ECO-DESIGN CLASSROOMS PROJECT: LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT AND ECO-DESIGN IN INDUSTRY

Abstract

This paper shows the work made by the Ecodesign Learning Centre of Engineering School at the University of the Basque Country and at Mondragon University. Some engineering students have carried out Life Cycle Assessment, Ecodesign and applied research projects in some Basque Companies. One of those projects consisted in a Life cycle assessment of a hydraulic press. The aim of this project was to point out some improvement measures to be used in future designs of machine tools. That kind of products will soon be affected by the Energy using Products Directive. In another project, an environmental product declaration was made for a radio controlled electronic lock. The last project which is presented in this paper is a research work comparing three life cycle impact assessment methodologies and its application on one case study. In all of the three projects useful results were obtained for the stakeholder companies and for the industrial sector as well, giving help to the development of methodologies and other related projects in the Basque industry. KEYWORDS: ecodesign, life cycle assessment, energy using products, environmental product declaration, life cycle impact assessment methodologies.