Sustainable engineering isn’t just a philosophy—it’s a set of actionable principles that can be integrated into the product design process from the start. By focusing on sustainability, design engineers across industries like automotive, aerospace, electronics, medical devices, consumer goods and industrial automation can create products that reduce environmental impact, meet regulatory requirements and deliver value to manufacturers and customers alike.
Below are the 18 Pillars of Sustainable Product Design, developed to guide engineers through the core considerations that influence environmental, economic, and social performance throughout a product’s lifecycle.
Embodied carbon refers to the total greenhouse gas emissions associated with materials and processes used from raw material extraction through manufacturing and delivery. Unlike operational carbon, which occurs during a product’s use, embodied carbon is “locked in” before the product even reaches the user.
Benefits:
Reducing embodied carbon can significantly improve a product’s sustainability footprint. For manufacturers, it enables lower Scope 3 emissions, aiding compliance with environmental standards. For customers, especially OEMs, low-carbon components support corporate ESG goals and appeal to eco-conscious markets.
Example:
A leading construction equipment manufacturer reduced embodied carbon in a new generation of hydraulic pumps by switching from cast to forged components and sourcing low-carbon steel. This change lowered lifecycle emissions by 30% without affecting performance.
Durability measures how long a product can function before it wears out or fails. It’s a cornerstone of sustainability because longer-lasting products reduce waste, manufacturing demand, and resource consumption.
Benefits:
Manufacturers gain reputation and warranty cost savings through durable designs. Customers benefit from fewer replacements, better reliability, and overall lower ownership costs — crucial in sectors like aerospace or rail where downtime is expensive.
Example:
A heavy-duty connector used in railway signalling was redesigned with corrosion-resistant alloys and improved gasketing, extending service life from 10 to 25 years with minimal maintenance, dramatically reducing replacements.
Functional efficiency is about delivering maximum performance with minimal energy or material input. It’s especially relevant in sectors like electronics, industrial controls, and battery-powered devices.
Benefits:
For manufacturers, efficient designs save on bill-of-materials costs and energy usage. Customers gain from lower energy bills, lighter products, and superior usability. Efficiency is often a differentiator in competitive product categories.
Example:
An industrial robotics company re-engineered its servo motors to consume 20% less energy while maintaining torque, which helped customers in automotive manufacturing reduce factory energy consumption and qualify for green energy rebates.
Minimisation involves reducing the quantity of materials or processes required in the design and manufacture of a product. This could mean fewer components, less material volume, or simplified geometries.
Benefits:
Benefits include lower production costs, faster assembly, and less waste generation. For the customer, it can mean sleeker designs, lighter handling, and better environmental credentials.
Example:
A handheld medical diagnostic device achieved 15% material savings by integrating multiple housings into a single injection-moulded shell, reducing complexity and improving recyclability.
Weight reduction aims to reduce the mass of products without compromising performance, which is critical in transportation, aerospace, and wearables where energy efficiency is directly affected by weight.
Benefits:
Manufacturers benefit from material cost savings and reduced shipping weight. Customers see gains in lower fuel or energy usage, improved portability, and lower emissions in use-phase.
Example:
A drone manufacturer swapped aluminium for carbon-fibre composites in its airframe, cutting total weight by 22 per cent and extending flight time per battery charge by 35 per cent, enabling longer missions with fewer drones.
Integration combines multiple components or functions into a single part or module. This can reduce part count, simplify manufacturing, and enhance overall system performance.
Benefits:
It leads to faster production, lower inventory costs, and fewer failure points for manufacturers. For customers, integration can mean easier maintenance, fewer spare parts, and improved performance.
Example:
A smart lighting system for commercial buildings integrated sensors, wireless controls, and LED drivers into a single ceiling unit, simplifying installation and reducing system energy use by 40%.
Reliability ensures consistent performance over time and under varying conditions. It’s crucial in mission-critical sectors like defense, medical, or industrial automation.
Benefits:
Manufacturers benefit from fewer product returns and stronger brand loyalty. Customers gain predictable performance, safety, and long-term satisfaction.
Example:
A power tool company invested in improved internal sealing and thermal management in its cordless drills, resulting in a 60% reduction in warranty claims and higher satisfaction in construction sector users.
Using recycled content reduces dependency on virgin materials and supports circular supply chains. It can be applied to plastics, metals, textiles, and more.
Benefits:
Manufacturers can cut raw material costs and emissions. Customers benefit from products that align with circular economy values and may earn green certifications.
Example:
A laptop manufacturer now uses 50% recycled aluminium in its chassis. This switch saved 35,000 metric tons of CO₂ annually and allowed the company to certify the product as EPEAT Gold.
Choosing non-toxic, non-hazardous materials protects workers, users, and the environment. It also simplifies disposal and recycling at end of life.
