Since the first EcoDesign International Symposium held in 1999, this symposium has led the research and practices of environmentally conscious design of products, services, manufacturing systems, supply chain, consumption, as well as economics and society. EcoDesign 2011 - the 7th International Symposium on Environmentally Conscious Design and Inverse Manufacturing - was successfully held in the Japanese old capital city of Kyoto, on November 30th - December 2nd, 2011. The subtitle of EcoDesign 2011 is to "design for value innovation towards sustainable society." During this event, presenters discussed the way to achieve both drastic environmental consciousness and value innovation in order to realise a sustainable society.

Over 300 abstracts were submitted to EcoDesign 2011 from 30 countries and regions all over the world. It indicates the further increase of the demands and interests in the topics of this symposium. In recent years, it is more and more demanded of academia, industries and governments to act globally and internationally. EcoDesign 2011 provided a distinguished occasion to discuss the topics with people from various backgrounds.