Life cycle design tools

There are a number of different tools which can assist designers, product developers and manufacturers to evaluate the environmetnal benefits and impacts of a product. The most appropriate tool or tools to use will depend on the objective. For example, is it to quickly compare the life cycle environmental impacts of several different design concepts? Or is the objective to gather more rigorous and peer-reviewed information on an existing product?

Some commonly used tools are described below.

1. Life cycle map

A life cycle map is a qualitative tool which can provide an increased understanding of the product life cycle and some of the sustainability benefits and impacts associated with each stage. It involves drawing up a process tree, or 'map', of the product life cycle by asking a series of questions.

2. Life cycle matrix

Is another qualitative tool that can help the user to think through the sustainability impacts and benefits at each stage of the life cycle. It can be used in conjunction with the life cycle map to build knowledge about the life cycle impacts and benefits of a product and opportunities to enhance sustainability through better design.

3. Life cycle assessment (LCA)

LCA is an internationally recognised technique (ISO 14040 series) for assessing the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product over its total life cycle. A full LCA is particularly useful if you need to evaluate the environmental impacts of a product or system with a high level of accuracy. However, it can be a time-consuming, resource-intensive and costly exercise because of the need to collect detailed inventory data for each stage of the life cycle.

4. Streamlined life cycle evaluation tools

It is not feasible to use LCA as a routine diagnostic tool because of the time and effort required. To overcome this problem, a number of streamlined tools have been developed to help designers to evaluate design options at the concept stage. These have a more user-friendly interface than LCA software and have been tailored for specific purposes, such as the evaluation of packaging systems, materials specification and energy impacts.

Sustainability Victoria has provided support and funding for the development of two streamline tools:

• Packaging Impact Quick Evaluation Tool (PIQET)
  PIQET is an on-line life cycle evaluation tool specifically designed for packaging systems. Like SimaPro and GaBi, it is based on publicly available inventory data, but also allows the user to add product-specific information to improve the accuracy of the analysis.
  For more information on PIQET visit the Sustainable Packaging Alliance website (link at bottom of page).

• Greenfly
  Greenfly is an on-line life cycle modelling and ecodesign tool. Unlike other streamlined LCA tools, it provides the user with suggestions for reducing the environmental impacts of a product. Greenfly is currently being developed as a commercial product.
  For more information on Greenfly visit the website (link at bottom of page).