Innovation and life cycle analysis for sustainable decision-making in product design

Abstract

Designing eco-friendly products has become one of the greatest challenges for companies today, as consumers seek high-quality products that don't harm the planet. This article presents a case study that evaluates the environmental impacts of an eco-innovative product and compares it to a conventional product of the same nature. The aim is to identify the most polluting stage of each product's life cycle and then compare the overall environmental damage to determine if there has been an environmental improvement in the innovative product.

Innovation management allows for the application of creative criteria in pursuit of substantial improvements that contribute to sustainability. Meanwhile, engineering plays a vital role in the detailed analysis of product components, through the creation of flowcharts, technical data sheets, dimensional drawings, and more.

The primary objective of this case study is to assess and compare the life cycle environmental impacts of the two products using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, framed within the international ISO 14040 standard and employing the specialized software SimaPro. The goal is to understand the level of sustainability between the two products.

Finally, the main results obtained from these methodologies and the individual and comparative graphs of the environmental impacts and damages generated by each product are presented. The study concludes with the significant environmental improvement achieved in the eco-designed or eco-innovative product, exceeding 35% overall.