IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2020i1p315-d473102.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ecodesign—A Review of Reviews

Author

Listed:
  • Malte Schäfer

    (Institute of Machine Tools and Production Technology (IWF), Technische Universität Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany)

  • Manuel Löwer

    (Department for Product Safety and Quality Engineering (PSQ), University of Wuppertal, 42119 Wuppertal, Germany)

Abstract

With the intent of summing up the past research on ecodesign and making it more accessible, we gather findings from 106 existing review articles in this field. Five research questions on terminology, evolution, barriers and success factors, methods and tools, and synergies, guide the clustering of the resulting 608 statements extracted from the reference. The quantitative analysis reveals that the number of review articles has been increasing over time. Furthermore, most statements originate from Europe, are published in journals, and address barriers and success factors. For the qualitative analysis, the findings are grouped according to the research question they address. We find that several names for similar concepts exist, with ecodesign being the most popular one. It has evolved from “end-of-pipe” pollution prevention to a more systemic concept, and addresses the complete life cycle. Barriers and success factors extend beyond the product development team to management, customers, policymakers, and educators. The number of ecodesign methods and tools available to address them is large, and more reviewing, testing, validation, and categorization of the existing ones is necessary. Synergies between ecodesign and other research disciplines exist in theory, but require implementation and testing in practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Malte Schäfer & Manuel Löwer, 2020. "Ecodesign—A Review of Reviews," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-33, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2020:i:1:p:315-:d:473102
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/1/315/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/1/315/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    2. Rosa Maria Dangelico, 2016. "Green Product Innovation: Where we are and Where we are Going," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(8), pages 560-576, December.
    3. Lisa Melander, 2017. "Achieving Sustainable Development by Collaborating in Green Product Innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(8), pages 1095-1109, December.
    4. Marcel C. Hollander & Conny A. Bakker & Erik Jan Hultink, 2017. "Product Design in a Circular Economy: Development of a Typology of Key Concepts and Terms," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(3), pages 517-525, June.
    5. Vito Albino & Azzurra Balice & Rosa Maria Dangelico, 2009. "Environmental strategies and green product development: an overview on sustainability‐driven companies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(2), pages 83-96, February.
    6. Eva Heiskanen & Mikko Jalas, 2003. "Can services lead to radical eco‐efficiency improvements? – a review of the debate and evidence," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(4), pages 186-198, December.
    7. K Soylu & J C Dumville, 2011. "Design for environment: The greening of product and supply chain," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 13(1), pages 29-43, March.
    8. Flavio Tonelli & Steve Evans & Paolo Taticchi, 2013. "Industrial sustainability: challenges, perspectives, actions," International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 7(2), pages 143-163.
    9. Michael Lenox & John Ehrenfeld, 1997. "Organizing for effective environmental design," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(4), pages 187-196, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose & De Camargo Fiorini, Paula & Wong, Christina W.Y. & Jugend, Daniel & Lopes De Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz & Roman Pais Seles, Bruno Michel & Paula Pinheiro, Marco Anto, 2020. "First-mover firms in the transition towards the sharing economy in metallic natural resource-intensive industries: Implications for the circular economy and emerging industry 4.0 technologies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    2. Lisa Melander, 2018. "Customer and Supplier Collaboration in Green Product Innovation: External and Internal Capabilities," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(6), pages 677-693, September.
    3. Amit Kumar Bhardwaj & Arunesh Garg & Shri Ram & Yuvraj Gajpal & Chengsi Zheng, 2020. "Research Trends in Green Product for Environment: A Bibliometric Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-21, November.
    4. Rick Edgeman & Jacob Eskildsen, 2014. "Modeling and Assessing Sustainable Enterprise Excellence," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(3), pages 173-187, March.
    5. Rosa Maria Dangelico, 2017. "What Drives Green Product Development and How do Different Antecedents Affect Market Performance? A Survey of Italian Companies with Eco‐Labels," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(8), pages 1144-1161, December.
    6. Pierre‐Xavier Meschi & Anne Norheim‐Hansen, 2020. "Partner‐diversity effects on alliance termination in the early stage of green alliance formation: Empirical evidence from carbon‐emission reduction projects in Latin America," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 250-261, January.
    7. Carolina Villamil & Sophie Hallstedt, 2021. "Sustainabilty integration in product portfolio for sustainable development: Findings from the industry," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 388-403, January.
    8. Rosa Maria Dangelico & Luca Fraccascia & Alberto Nastasi, 2020. "National culture's influence on environmental performance of countries: A study of direct and indirect effects," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(6), pages 1773-1786, November.
    9. Graça Miranda Silva & Paulo J. Gomes & Joseph Sarkis, 2019. "The role of innovation in the implementation of green supply chain management practices," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 819-832, July.
    10. Enrique Acebo & José‐Ángel Miguel‐Dávila & Mariano Nieto, 2021. "External stakeholder engagement: Complementary and substitutive effects on firms' eco‐innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(5), pages 2671-2687, July.
    11. Usama Awan & Shazia Nauman & Robert Sroufe, 2021. "Exploring the effect of buyer engagement on green product innovation: Empirical evidence from manufacturers," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 463-477, January.
    12. Filippo Corsini & Francesco Rizzi & Natalia Marzia Gusmerotti & Marco Frey, 2015. "Extended Producer Responsibility and the Evolution of Sustainable Specializations: Evidences From the e‐Waste Sector," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(6), pages 466-476, September.
    13. Peter S. Hofman & Constantin Blome & Martin C. Schleper & Nachiappan Subramanian, 2020. "Supply chain collaboration and eco‐innovations: An institutional perspective from China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2734-2754, September.
    14. Andersén, Jim, 2021. "A relational natural-resource-based view on product innovation: The influence of green product innovation and green suppliers on differentiation advantage in small manufacturing firms," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    15. Yu‐Xiang Yen, 2018. "Buyer–supplier collaboration in green practices: The driving effects from stakeholders," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1666-1678, December.
    16. Norheim-Hansen, Anne, 2023. "Green supplier development: What’s in it for you, the buyer?," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 101-107.
    17. Yunhui Zhao & Taiwen Feng & Hongbo Shi, 2018. "External involvement and green product innovation: The moderating role of environmental uncertainty," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1167-1180, December.
    18. Lingli Qing & Dongphil Chun & Abd Alwahed Dagestani & Peng Li, 2022. "Does Proactive Green Technology Innovation Improve Financial Performance? Evidence from Listed Companies with Semiconductor Concepts Stock in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-20, April.
    19. Mingfeng Tang & Grace Walsh & Daniel Lerner & Markus A. Fitza & Qiaohua Li, 2018. "Green Innovation, Managerial Concern and Firm Performance: An Empirical Study," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 39-51, January.
    20. Usama Awan & Marlen Gabriele Arnold & Ismail Gölgeci, 2021. "Enhancing green product and process innovation: Towards an integrative framework of knowledge acquisition and environmental investment," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 1283-1295, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2020:i:1:p:315-:d:473102. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.