Ecodesign means producing goods and services that meet your customers' needs while:

• using the minimum levels of resources
• having a minimum impact on the environment and society

Ecodesign involves designing or redesigning products, services, processes or systems to avoid or repair damage to the environment, society and the economy.

Ecodesign is present all around us - in sustainable flooring, green energy heating systems, eco-friendly packaging and even recyclable products.

Ecodesign principles

There are ten core environmental considerations at the heart of ecodesign:

• using materials with less environmental impact
• using fewer materials overall in the manufacture of products
• using fewer resources during the manufacturing process
• producing less pollution and waste
• reducing the environmental impacts of distributing products
• ensuring that products use fewer resources when they are used by end customers
• ensuring that products cause less waste and pollution when in use
• optimising the function of products and ensuring the most suitable service life
• making reuse and recycling easier
• reducing the environmental impact of disposal

You should evaluate your product or services according to these principles and their environmental impact, as well as the potential for improvement or change.

When should you consider ecodesign?

Projects with large environmental impacts or natural resource use are the best candidates for an ecodesign transformation. However, you can apply ecodesign principles even in the smallest of projects by making sure that you:

• maximise the use of sustainable materials
• use the least amount of energy necessary
• design a product so that it can be recycled or reused at the end of its lifecycle

Find out more about the advantages and disadvantages of ecodesign.

Ecodesign, or sustainable design, aims to minimise the environmental impact of a product over its entire lifecycle. As well as creating benefits for the environment, ecodesign also offers great potential savings and efficiencies for businesses. See what is ecodesign.

Advantages of ecodesign

The potential benefits of using ecodesign include:

• lower production and labour costs and greater efficiency
• reduced material and resource costs
• lower waste disposal costs
• improved functionality and quality of products
• increased market share
• improved environmental performance
• improved customer and supplier relationships
• easier and lower cost of compliance with legislation
• easier disassembly and increased potential for recycling
• most suitable product design life
• a better working environment and business culture for your staff

Ecodesign can also lead indirectly to economic benefits, such as providing a useful marketing tool and encouraging innovation and product development.

Barriers to ecodesign

You may find a number of barriers to creating products using ecodesign principles. These include:

• consumers' low level of understanding of ecodesign
• cost - and whether your clients or customers are prepared to pay that cost
• difficulties to clearly demonstrate the benefits to buyers so that they choose your product
• risks of trying new materials and approaches
• finding alternative ways to make money out of longer-life products
• difficulties using ecodesign on mainstream products instead of just high quality and niche products
• targeting the right stage in the product's lifecycle or supply chain so you get the greatest environmental paybacks for your investment
• integrating principles across business approaches and supply chains where the opportunities can be greater than singling out 'eco-products', which in some cases don't succeed

However, overcoming the barriers can lead to more advanced, profitable and sustainable products.

Ecodesign is usually good business practice, but in some cases you may need to comply with certain legal requirements.

Ecodesign in packaging design

If you design or use packaging, you will have to comply with packaging and packaging waste management.

Ecodesign and electrical equipment obligations

If you manufacture, distribute or sell electrical equipment, you will have to meet a number of ecodesign requirements, including:

• the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations - see waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
• the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Regulations - see ROHS: restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment
• energy-related products legislation - see energy labelling and ecodesign in manufacturing

Ecodesign in building and construction

The Building Regulations are increasingly focused on ensuring the sustainable design of buildings. You need to ensure any new builds or adaptations comply with the requirements for controlling environmental issues such as energy efficiency.

You must also follow measures that require businesses to improve the energy performance of commercial buildings. These include air conditioning system inspections and Energy Performance Certificates.

If a construction project is valued at more than £300,000, you should have a site waste management plan. The plan should enable waste from construction sites to be managed more sustainably. See how to introduction to site waste management plans.

Sustainable design standards

The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has produced the ISO 14062 standard, a technical report on integrating environmental aspects into product design and development. You can also use a standard such as ISO 14001 to gain certification for the way you manage your environmental impacts, including your product designs.

Product design processes are unique to each business. However, if you are considering ecodesign, there are several specific things you should focus on.

