Why is it called an eco
Last modified on 12thFebruary 2019 Show What is eco design? Does eco design follow any specific regulation? What examples of eco designed products and services are there? Let’s find out. Eco Design – A Simple DefinitionEco design is both a principle
and an approach. It consists of integrating environmental protection criteria over a service or a product’s lifecycle. The main goal of eco design is to anticipate and minimize negative environmental impacts (of manufacturing, using and disposing of products). Simultaneously, eco design also keeps a product’s quality level according to its ideal
usage.
The Eco Design ApproachEco design is part of a global
approach called “multi-step” and “multi-criteria”. This approach supports a product’s entire lifecycle in a circular economy perspective by saving and recycling at maximum natural resources. It has to do with considering specific criteria in different stages:
Main criteria taken into account:
Some goals and principles are specifically about:
An eco design approach involves the organization that extracts materials as well as manufacturing. All the people and structures involved along the rest of a product’s lifecycle, such as retailers or consumers, are also included. And all the processes along a product’s value-chain are covered too. Tools For Eco-DesignBefore implementing an eco-design approach we first need to find out first which are the most environmentally relevant stages of a product’s lifecycle. Questions like “are the materials used biodegradable?” or “is the energy used for extraction renewable?” should be asked. Answering them will allow the identification of measures that need to be taken to effectively reduce the environmental impacts of the product under analysis. From a more individual perspective, eco-design can also be used in designing homes. In this scenario, eco-design is mostly about using renewable building materials like bamboo or cork, buying second-hand furniture or using recycled fiber carpets. At the same time, eco-design at home also has to do with using energy efficiently. In this way, using double pained glass windows for better insulation and investing in solar panels to generate energy are also usual.
Companies Using Eco-design As A CSR ApproachEco-design is also an integral part of a company’s CSR strategy (Corporate Social Responsibility, see the definition of CSR ). In order to reduce their impact on the environment, many companies are implementing eco-design approaches to offer greener products. Eco-design is also associated with biomimicry practices – a great design philosophy that is inspired by imitating nature. Examples Of Eco-Design
Eco-design: RegulationWhen it comes to the connection between eco-design and energy efficiency, the European Directive 2009/125/CE established a framework for the
setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-related products. Among other considerations, it speaks about the minimum performance levels to place products on the market (in particular, household appliances). Nonetheless, there’ll a new regulation entering into force in April 2021 with policies more favorable to improve eco-design in the EU.
Image credits to eco design on Shutterstock, eco design examples on Shutterstock, bamboo toothbrush on Shutterstock À votre tour d'agir !Where does the term eco come from?Etymology. From French eco-, from Latin oeco, from Ancient Greek οἶκος (oîkos, “house, household”).
What is called an eco?Eco Definition
Eco is defined as the environment, habitat or surroundings. An example of eco is ecology. YourDictionary. proper name.
What is eco short for in eco'Eco' comes from the Latin root 'oeco', meaning 'household'. It's often used now to mean 'habitat', 'home', or 'Earth'. And so, 'eco-friendly' simply means Earth-friendly. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, being eco-friendly means being 'designed to have little or no damaging effect on the environment' 1.
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