Dartmouth Events

Title: “Enabling the Integration of Sustainable Design Methodological Frameworks and Computational Life Cycle Assessment Tools into Industry Product Development Practice”

Committee:

• Prof. Elizabeth Murnane (chair)
• Prof. Geoffrey Parker
• Prof. Jeremy Faludi (external)
• Prof. Rafe Steinhauer

Location: The Design Loft (ECSC 007) or via Zoom

Abstract:

Environmental sustainability has gained critical importance in product development (PD) due to

increased regulation, market competition, and consumer awareness, leading companies to set

ambitious climate targets . To meet these goals, PD practitioners (engineers and designers) are

often left to adapt their practices to reduce the impacts of the products they manufacture.

Literature review and interviews with practitioners show that they highly valued using

quantitative life cycle assessment (LCA) results to inform decision making.

LCA is a technique to measure the environmental impacts across various stages of a product life

cycle. Existing LCA software tools, however, are designed for dedicated experts to use at the end

of PD using detailed product information. This creates the “ecodesign paradox”, a tension

between opportunity for change in the early-stages of PD and availability of data in later stages

to make reliable decisions. Further, my research identified that novice users of LCA face

additional barriers including: cumbersome user interfaces, unfamiliar terminology, and

complicated information visualization. To address these challenges, I developed a tool called

EcoSketch for use during early-stage PD by novice users.

Practitioners, however, also struggle with translating environmental impact information into

actionable design decisions. Hence, I co-created methodological frameworks of sustainable

design strategies with industry partners: Synapse Product Development Inc. and Stanley Black

and Decker Inc. Despite contextual differences, a key commonality was that practitioners at both

firms sought “structured” and “data-driven'' processes for sustainable design. Through multiple,

extended internships, I also identified important drivers and barriers to sustainable design

integration. Finally, my research demonstrates that co-creation improves receptivity, long-term

adoption, and produces tangible improvements to sustainable outcomes in practice.

In summary, my research pursues two key pathways to enable sustainable design integration:

1. Developing human-centered life cycle assessment (LCA) tools that are designed for

decision-making during the early stages of PD.

2. Creating methodological frameworks to support the application of appropriate sustainable

design strategies in PD practice.

This thesis elaborates on my proposed coupling of robust frameworks with human-centered LCA

tools, which I argue together comprise a transformative solution for industry professionals to

effectively integrate sustainability considerations in their product development practices.