Product life cycle perspective, a concept emanating from sustainable product development has gradually emerged as one of the key areas in product design and development. Several studies and research have shown the direct co-relationship between product design, development and manufacturing and its impact on our environment and ecosystem. The need to take these environmental factors into consideration is fundamental and highly prioritized in organizations that seeks to minimize the environmental impact of their operations in our ecosystem and if possible redirect these operations to contribute positively to saving the natural ecosystem. In the latest revision of ISO 14001:2015 standard, the term product life cycle perspective (LCP) has now become a fundamental requirement for organizations to fulfill. The requirement specifies the need for life cycle perspectives to be a significant factor during product design and development. However, the practical challenges of continuously integrating life circle analysis in product design is enormous for companies and organizations. This thesis will look at the challenges confronting ISO 14001 certified product manufacturing companies and allied services in implementing product LCP during product development and design and also the interpretations given by auditors from certification companies concerning how companies implement product LCP in relation to the requirements in ISO 14001:2015 at the product design and development stages.

Eco-design is relatively new and fast growing field of research due to its vital importance to the manufacturing industry and its related environmental issues such as reducing waste, and CO2 emission. A major EU programme relating to the environment is the waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive. The (WEEE) directive specifies ten categories and a voltage range which is up to 1.000 volts AC or 1.500volts DC. The developed framework came for the implementation of Eco-design principles that helps to take into account the adaption of the (WEEE) directive and the restriction of hazard substances (RoHS) used in electrical and electronic equipments. As a result of identify gaps and needs such as a lack of a comprehensive Eco-design framework and the need to integrate it to the normal business operation. In this research the PDCA framework for Eco-design and WEEE directive will be discussed. The framework will encompass all of the Eco-design¿s implementation and integration factors and activities such as WEEE and RoHS directives, Eco-design management, Environmental legislations, Eco-design tools and considerations. The literature review covers the topic of Eco-design¿s related issues, and WEEE and RoHS directives rules. Based on comprehensive questionnaire survey of Eco-design, WEEE and RoHS issues and activities among a sample of environmentally aware companies, statistical analysis is carried out using SPSS software. Then the findings of the survey triangulated with the findings of the literature review formed the basis of the design and implementation plan of the proposed framework