I am still relativelly new to sustainability which is why I would like to discuss some effective ways of intergrating sustainability into the design process. Because the descisions we make in regards to form, function, material and process selection could have a significant effect on the environment.
I have used some LCA tools like greenfly and others and found it to still be a long process of sifting through lots of information which brought up more questions rather than helping me make my descision. To me, LCA tools are used during the refinement stage of the process. One has to have a very clear direction of the products specifics. Other than LCA tools often I find myself refering to books and eco design websites as sources of inspiration.The Eco design handbook is an exellent source of sustainable design ideas because it provides benchmarks of actual products.
I was wondering how designers have intergrated sustainability into their design process?
Do we do it throughout all stages of the design process? Conceptual? Refinement? Production?