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A comprehensive decision support model for the evaluation of eco-designs

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Journal of the Operational Research Society

Abstract

Due to regulatory pressures from government and non-government bodies and public awareness of the need to protect the environment, incorporating sustainability concerns in product design has become a key strategic consideration in new product development. However, selecting an appropriate sustainable design solution is a challenging task. In addition to the fact that such a decision involves conflicting objectives, there is also the issue that environmental impact considerations can occur at all stages of a product’s life cycle. Modelling and assessing new product development and operations management from a life cycle assessment (LCA) perspective is becoming increasingly popular and highly important. However, on its own it is somewhat limited. This paper presents a dynamic approach that integrates LCA, fuzzy logic and analytical network process (ANP) to support the selection of environmental sustainable product designs. A numerical example is provided as an operational guideline on how to apply it to LCA of eco-designs. The results show that the proposed fuzzy ANP approach is a viable methodology and can be used as an effective tool for the evaluation of environmental sustainable product designs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

    X Wang & L White

  2. University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

    H K Chan

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  1. X Wang
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Wang, X., Chan, H. & White, L. A comprehensive decision support model for the evaluation of eco-designs. J Oper Res Soc 65, 917–934 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1057/jors.2013.23

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