Key steps for ecodesign

These include:

• market demand and opportunity - identify the need for new or revised products within the marketplace
• concept development - evaluate the commercial and technical aspects as well as the feasibility of the initial design
• detailed design - define the form and function of new or revised products to produce prototypes
• prototype - assess the products' design and allow for changes to be made
• testing and final design - make any last-minute changes to the overall design before products go into production
• production - establish systems to check the performance of new or improved products against forecasts
• review - gain regular feedback from end customers, production and sales staff to improve and update products over time

How to get started with ecodesign

There are a number of ways you can ensure ecodesign results in products that are fit for purpose, have a clear market, and have less overall impact on the environment and society.

Starting the ecodesign process requires a number of important factors to be in place within your business. It can help to devise a strategy to ensure that you:

• get full support of senior management who can give access to specific environmental information, coordinate the work and allocate staff
• appoint a 'champion' to be the focus for all issues relating to ecodesign work
• hold ecodesign workshops within your business to help your staff understand how to minimise the impact of products on the environment
• produce a business case to look at the economic benefits that using ecodesign could bring to your business

Your products should deliver an expected service to their owners. Ask yourself if the product itself (or the function it provides) is what the customer actually wants. You should also consider if your new or revised products embody what the customer really values in the products they buy. See how to research your products for ecodesign.

It is important to begin ecodesign with detailed research to reveal which elements of your products could cause the greatest environmental impact, and how ecodesign could address these issues.

Key topics for ecodesign research

In your research, you should aim to:

• identify which materials and fixings are used in the products you want to design or redesign
• understand where you can make improvements in the manufacturing process
• find out how the products are packaged, stored and distributed
• find out how the products are used and what impacts they have on the environment
• establish what happens to the products at the end of their useful life

Your research should cover the ten key ecodesign considerations. For more details, see what is ecodesign.

You should also research packaging design at the same time as researching your products' design. This can help you to keep the packaging to a minimum and could even offer opportunities to reuse the packaging within the product once the customer receives it. See how to design packaging to reduce environmental impact.

Research best practice

Your business should follow a number of general principles to ensure thorough research and ecodesign. For example, you should:

• set realistic objectives and scope for your research
• use existing information, product records or specifications to carry out preliminary research
• dismantle your products to see how easy they would be to recycle
• measure your products' environmental performance and compare this with your ecodesign - see how to set environmental performance targets
• keep up to date with forthcoming legislation

Life cycle assessment (LCA)

This assessment looks at every aspect of your products and can enable your business to identify:

• areas where the greatest cost savings and environmental improvements can be made
• reductions in materials and energy used in your ecodesign
• which design components have resulted in increased market share and higher product quality

For more information, see how to carry out an environmental review of your business.

When you are creating goods or services from scratch, you can consider ecodesign from the start. Early in the project, you can usually specify the most sustainable raw materials, production methods, delivery, use and end-of-life criteria.

Using ecodesign on existing products

If you are adapting existing goods or services, you may have to consider some compromises, either in:

• the form or function of your goods and services
• the plant and equipment that you use to produce them
• the way they are used and then handled as waste

You should think about how you can assess the different design ideas. Create a clear set of priorities to ensure your work is focused and that it results in products that have a reduced environmental impact and a large enough market.

Use research findings to set priorities

The research you carried out in the early stages of your project should reveal how your products affect the environment. You should create a set of priorities from this data that you can use to help your business create its ecodesign products. Carrying out this research early will save you money later. For more information, see how to research your products for ecodesign.

When you are deciding which design ideas to use, you should consider:

• the scope of the environmental gain you can expect from the products
• how the products will comply with existing and future legislation, especially with regard to disposal
• what direct cost savings your business can expect
• what indirect cost savings your business can expect, eg waste treatment
• the marketing benefits that you could gain
• how you could improve the relationships with your suppliers and customers
• what work is involved in moving to ecodesign principles and the likely costs of implementing these changes within your business
• the overall feasibility of the work and the potential risks that your business might face

Remember that these considerations are not universal across all businesses. Your business' own aims, market, products and overall strategy should determine which considerations are most important.

In addition, you should involve your marketing, sales, design and production teams when identifying your design priorities. This will help you to increase your understanding of how ecodesign can benefit your business.

Read about the advantages and disadvantages of ecodesign.

