DEVELOPMENT OF GREEN PRODUCT DESIGN

Abstract

Environmental degradation and climate change have increasingly brought sustainability to the forefront of global challenges, especially within industrial and product design practices. The need to balance functionality, affordability, and environmental responsibility has created an urgent demand for innovative frameworks that enable the creation of green products. This thesis addresses this critical research gap by developing a framework for green product design, aimed at facilitating sustainability across the product lifecycle while maintaining practicality for diverse industrial applications. This research sets out to achieve four primary objectives: to explore the role of recycled and green materials in sustainable product design, to study the significance of flexibility, control, and sensitivity in managing green constraints during the initial stages of the product lifecycle, to conceptualize and develop a comprehensive framework for green product design, and to validate the framework through real-world case studies. The research problem centres on the inadequacies of existing tools and frameworks for green product design. Conventional approaches, such as full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), are often resource-intensive, requiring significant technical expertise, financial investment, and time. As a result, these methods are challenging to implement, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises. Moreover, the integration of recycled and green materials, though recognized as essential, lacks a structured approach to evaluate their feasibility and effectiveness. Furthermore, most available frameworks fail to address the entire product lifecycle cohesively or lack a mechanism for prioritizing key environmental parameters. These limitations create a significant barrier to achieving a systematic, practical, and adaptable green product design process. To overcome these challenges, this study adopted a methodological approach that integrates systematic literature review, decision-making techniques, and lifecycle assessment tools. A systematic literature review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines to identify gaps, trends, and critical attributes of green product design. By leveraging state-of-the-art tools and databases, the review provided a comprehensive understanding of the theoretical underpinnings and practical challenges in the field. The development of the framework was guided by the insights derived from the review and involved categorizing green design considerations into three primary lifecycle phases: manufacturing, use, and end-of-life. Each phase incorporates a set of attributes designed to optimize sustainability outcomes, selected through a decision-making process that involved consultations with industry experts and academic researchers. To enhance its practical applicability, the framework employs a simplified, single- figure Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. This approach utilizes carbon emissions data sourced from the OKALA Practitioner Guide, providing a streamlined yet reliable method for assessing environmental impact. Unlike traditional LCA methods, which often present challenges due to their complexity, this single-figure LCA offers an accessible solution for evaluating sustainability metrics without compromising accuracy. The proposed framework’s adaptability is further enhanced vi through sensitivity analysis and flexibility measures, enabling its use across a wide range of industries and product types. The validation of the framework was conducted through two case studies: a bicycle and a household appliance. These case studies were selected to represent diverse product categories, enabling the evaluation of the framework’s effectiveness in addressing varying design and lifecycle considerations. For both cases, the results obtained using the proposed framework were benchmarked against those derived from existing LCA software. The findings demonstrated a high degree of accuracy and consistency, confirming the framework’s reliability and applicability. Furthermore, the simplified approach proved advantageous in reducing the time and resource requirements typically associated with conventional LCA methods. The key findings of this research highlight the transformative potential of integrating recycled and green materials into product design. For instance, the use of recycled materials in the case studies significantly reduced carbon emissions without compromising product quality or cost efficiency. This underscores the importance of material selection as a cornerstone of sustainable design. Additionally, the study revealed the critical role of early-stage flexibility in addressing green constraints, such as regulatory compliance, energy efficiency, and waste minimization. By incorporating flexibility and sensitivity measures, the framework ensures that manufacturers can adapt to evolving environmental requirements and consumer demands. The implications of this research extend beyond academia to industry and policymaking. For industries, the proposed framework offers a practical tool for implementing sustainable practices without requiring extensive technical expertise. Its simplicity and adaptability make it particularly valuable for small and medium-sized enterprises, which often face resource constraints in adopting green design principles. For policymakers, the framework provides a structured basis for developing guidelines and standards that promote sustainability across sectors. By emphasizing lifecycle integration and carbon footprint reduction, the framework aligns with the goals of the circular economy and can support initiatives aimed at reducing environmental impact on a broader scale. Despite its contributions, this study acknowledges certain limitations. The framework’s validation through two case studies, while effective, limits its generalizability across all industries. The reliance on OKALA data for carbon emissions values may also restrict its applicability in regions or contexts where more detailed or localized data is required. Additionally, the framework has yet to be tested over extended product lifecycles or with more complex product systems. These limitations provide avenues for future research to build upon the findings of this study. Future research can explore several promising directions. First, expanding the validation process to include a wider range of industries and product categories would enhance the framework’s robustness and applicability. Second, integrating advanced sustainability metrics, such as water and energy footprints, alongside carbon emissions, would provide a more comprehensive assessment of environmental impact. Third, the development of a digital tool or software based on the framework could further simplify its implementation and increase accessibility for non-technical stakeholders. Finally, long-term pilot testing in collaboration with industries would vii provide valuable insights into the framework’s performance in real-world production environments. In conclusion, this thesis represents a significant advancement in the field of green product design by addressing critical gaps in existing methodologies and offering a practical, lifecycle-oriented framework. The integration of recycled materials, the emphasis on early-stage flexibility, and the adoption of a simplified LCA method collectively ensure that the framework is both effective and accessible. The findings not only contribute to the academic discourse on sustainable design but also hold tangible implications for industries and policymakers striving to reduce environmental impact. By bridging the gap between theory and practice, this research paves the way for a more sustainable approach to product development, fostering innovation and responsibility in equal measure.