Benefits:
This reduces regulatory risk for manufacturers and contributes to brand safety. Customers benefit from safer use, particularly in consumer electronics, toys, and healthcare devices.
Example:
A toy brand eliminated PVC and phthalates from its entire product range, replacing them with bio-based alternatives that met all international safety standards.
Design for Assembly (DfA) means simplifying the product structure to reduce time, effort, and cost during assembly. It’s achieved through reducing fasteners, using self-aligning parts, and creating modular designs.
Benefits:
Manufacturers save on labour costs, reduce defects, and speed up production cycles. Customers benefit indirectly through lower prices, higher reliability, and often, easier repair or maintenance.
Example:
A modular valve system for HVAC installations was redesigned with snap-fit components instead of screws, cutting assembly time by 40% and enabling customers to perform field repairs more easily.
Sustainable packaging focuses on reducing, reusing, or recycling the materials used to protect a product during transport and sale. It includes using biodegradable, recyclable, or minimal material solutions.
Benefits:
Manufacturers reduce shipping weight and costs and often improve brand image. Customers appreciate easier disposal and products that reflect sustainable values, especially in consumer and retail-facing sectors.
Example:
A global electronics brand replaced polystyrene inserts with moulded pulp packaging across its router range, saving 2 million kg of plastic annually and improving recyclability.
Transport sustainability considers the emissions, efficiency, and logistics strategies involved in moving products and parts. Smart choices in packaging, palletization, and routing can make a big difference.
Benefits:
Manufacturers save on fuel costs and emissions, especially over global supply chains. Customers benefit from quicker deliveries and lower-carbon-footprint products, important in B2B procurement.
Example:
An electronics firm redesigned its PCBs to stack flat-packed instead of individually boxed, allowing a 30 per cent increase in load per container, cutting shipping emissions and freight costs significantly.
Design for Disassembly (DfD) allows a product to be taken apart easily at end of life for repair, recycling, or reuse. It often involves standard fasteners, modular sub-assemblies, and clear part labelling.
Benefits:
This approach improves recyclability, cuts landfill waste, and helps manufacturers meet Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations. Customers benefit from better serviceability and product upgrade potential.
Example:
A commercial coffee machine was redesigned to allow full disassembly using just one type of screwdriver. The change enabled 85% material recovery during recycling and lowered service time.
Maintainability is about designing products to be easy and cost-effective to keep in working order. It includes features like accessible components, clear maintenance instructions, and diagnostic tools.
Benefits:
For manufacturers, this can mean longer service contracts and fewer product returns. Customers enjoy lower total cost of ownership and better uptime, especially in sectors like industrial automation or transportation.
Example:
An automated bottling line included visual maintenance indicators and quick-release panels, reducing unscheduled maintenance time by 60% at a major beverage facility.
Repairability focuses on enabling damaged or faulty components to be replaced or fixed instead of replacing the entire product. It requires spare parts availability, standard components, and repair manuals.
Benefits:
This reduces electronic waste, spare part logistics and manufacturing demand. Customers benefit from longer product life and lower long-term costs, especially in sectors like consumer electronics and agriculture.
Example:
A rugged tablet used in field service industries was redesigned with modular internal components, allowing customers to replace cracked screens or worn-out batteries themselves, reducing downtime.
Upgradeability enables a product to be enhanced over time with improved components or features. This is especially valuable in fast-evolving sectors like computing, electronics, and telecoms.
Benefits:
Manufacturers retain customers longer and build recurring revenue streams. Customers can adapt their products to changing needs or standards without full replacement.
Example:
A modular embedded system used in industrial control panels allows CPU and memory upgrades without changing the mainboard. Customers avoid expensive system overhauls and extend the equipment’s relevance.
Designing for reuse means making products or components that can be redeployed after their initial use in a different context or with minimal refurbishment. This supports circular business models.
Benefits:
Manufacturers can develop new markets for returned or reconditioned items. Customers gain access to lower-cost, high-quality products and reduce environmental impact through extended use.
Example:
A logistics company standardized its pallet containers so they could be reused across different product lines and returned via reverse logistics, reducing single-use packaging waste by 80%.
Recyclability is the ability of a product’s materials to be recovered and reused after the product’s life. This is influenced by material choice, how components are joined, and whether parts are labelled properly.
Benefits:
For manufacturers, high recyclability improves compliance with take-back laws and enhances brand reputation. Customers get peace of mind and easier disposal solutions, especially as recycling infrastructure improves globally.
Example:
A network switch manufacturer moved from mixed-material housings to mono-material enclosures with embossed recycling codes, increasing end-of-life recycling rates and improving circular supply metrics.
Connecting responsible original equipment manufacturers with a sustainable supply chain to reduce the environmental impact of the products they design manufacture and support.
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