Design for sustainability: A methodological approach for the introduction of environmental requirements in the furniture sector*

This article presents a method entitled “Design for environmental sustainability: design strategies, methods and tools in the furniture sector”. This method was developed by the research unit DIS – Design and System Innovation for Sustainability – of the Politecnico di Milano, Italy, directed by Prof. Carlo Vezzoli. This study consists of a presentation of the method for the development of design and environmental sustainability tools focusing on a given sector of product type. It is is particularly relevant since it may be applied in different production sectors. The study was divided into three steps: life cycle assessment (LCA), environmental design priorities indicators (EDPI), and the creation of guidelines through a participatory research. Among other results, it proved to be an original abridged LCA tool and furniture-specific LCD guidelines.