Product Use Product ycling Manufacture Disposa Resources Supplie Activity Waste Energy Materials Emissions: Solid, Liquid, Air FIGURE 111.3 Design for environment: systems-based, life cycle approach 111.6 Tools and Strategies for Environmental desig The key to reducing the environmental impact of electronic products will be the application of dFE tools and methodologies. Development of CAD/CAM tools based on environmental impact metrics, materials selection data, cost, and product data management are examples of available or clearly foreseeable tools to assist firms in adopting dFE practices. These tools will need to be based on life cycle assessment, the objective process used to evaluate the nvironmental impacts associated with a product and identify opportunities for improvement. Life cycle assessment seeks to minimize the environmental impact of the manufacture, use, and eventual disposal of products without compromising essential product functions. Figure 111.3 shows the life stages that would be considered for electronic products(i. e, the life cycle considered has been bounded by product design activities) The ability of the electronics industry to operate in a more environmentally and economically efficient mode, use less chemicals and materials, and reduce energy consumption will require support tools that can be used to evaluate both product and process designs. To date, many firms are making immediate gains by incorporating basic tools like DFE checklists, design standards and internal databases on chemicals and materials, while other firms are developing sophisticated software tools that give products environmental scores based on the product's compliance with a set of predetermined environmental attributes. These software tools rely heavily on envi ronmental metrics(typically internal to the firm)to assess the environmental impact and then assign a score ted impact. Other types of tools that will be necessary to implement DFE will include tools to characterize environmental risk, define and build flexible processes to reduce waste, and support dematerialization of processes and products. The following sections provide a brief review of design tools or strategies that can be employed Design tools Environmental design tools vary widely in the evaluation procedures offered in terms of the type of data used, method of analysis, and the results provided to the electronic designer. The tool strategies range in scope from assessment of the entire product life cycle to the evaluation of a single aspect of its fabrication, use, or disposal. Today's dFE tools can be generally characterized as either life cycle analysis, recyclability analysis, manufacturing e 2000 by CRC Press LLC© 2000 by CRC Press LLC 111.6 Tools and Strategies for Environmental Design The key to reducing the environmental impact of electronic products will be the application of DFE tools and methodologies. Development of CAD/CAM tools based on environmental impact metrics, materials selection data, cost, and product data management are examples of available or clearly foreseeable tools to assist firms in adopting DFE practices. These tools will need to be based on life cycle assessment, the objective process used to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with a product and identify opportunities for improvement. Life cycle assessment seeks to minimize the environmental impact of the manufacture, use, and eventual disposal of products without compromising essential product functions. Figure 111.3 shows the life stages that would be considered for electronic products (i.e., the life cycle considered has been bounded by product design activities). The ability of the electronics industry to operate in a more environmentally and economically efficient mode, use less chemicals and materials, and reduce energy consumption will require support tools that can be used to evaluate both product and process designs. To date, many firms are making immediate gains by incorporating basic tools like DFE checklists, design standards and internal databases on chemicals and materials, while other firms are developing sophisticated software tools that give products environmental scores based on the product’s compliance with a set of predetermined environmental attributes. These software tools rely heavily on envi￾ronmental metrics (typically internal to the firm) to assess the environmental impact and then assign a score to the associated impact. Other types of tools that will be necessary to implement DFE will include tools to characterize environmental risk, define and build flexible processes to reduce waste, and support dematerialization of processes and products. The following sections provide a brief review of design tools or strategies that can be employed Design Tools Environmental design tools vary widely in the evaluation procedures offered in terms of the type of data used, method of analysis, and the results provided to the electronic designer. The tool strategies range in scope from assessment of the entire product life cycle to the evaluation of a single aspect of its fabrication, use, or disposal. Today’s DFE tools can be generally characterized as either life cycle analysis,recyclability analysis, manufacturing analysis, or process flow analysis tools. FIGURE 111.3 Design for environment: systems-based, life cycle approach