Whether you are creating new goods and services or refining old ones to make them more sustainable, you should consider the whole lifecycle of a product in the context of your ecodesign initiative.

Increasingly, service businesses such as architects, insurers, holiday complexes and event managers are also focusing on environmental and sustainability issues.

Key checkpoints for product ecodesign

The key points of a product's lifecycle that you need to assess are:

• Design - does the design ensure that the product meets its purpose in the most energy and resource-efficient way? Can the product be repaired, remanufactured, disassembled or recycled easily? Does the design make use of the most efficient materials and enable the user to be as efficient as possible in using the product? Find out how to identify ecodesign priorities.
• Raw materials - can you use fewer raw materials to get a satisfactory result? Are your raw materials recycled or recyclable? Are you using raw materials with the least environmental impact? Are you complying with regulations on hazardous materials? See how to choose raw materials for ecodesign.
• Manufacture - can your manufacturing be more energy efficient? How can you reduce waste and packaging? Are there other ways to get the same manufacturing results but be more efficient?
• Retail - is your packaging as efficient as possible? Could you use less packaging? Can you reduce transport costs by shortening supply chains or the distance your goods need to travel? Could the way in which your product is displayed be improved (eg not refrigerated, not lit up), and can waste be reduced through better supply chain management? Do you communicate with your customers on how to choose the most environmental products?
• Use - can you make your product last longer, either by better component use or designing with easy repair in mind? How can you help customers use the same products for longer?
• End of life - can the product or service be reused, remanufactured or recycled? If not, can you reduce the amount that needs to go to the landfill? See more on ecodesign for end of product life.
• Legal - are you meeting your legal responsibilities for goods, such as electrical and electronic goods? See ecodesign: compliance and standards.

As well as the environmental impact, you should also consider the social impact of each stage of the product's lifecycle, such as the effects on workers and local communities where your raw materials come from, where the goods or services are produced and where they end up when they have finished being useful. See more on corporate social responsibility.

Your selection of raw materials has a significant impact on the sustainability of your goods and services.

Choosing raw materials for your product

When choosing materials for ecodesign, you need to consider:

• the level of virgin and recycled content of the materials
• their carbon and ecological footprints
• what the most sustainable mix might be

You also need to consider whether the materials can be extracted and reused or remanufactured when they have finished being used. There may be a market for the materials and legislation governing their disposal and use.

If the materials can be recycled, assess what recycling facilities are available, and if the material can be clearly marked to help people recycle it.

Advantages of choosing sustainable product materials

If you choose the best materials and match the material with the job, you should see a number of benefits, such as less waste and increased efficiency during manufacturing and use.

Using fewer materials overall can reduce your business' environmental impact as well as lower costs. It can make products and packaging lighter and simpler, reducing waste and the cost and impact of distribution. Using fewer materials can also make it easier to recycle your products.

You can also use your choice of materials to innovate and differentiate your product or service from others in the marketplace. See how to use recycled materials and products.

Choosing substitutes materials for ecodesign

Some of the most important decisions you make when selecting raw materials relate to the manufacturing costs and performance of your products. It's often the priority to simply find the materials that are best suited to those criteria. However, that material may not necessarily be the most sustainable. You may want to consider:

• Is it possible to substitute materials for more sustainable alternatives - eg if some materials in your product cannot be recycled, can you replace them with alternatives that can be?
• The environmental impact of transporting the materials you use in the product or its packaging - eg can you substitute materials for those which result in lower carbon emissions?
• If any downsides to the substitute are outweighed by the potential benefits that can be gained - eg from promoting how sustainable your goods or services are.

Reusing other business' waste

If your business has no use for a by-product or waste that you create, another organisation may be able to use it as a raw material. Your business may also be able to use another organisation's waste. You may be able to cut costs and generate income from buying or selling waste materials.

Invest Northern Ireland can provide advice and support to help you manage business energy and waste.

Ecodesign can help ensure that you can reuse your products at the end of their life cycle, or dispose of them in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective way.

