Scenario-based approach to the holistic development of sustainable products

Various approaches to sustainable product creation primarily address ecological and economical aspects. Social aspects are often neglected even though products and their processes related to development, production, use and end-of-life directly influence the living conditions of todays and future generations. As a result, the product properties which are defined during the process of product creation should support and ensure sustainable development throughout both the product and the factory life cycle. For this purpose, the product creation process requires appropriate approaches and tools. An approach to sustainable product creation based on scenarios is presented in this paper. A systematic look into the future of sustainable products by means of scenarios permits conclusions to be dr awn concerning sustainable product development.