Abstract:

The number of objects that surround us more than tenfold in less than a century. Furthermore, the effective duration of the use of these objects, nowadays, is well below its potential. Given this context, the quest for reducing impacts to the environment becomes central aspect when developing products. The design, in turn, is directed increasingly toward the adoption of a methodology guided by tools that enhance the sustainable nature of the products.
Each stage of the life of a product produces a negative impact on the environment, from extraction of raw materials until it's used and becomes waste. Therefore, the method of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is important to measure the impacts of an entire life cycle, in the case of a service or a product. Nowadays, the surveillance to industries that generate waste are significantly adequate, which is not the case of products and the end of its lives. Some companies integrate the environment as part of a strategy for development. Through this, they can reduce the cost of raw materials, control the volume of waste in landfills, etc. Still, it is not sufficient to fully know the damage to the planet. The selection of material to be applied to the product, its form of disposal, recycling or reuse, increasing its length of permanence in the environment, now treated as essential requirements of the project, and not just decisions to be made at the end of the process. These requirements are primarily determined by analysis of the value chain and product life cycle as a tool for innovation for sustainability.
The article therefore aims to analyze the method of design, highlighting the importance of using tools such as life cycle analysis and value chain so as to result in environmentally friendly products and processes.

Keywords:

Design methodology, life cycle, sustainability.