Method for integrated product development oriented to sustainability

The discussion on the new strategies related to the sustainable product development process has required a new perception of strategies in the design process. In this context, this paper proposes a method for integrated product development process oriented to sustainability. The method presents a logical sequence to promote the interaction between the definitions of product category, and the selection of design for environmental strategies for the product design. The proposed method consists of three steps: (i) definition of product category and phases most impacted by the strategies; (ii) definition of design for environment strategies for the product; and (iii) definition of recommendations for design. Its logical sequence promotes the interaction between the involved areas and its adoption does not depend on the integrated product development process model selected and does not generate any additional costs. Four case studies were developed to evaluate the method and the results showed that it is a comprehensive and practicable method that promotes significant reduction on resources and energy consumption in the product manufacturing processes. The method has great potential to support decision-making in the design process of a sustainable product since it guides the design towards the development of more efficient products and anticipates the visualization of critical points and the improvements that need to be addressed.