WHAT IS ECO DESIGN? WHEN DID IT APPEAR?
The increasing pressure on natural resources and environmental disasters, especially climate change, make it necessary to review the production and consumption processes. In this context, while the design of environmentally friendly products gains importance, the number and scope of regulations in this direction are increasing day by day. At this point, the approach that takes into account the entire life cycle of the product, from raw material efficiency to product functionality and post-use stages, and reveals ecological sensitivity at the design stage, is called eco-design.
The first steps in the field of eco design were taken in the USA and Europe towards the end of the 80s, in parallel with the environmental movements. After a study carried out in 8 different sectors, mainly furniture, automotive and packaging in the Netherlands in the early 90s, Delf University of Technology published its first eco-design guide, which it called “Pro-mise”. During this whole process, many regulations emerged, from waste management to water pollution, from carbon emissions to fuel efficiency. In the 2000s, the issue of combating climate change brought the importance of energy efficiency to the agenda. Aiming to meet the energy efficiency targets it has set in order to reduce CO2 emissions from energy and contribute to sustainable development, and to respond to the rising demand in the world in parallel, the EU published the Eco Design directive in 2009.
ECO DESIGN REGULATION
This Regulation, which applies the Directive 2009/125/EC issued in the EU in October 2009 to our country’s legislation, was published at the end of 2010. This regulation, which includes many energy-related products, especially electrical appliances, but excludes the automotive sector and the defense industry, sets out the framework of the requirements for energy efficiency and environmental performance, which are mandatory for the products to be put on the market. These conditions, the details of which are determined by the implementation communiqués issued by the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology (For example, the Communiqué on Environmentally Responsible Design Requirements for Electric Motors). These conditions that are set
- Raw material selection and use
- Packaging, transportation and distribution,
- Energy and water consumption estimation
- Estimated emissions to air, water and soil
- The amount of waste expected to be generated
- Disassembly and Recycling time etc.
contains many elements. The regulation also obliges the CE marking, which is the subject of one of our previous articles, and thus the compliance with the EU harmonized standards, in order for the products to be put on the market. In other words, this regulation applies to electric motors, white goods, etc. In addition to various standards regarding energy efficiency and environment in many product groups; It makes the standards that must be met for export to the EU mandatory for our country as well.
FACTORS PROVIDES SUCCESS IN ECO DESIGN
In addition to providing the necessary conditions for putting them on the market, designing energy-saving products that have the least impact on the environment throughout their life cycle, and of course economically competitive, has also become the key to gaining market advantage. Some of the factors that will enable the successful application of ecodesign to the product development process with this approach are as follows:
- A management approach that sets environmental targets, makes environmental problems a business issue, and therefore approaches eco-design with a strategic perspective.
- Customer focus, raising awareness of customers on environmental issues.
- Watching suppliers closely.
- Considering the environmental impact at the beginning of the product development process and setting targets in this direction.