In recent years, it has been widely recognised that design
has the potential to play a valuable role in the development
of environmentally superior products and in response
to this a wide range of ecodesign tools have been
developed. Despite this, ecodesign literature indicates
that designers do not have the right mechanisms to support
the integration of ecodesign into early product development
[1]. Research has suggested that many tools
fail because they do not focus on design, but are aimed at
strategic management or retrospective analysis [2]. A
recent study has highlighted that many of the tools currently
available and much of the information they provide
is inappropriate to the needs of designers in terms of the
content they provide, the language they use, their presentation
style and their style of access [3].
This paper presents the findings from a collaborative
research project, building on the results of a doctoral
thesis that began to identify the requirements that designers
have of ecodesign tools. The follow on project uses
these findings to develop a more appropriate tool for
supporting practical ecodesign activities. The research
illustrates the importance of using an holistic approach in
the development of tools, identifying that a combination
of guidance, education and information, along with well
considered content, an appropriate presentation style and
an appropriate means of access are all critical to the success
of tools of this nature