Environmental Product Development Becomes Business

SUMMARY In business and industry, more attention is being paid to environmental issues. However, the attention very often consists of end-of-pipe solutions which can have high economical investments. A more efficient way is to prevent pollution and waste. With this, both ecological and economical benefits can be achieved. The best gains for environmental protection can be achieved in the design of the product which causes the pollution. In this article, we will describe a methodology in which environment and business-economical aspects can be combined during product planning and product development. Also, some tools and instruments which support the process of design for environment will be described. Furthermore, we will describe two pilot projects with industry in which environmental design was established.