In the current climate, pressure from stakeholders is pushing European and global companies more than ever to take responsibility, account for and mitigate the impacts of their products. Climate change, resources and water scarcity are among a number of factors that increasingly drive the need for action within company operations across the entire product life cycle. Now, more than ever before, these issues directly affect product designers as well as Heads of Research, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability. The challenge of balancing performance and cost has become increasingly complex and now is the time to address this challenge before costs, climate change and stakeholder demand deem it too late. There is a plethora of questions which still remain largely unanswered. How do you incorporate environmental impact into existing processes when you are doing a design for the environment? As a product designer, how can you use complex tools such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to identify key impact areas and make decisions for yourself when needed, in a simple, cost effective manner? Further to that, how can you prioritise your decisions to effectively reduce your environmental impact?

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HOW COST EFFECTIVE IS YOUR LIFE CYCLE THINKING AND SUSTAINABIITY IN PRODUCT DESIGN & THE PACKAGING PROCESS?

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