Making the most of end-of-life (EoL) products

Options for making the most out of end-of-life products include:

• Repair - this is useful for products that are difficult to replace or have a high sentimental value.
• Re-marketing - this can work for a product when it has reached its end of life because it has become dated. For example, you may be able to remarket used but still functional mobile phones to a less technologically advanced global region.
• Reconditioning/refurbishing - this includes replacing or repairing only critical components of the product, and not superficial damage to the appearance. This may be cheaper to carry out than remanufacturing, but the product's resale value will also be lower.
• Remanufacturing - this involves disassembling the product and using its core components to build an 'as new' product. See more on producing goods for remanufacturing and reuse.
• Repurposing a product for a different use - for example, using an obsolete MP3 player as a flash drive for data storage.

You can design your products to make these options more possible by using core components which do not wear or become obsolete quickly, and making the products easy to disassemble.

Disposing of end-of-life products

Options for disposing of end-of-life products that can't be reused, or prepared for reuse, include:

• Recycling - you should design your products using recyclable materials wherever possible. You can also use this as a marketing point, as recycling has a positive consumer image.
• Composting - may be a good option for organic goods or goods with organic components.
• Incineration - you may also be able to recover heat or power from the combustion process.
• Landfill - this should be a last resort for goods that you can't reuse, reclaim or dispose of any other way.

You should carefully consider any negative impacts of the product's design - for example, a non-recyclable coating on an otherwise recyclable component, or chemicals which could create toxic emissions if incinerated. Through ecodesign, you may be able to find more suitable materials or production processes.

To see how your ecodesign is performing in the marketplace, seek out as much feedback as possible. Your sales, marketing, production and manufacturing departments can all help to confirm how marketable your products are.

Feedback from production

Ask your production manager for detailed data on the performance of your new designs as they are manufactured. This information may highlight the need to change your plant and machinery to further improve the production process.

You could use this feedback to:

• increase production and assembly efficiency by simplifying your production processes or increasing line speed
• reduce packaging levels
• reduce the amount of waste produced and the quantity of energy and materials wasted during manufacture

Feedback from sales and marketing

You should also review how new products are received in the marketplace. Your sales and marketing staff can:

• assess how robust the products are and how their packaging performs
• confirm that there is a market for the products
• analyse the customer feedback about likes and dislikes
• identify areas for further development of the products

Read also about user-centred design.

Ecodesign means producing goods and services that meet your customers' needs while:

• using the minimum levels of resources
• having a minimum impact on the environment and society

Ecodesign involves designing or redesigning products, services, processes or systems to avoid or repair damage to the environment, society and the economy.

Ecodesign is present all around us - in sustainable flooring, green energy heating systems, eco-friendly packaging and even recyclable products.

Ecodesign principles

There are ten core environmental considerations at the heart of ecodesign:

• using materials with less environmental impact
• using fewer materials overall in the manufacture of products
• using fewer resources during the manufacturing process
• producing less pollution and waste
• reducing the environmental impacts of distributing products
• ensuring that products use fewer resources when they are used by end customers
• ensuring that products cause less waste and pollution when in use
• optimising the function of products and ensuring the most suitable service life
• making reuse and recycling easier
• reducing the environmental impact of disposal

You should evaluate your product or services according to these principles and their environmental impact, as well as the potential for improvement or change.

When should you consider ecodesign?

Projects with large environmental impacts or natural resource use are the best candidates for an ecodesign transformation. However, you can apply ecodesign principles even in the smallest of projects by making sure that you:

• maximise the use of sustainable materials
• use the least amount of energy necessary
• design a product so that it can be recycled or reused at the end of its lifecycle

Find out more about the advantages and disadvantages of ecodesign.

Ecodesign, or sustainable design, aims to minimise the environmental impact of a product over its entire lifecycle. As well as creating benefits for the environment, ecodesign also offers great potential savings and efficiencies for businesses. See what is ecodesign.

Advantages of ecodesign

The potential benefits of using ecodesign include:

• lower production and labour costs and greater efficiency
• reduced material and resource costs
• lower waste disposal costs
• improved functionality and quality of products
• increased market share
• improved environmental performance
• improved customer and supplier relationships
• easier and lower cost of compliance with legislation
• easier disassembly and increased potential for recycling
• most suitable product design life
• a better working environment and business culture for your staff

Ecodesign can also lead indirectly to economic benefits, such as providing a useful marketing tool and encouraging innovation and product development.

