A4.9 Continued…
There are different terms relating to design, such as eco-design and sustainable design.
Eco-design is based on eco-efficiency. A commonly used tool to achieve this is Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), which is discussed in further detail in Section 3.5.
Sustainable design is based on considering the economic, social and environmental impacts; generally using the Precautionary Principle. Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) is an emerging process. The United Nations Environment Programme issued a report “Guidelines for Social Life Cycle Assessment of Products: Social and socio-economic LCA guidelines complementing environmental LCA and Life Cycle Costing, contributing to the full assessment of goods and services within the context of sustainable development” in 2009. If you wish to view the document it is available for download via the following website:
http://www.unep.fr/scp/publications/details.asp?id=DTI/1164/PA