Tool Overview
Guidelines / Checklists / Handbooks
| Title | Tool / methodology type | Branch focus | Life cycle focus | Weighting of life cycle aspects | Level of analysis | For free (webbased) | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical and Electronic - Practical EcoDesign Guide | teaching material / guideline | electrical / electronics | full life cycle | no | detailed | no | very comprehensive, starting from the basics |
| ECMA 341 - Environmental design considerations for ICT & CE products | guideline / checklist / standard | ICT and CE | full life cycle | no | moderate | yes | - |
| Guideline "Design for Recycling" | guideline | electrical / electronics | recycling | - | moderate | yes | in German only |
| ECODESIGN PILOT | guidance for identifying design options | electrical / electronics | full life cycle | ranking | moderate | yes | recommended for a first product assessment and to set eco-design priorities |
| A Designer's Guide to Eco-Conscious Design of Electrical & Electronic Equipment | teaching material / guide / screening tool | electrical / electronics | full life cycle | no | moderate | yes | modular approach with 3 downloadable spreadsheets |
| Smart ecoDesign - checklists | checklist | electrical / electronics | full life cycle | no | detailed | yes | - |
| Eco-design Health Check | checklist | electrical / electronics | various life cycle aspects | no | very rough | yes | gives a first, very rough overview (management check) |
| Guide: Sustainable design of electrical and electronic products to control costs and comply with legislation | teaching material / guide | electrical / electronics | full life cycle | no | moderate | yes | - |
Environmental management system assistance
| Title | Tool / methodology type | Branch focus | Life cycle focus | Weighting of life cycle aspects | Level of analysis | For free (webbased) | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EMAS Toolkit for small organisations | environmental management guide | no branch focus | EMS relevant aspects | no | moderate | yes | focus on implementing an environmental management system (eco-design to be seen as a sub-aspect) |
| Ecomapping | screening of environmental performance of an organisation | no branch focus | EMS relevant aspects | no | moderate | yes (registration required) | focus on implementing an environmental management system (eco-design to be seen as a sub-aspect) |
Screening / Management methodologies and tools
| Title | Tool / methodology type | Branch focus | Life cycle focus | Weighting of life cycle aspects | Level of analysis | For free (webbased) | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fraunhofer IZM / EE Toolbox | screening tools | electrical / electronics | various life cycle aspects | no | moderate | yes (toxicity assessment) | - |
| KEPI - Key Environmental Performance Indicators | design indicators | mobile phones | various life cycle aspects | development of indicator based on weighting | low | published | serves as a good example what are the decisive design parameters (not directly transferable to other product groups) |
| TESPI - Tool for Environmentally Sound Product Innovation | benchmarking tool | no branch focus | various life cycle aspects | no | moderate | yes (registration required) | sets environmental aspects in context to product features / customer satisfaction, recommended to set priorities for redesign options |
| Smart ecoDesign? (Electronics) strategy wheel | screening tool | electronics | various life cycle aspects | no | low | yes | - |
| QWERTY / EE concept | eco-efficiency assessment tool | electrical / electronics | recycling | partly based on eco-indicator 99 | detailed | published | rather a "policy" tool than a design tool |
| Eco-Efficiency Analysis (BASF) | eco-efficiency assessment tool | chemical industry background, but also applicable for other branches | full life cycle | yes | detailed | no, but methodology principles published | - |
| GreenPack Material Declaration Tool | material declaration tool | electrical / electronics | no | - | moderate | yes | efficient material data management might serve as a sound basis for eco-design |
Life cycle assessment methodologies and databases
| Title | Tool / methodology type | Branch focus | Life cycle focus | Weighting of life cycle aspects | Level of analysis | For free (webbased) | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eco-Indicator 99 | impact assessment methodology | no branch focus | yes | yes | detailed | methodology report published | state-of-the-art in one-indicator LCAs |
| ProBas | life cycle data (database) | no branch focus | yes | no | - | yes | limited data for electrical / electronics sector |
| EcoInvent | life cycle data (database) | no branch focus | yes | no | - | no | limited data for electrical / electronics sector |
| APME/Boustead data | life cycle data | plastics industry | yes | no | - | yes | data on some basic / bulk materials |
Life cycle assessment tools - screening and full-scale
| Title | Tool / methodology type | Branch focus | Life cycle focus | Weighting of life cycle aspects | Level of analysis | For free (webbased) | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EIME - Environmental Information and Management Explorer, Brochure | LCA tool | electrical / electronics | full life cycle | no | detailed | no | - |
| eVerdEE | LCA tool | no branch focus | yes | yes | detailed | yes (registration required) | specifically for SMEs |
| "Eco-design of EuP methodology" study | assessment tool | electrical / electronics | full life cycle | no | moderate | yes | developed for basic product group studies, not as an operative eco-design tool |
| GaBi | LCA tool | no branch focus | full life cycle | optional | detailed | no | - |
| SimaPro | LCA tool | no branch focus | full life cycle | optional | detailed | no | - |
| Umberto | LCA tool | no branch focus | full life cycle | optional | detailed | no | - |
| IDEMAT | life cycle and materials data (database) | no branch focus | full life cycle | optional | detailed | no | - |
| LCA-E | screening LCA tool | printed circuit boards / electronic assemblies | full life cycle | optional | moderate | yes | in Swedish only |
| LCALight, Software | screening LCA tool | electrical / electronics | full life cycle | no | moderate | yes | useful to train LCA principles |
| World Wide LCA Workshop | project management & LCA tool | no branch focus | yes | yes | moderate | yes | - |
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