Barriers to ecodesign

You may find a number of barriers to creating products using ecodesign principles. These include:

• consumers' low level of understanding of ecodesign
• cost - and whether your clients or customers are prepared to pay that cost
• difficulties to clearly demonstrate the benefits to buyers so that they choose your product
• risks of trying new materials and approaches
• finding alternative ways to make money out of longer-life products
• difficulties using ecodesign on mainstream products instead of just high quality and niche products
• targeting the right stage in the product's lifecycle or supply chain so you get the greatest environmental paybacks for your investment
• integrating principles across business approaches and supply chains where the opportunities can be greater than singling out 'eco-products', which in some cases don't succeed

However, overcoming the barriers can lead to more advanced, profitable and sustainable products.

Ecodesign is usually good business practice, but in some cases you may need to comply with certain legal requirements.

Ecodesign in packaging design

If you design or use packaging, you will have to comply with packaging and packaging waste management.

Ecodesign and electrical equipment obligations

If you manufacture, distribute or sell electrical equipment, you will have to meet a number of ecodesign requirements, including:

• the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations - see waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
• the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Regulations - see ROHS: restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment
• energy-related products legislation - see energy labelling and ecodesign in manufacturing

Ecodesign in building and construction

The Building Regulations are increasingly focused on ensuring the sustainable design of buildings. You need to ensure any new builds or adaptations comply with the requirements for controlling environmental issues such as energy efficiency.

You must also follow measures that require businesses to improve the energy performance of commercial buildings. These include air conditioning system inspections and Energy Performance Certificates.

If a construction project is valued at more than £300,000, you should have a site waste management plan. The plan should enable waste from construction sites to be managed more sustainably. See how to introduction to site waste management plans.

Sustainable design standards

The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has produced the ISO 14062 standard, a technical report on integrating environmental aspects into product design and development. You can also use a standard such as ISO 14001 to gain certification for the way you manage your environmental impacts, including your product designs.

Product design processes are unique to each business. However, if you are considering ecodesign, there are several specific things you should focus on.

Key steps for ecodesign

These include:

• market demand and opportunity - identify the need for new or revised products within the marketplace
• concept development - evaluate the commercial and technical aspects as well as the feasibility of the initial design
• detailed design - define the form and function of new or revised products to produce prototypes
• prototype - assess the products' design and allow for changes to be made
• testing and final design - make any last-minute changes to the overall design before products go into production
• production - establish systems to check the performance of new or improved products against forecasts
• review - gain regular feedback from end customers, production and sales staff to improve and update products over time

How to get started with ecodesign

There are a number of ways you can ensure ecodesign results in products that are fit for purpose, have a clear market, and have less overall impact on the environment and society.

Starting the ecodesign process requires a number of important factors to be in place within your business. It can help to devise a strategy to ensure that you:

• get full support of senior management who can give access to specific environmental information, coordinate the work and allocate staff
• appoint a 'champion' to be the focus for all issues relating to ecodesign work
• hold ecodesign workshops within your business to help your staff understand how to minimise the impact of products on the environment
• produce a business case to look at the economic benefits that using ecodesign could bring to your business

Your products should deliver an expected service to their owners. Ask yourself if the product itself (or the function it provides) is what the customer actually wants. You should also consider if your new or revised products embody what the customer really values in the products they buy. See how to research your products for ecodesign.

It is important to begin ecodesign with detailed research to reveal which elements of your products could cause the greatest environmental impact, and how ecodesign could address these issues.

Key topics for ecodesign research

In your research, you should aim to:

• identify which materials and fixings are used in the products you want to design or redesign
• understand where you can make improvements in the manufacturing process
• find out how the products are packaged, stored and distributed
• find out how the products are used and what impacts they have on the environment
• establish what happens to the products at the end of their useful life

Your research should cover the ten key ecodesign considerations. For more details, see what is ecodesign.

You should also research packaging design at the same time as researching your products' design. This can help you to keep the packaging to a minimum and could even offer opportunities to reuse the packaging within the product once the customer receives it. See how to design packaging to reduce environmental impact.

