Decision Management Systems for Downcycling/Upcycling/Eco Design - Interdisciplinary Experiences

"Design for Environment" - in the following abbreviated "DFE" - when it comes to high tech products such as electronic and communication equipment, representing one of the most important and fastest growing industries of the future, this interdisciplinary task can today only be fulfilled, if the product designer gets help from new methods and tools, which give breath to this new way of thinking. At the same speed which characterizes the products' fast move from yesterday's electromagnetic phone to tomorrow's multimedia featured intercommunication device, also the designer's skills, resources and results should develop and profit from new methods and tools to meet new functional and environmental needs. The authors have developped a DFE-toolbox, which helps the designer to anticipate environmental issues while designing technical complex products. The method and its tools comprehensively consider all life cycle stages of a product. This method was already used in various industrial appl ication projects including companies like AT&T, Hewlett-Packard and Siemens among others.