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- Life cycle in practice: capacity building aiming European SME’sPublication . Pasquet, V.; Roy, A.; Adibi, N.; Coppee, S.; Echard, P.; Sousa Rocha, Cristina; Martins, Paulo; Alexandre, Jorge; Atin, E.The application of life cycle approaches – including life cycle assessment, ecodesign and environmental labelling – is becoming an increasing reality for business, and a growing challenge in many economic sectors. Businesses are facing increasing legal and market requirements to enhance resource efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of their products & services. To significantly address this challenge, the Life Cycle in Practice (LCiP) project was conceived, aiming to promote the uptake of LC approaches particularly in SMEs. The LCiP project helps SMEs in France, Belgium, Portugal and Spain reduce the environmental impacts of their products and services across the entire Life Cycle in three sectors: Buildings & Construction, Waste Management and Energy Equipment. LCiP’s specific objectives are to foster the widespread uptake of these approaches by SMEs beyond the duration of the project, by (i) Demonstrating the environmental and business benefits of applying LC Approaches through practical application in 32 businesses; (ii) Providing physical and online resource centres to support regional application of LC approaches; (iii) Building capacity for on-going implementation of LC approaches through a network of Life Cycle Champions and (iv) (Re)designing practical tools & methods tailored to the needs of the three industrial sectors. This paper presents the project's activities and expected results, as well as the conclusions of a maturity assessment on life cycle approaches that has been performed in the three sectors and four partner regions, as a means to identify needs and gaps that LCiP should fulfil.
- The ISO 26000 standard as a driver for systemic design for sustainabilityPublication . Sousa Rocha, Cristina; Schmidt, KirstenSustainable product development is considered a key factor for sustainable development. Products are placed in the interface between production and consumption, therefore the consideration of sustainability criteria early in their development phase, to improve them throughout the life cycle, opens up for innovations that contribute to tackle major sustainability problems in the context of a globalized economy. Design for sustainability (DfS) is distinguished from ecodesign in terms of sustainability topics covered (not only environmental and economic, but also social) and in terms on the focus on finding new ways to satisfy customers and client needs and make business sense while respecting the physical limits of the planet in providing resources and absorbing pollution.