Research best practice

Your business should follow a number of general principles to ensure thorough research and ecodesign. For example, you should:

• set realistic objectives and scope for your research
• use existing information, product records or specifications to carry out preliminary research
• dismantle your products to see how easy they would be to recycle
• measure your products' environmental performance and compare this with your ecodesign - see how to set environmental performance targets
• keep up to date with forthcoming legislation

Life cycle assessment (LCA)

This assessment looks at every aspect of your products and can enable your business to identify:

• areas where the greatest cost savings and environmental improvements can be made
• reductions in materials and energy used in your ecodesign
• which design components have resulted in increased market share and higher product quality

For more information, see how to carry out an environmental review of your business.

When you are creating goods or services from scratch, you can consider ecodesign from the start. Early in the project, you can usually specify the most sustainable raw materials, production methods, delivery, use and end-of-life criteria.

Using ecodesign on existing products

If you are adapting existing goods or services, you may have to consider some compromises, either in:

• the form or function of your goods and services
• the plant and equipment that you use to produce them
• the way they are used and then handled as waste

You should think about how you can assess the different design ideas. Create a clear set of priorities to ensure your work is focused and that it results in products that have a reduced environmental impact and a large enough market.

Use research findings to set priorities

The research you carried out in the early stages of your project should reveal how your products affect the environment. You should create a set of priorities from this data that you can use to help your business create its ecodesign products. Carrying out this research early will save you money later. For more information, see how to research your products for ecodesign.

When you are deciding which design ideas to use, you should consider:

• the scope of the environmental gain you can expect from the products
• how the products will comply with existing and future legislation, especially with regard to disposal
• what direct cost savings your business can expect
• what indirect cost savings your business can expect, eg waste treatment
• the marketing benefits that you could gain
• how you could improve the relationships with your suppliers and customers
• what work is involved in moving to ecodesign principles and the likely costs of implementing these changes within your business
• the overall feasibility of the work and the potential risks that your business might face

Remember that these considerations are not universal across all businesses. Your business' own aims, market, products and overall strategy should determine which considerations are most important.

In addition, you should involve your marketing, sales, design and production teams when identifying your design priorities. This will help you to increase your understanding of how ecodesign can benefit your business.

Read about the advantages and disadvantages of ecodesign.

Whether you are creating new goods and services or refining old ones to make them more sustainable, you should consider the whole lifecycle of a product in the context of your ecodesign initiative.

Increasingly, service businesses such as architects, insurers, holiday complexes and event managers are also focusing on environmental and sustainability issues.

Key checkpoints for product ecodesign

The key points of a product's lifecycle that you need to assess are:

• Design - does the design ensure that the product meets its purpose in the most energy and resource-efficient way? Can the product be repaired, remanufactured, disassembled or recycled easily? Does the design make use of the most efficient materials and enable the user to be as efficient as possible in using the product? Find out how to identify ecodesign priorities.
• Raw materials - can you use fewer raw materials to get a satisfactory result? Are your raw materials recycled or recyclable? Are you using raw materials with the least environmental impact? Are you complying with regulations on hazardous materials? See how to choose raw materials for ecodesign.
• Manufacture - can your manufacturing be more energy efficient? How can you reduce waste and packaging? Are there other ways to get the same manufacturing results but be more efficient?
• Retail - is your packaging as efficient as possible? Could you use less packaging? Can you reduce transport costs by shortening supply chains or the distance your goods need to travel? Could the way in which your product is displayed be improved (eg not refrigerated, not lit up), and can waste be reduced through better supply chain management? Do you communicate with your customers on how to choose the most environmental products?
• Use - can you make your product last longer, either by better component use or designing with easy repair in mind? How can you help customers use the same products for longer?
• End of life - can the product or service be reused, remanufactured or recycled? If not, can you reduce the amount that needs to go to the landfill? See more on ecodesign for end of product life.
• Legal - are you meeting your legal responsibilities for goods, such as electrical and electronic goods? See ecodesign: compliance and standards.

As well as the environmental impact, you should also consider the social impact of each stage of the product's lifecycle, such as the effects on workers and local communities where your raw materials come from, where the goods or services are produced and where they end up when they have finished being useful. See more on corporate social responsibility.

Your selection of raw materials has a significant impact on the sustainability of your goods and services.

