliga designprocess och att genomföra en fallstudie på en kökslucka. Fallstudien genomfördes för att verifiera ekodesignprocessen och för att föreslå ett lämpligt material till en kökslucka. Under litteraturstudien undersöktes begrepp såsom hållbar utveckling, ekodesign och livscykel. Intervjuer genomfördes för att undersöka Nobias designprocess och för att identifiera aktiviteterna i varje fas i processen. Faserna var Idégenerering, Konceptutveckling, Produktutveckling och Industrialisering. Flera alternativa ekodesignmetoder studerades för att undersöka om de var lämpliga att implementera i Nobias befintliga designprocess, bland annat Statusanalys och olika Checklistor. De förväntade egenskaperna för ekodesignprocessen sammanställdes i en kravspecifikation. Ekodesignmetoderna som implementerades i Nobias befintliga designprocess resulterade i en ekodesignprocess, som bestod av Ekostrategihjul, Philips five fast, Jämförelsematris, Ekodesignportfolio, Miljöriskanalys och Scorecard. Fallstudien inleddes med skapandet av en kravspecifikation beträffande materialets förväntade egenskaper. De mest intressanta materialen var Medium Density Fibreboard, bambu och gran. Genom en analys av olika material ansågs gran vara det bästa materialet, eftersom det medförde minst utsläpp vid transport, tillgången är god samt är lokalt producerat. Det framkom att tillämpningen av ekodesign inom produktutveckling medför många fördelar, som till exempel en trivsam arbetsplats, motiverade medarbetare och en mer hållbar designprocess. En hållbar designprocess bidrar till att utveckla hållbara produkter, vilket bidrar till en bättre miljö. / The bachelor project has been carried out at the University of Skövde in collaboration with Nobia AB. The purpose of the project was to implement eco-design methods into the company’s existing design process and to accomplish a case study of a cabinet door. The purpose of the case study was to verify the proposed eco-design process and suggest a material for a cabinet door. Sustainable development, eco-design and lifecycle were studied during the literature study. Interviews were carried out to study the design process at Nobia and to identify the different activities in every phase of the process. The phases were Idea Generation, Concept Development, Product Development and Industrialization. Several eco-design methods were studied to assess their potential to be implemented into Nobia’s existing design process, for example Status Analysis and various Checklists. The expected characteristics of the eco-design process were compiled into a requirement specification. The methods which were implemented into Nobia’s existing design process resulted in an Eco-design process which consisted of Ekostrategihjul, Philips five fast, Jämförelsematris, Eco-design portfolio, Environmental Failure Mode and Effect Analysis and Scorecard. The case study was initiated by compiling a requirement specification. The most promising materials were Medium Density Fibreboard, bamboo and fir. Through analysis of various materials fir was considered as the best material because of low levels of pollution during transportation, good access to the raw material and it is also locally manufactured. The results show that the use of eco-design within product development entails many advantages, such as, a pleasant place of work, motivated staff, and a more sustainable design process. A sustainable design process will contribute to the development of sustainable products, which entails a better environment.