Choosing raw materials for your product

When choosing materials for ecodesign, you need to consider:

• the level of virgin and recycled content of the materials
• their carbon and ecological footprints
• what the most sustainable mix might be

You also need to consider whether the materials can be extracted and reused or remanufactured when they have finished being used. There may be a market for the materials and legislation governing their disposal and use.

If the materials can be recycled, assess what recycling facilities are available, and if the material can be clearly marked to help people recycle it.

Advantages of choosing sustainable product materials

If you choose the best materials and match the material with the job, you should see a number of benefits, such as less waste and increased efficiency during manufacturing and use.

Using fewer materials overall can reduce your business' environmental impact as well as lower costs. It can make products and packaging lighter and simpler, reducing waste and the cost and impact of distribution. Using fewer materials can also make it easier to recycle your products.

You can also use your choice of materials to innovate and differentiate your product or service from others in the marketplace. See how to use recycled materials and products.

Choosing substitutes materials for ecodesign

Some of the most important decisions you make when selecting raw materials relate to the manufacturing costs and performance of your products. It's often the priority to simply find the materials that are best suited to those criteria. However, that material may not necessarily be the most sustainable. You may want to consider:

• Is it possible to substitute materials for more sustainable alternatives - eg if some materials in your product cannot be recycled, can you replace them with alternatives that can be?
• The environmental impact of transporting the materials you use in the product or its packaging - eg can you substitute materials for those which result in lower carbon emissions?
• If any downsides to the substitute are outweighed by the potential benefits that can be gained - eg from promoting how sustainable your goods or services are.

Reusing other business' waste

If your business has no use for a by-product or waste that you create, another organisation may be able to use it as a raw material. Your business may also be able to use another organisation's waste. You may be able to cut costs and generate income from buying or selling waste materials.

Invest Northern Ireland can provide advice and support to help you manage business energy and waste.

Ecodesign can help ensure that you can reuse your products at the end of their life cycle, or dispose of them in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective way.

Making the most of end-of-life (EoL) products

Options for making the most out of end-of-life products include:

• Repair - this is useful for products that are difficult to replace or have a high sentimental value.
• Re-marketing - this can work for a product when it has reached its end of life because it has become dated. For example, you may be able to remarket used but still functional mobile phones to a less technologically advanced global region.
• Reconditioning/refurbishing - this includes replacing or repairing only critical components of the product, and not superficial damage to the appearance. This may be cheaper to carry out than remanufacturing, but the product's resale value will also be lower.
• Remanufacturing - this involves disassembling the product and using its core components to build an 'as new' product. See more on producing goods for remanufacturing and reuse.
• Repurposing a product for a different use - for example, using an obsolete MP3 player as a flash drive for data storage.

You can design your products to make these options more possible by using core components which do not wear or become obsolete quickly, and making the products easy to disassemble.

Disposing of end-of-life products

Options for disposing of end-of-life products that can't be reused, or prepared for reuse, include:

• Recycling - you should design your products using recyclable materials wherever possible. You can also use this as a marketing point, as recycling has a positive consumer image.
• Composting - may be a good option for organic goods or goods with organic components.
• Incineration - you may also be able to recover heat or power from the combustion process.
• Landfill - this should be a last resort for goods that you can't reuse, reclaim or dispose of any other way.

You should carefully consider any negative impacts of the product's design - for example, a non-recyclable coating on an otherwise recyclable component, or chemicals which could create toxic emissions if incinerated. Through ecodesign, you may be able to find more suitable materials or production processes.

To see how your ecodesign is performing in the marketplace, seek out as much feedback as possible. Your sales, marketing, production and manufacturing departments can all help to confirm how marketable your products are.

Feedback from production

Ask your production manager for detailed data on the performance of your new designs as they are manufactured. This information may highlight the need to change your plant and machinery to further improve the production process.

You could use this feedback to:

• increase production and assembly efficiency by simplifying your production processes or increasing line speed
• reduce packaging levels
• reduce the amount of waste produced and the quantity of energy and materials wasted during manufacture

Feedback from sales and marketing

You should also review how new products are received in the marketplace. Your sales and marketing staff can:

• assess how robust the products are and how their packaging performs
• confirm that there is a market for the products
• analyse the customer feedback about likes and dislikes
• identify areas for further development of the products

Read also about user-centred design.