Up to now, environmental policies have relied mainly on rules, regulations, and prohibitions. This kind of environmental policy -- a clearly reactive approach - has shown a mounting array of limitations. There is a clear need to seek new solutions, in particular those involving the initiative of firms themselves. Since the mid-1980's, a new approach called "environmental management" has been established in research and practical applications; it is designed to systematically integrate environmental considerations into company activities. If, for instance, environmental objectives are being formulated for an enterprise, it is imperative to identify, highlight, and analyze real and significant environmental impacts of the firm's activities and to take appropriate measures to improve its performance. Controlling and implementing these environmental objectives requires suitable structures, procedures, and tools. Many motivated companies have approached the issue of environmental management through incorporating methods such "continual improvement processes" and "Life Cycle Assessment" into the various operational activities of the enterprise. Some firms initiated such transformation processes at their own production sites because it was easier to identify their own environmental impacts than to analyze, let alone mitigate, the effects of upstream and downstream processes. However, in many cases these processes are decisive factors in the overall environmental performance of a product. It has become clear that product design can influence these processes to a great extent.

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Preface. 1: It's Not as Simple as that. 1.1. Identifying Interdependencies. 1.2. Make It Better Next Time. 2: Systematically Identifying Weak Points. 2.1. The Search for Good Solutions Begins. 2.2. Combating Causes. 2.3. Planning Influences Costs and Environmental Impact. 2.4. Products Have Different Phases in Their Life Cycles. 2.5. Recognizing and Modeling the Productive Life Cycle. 2.6. Identifying and Modeling Environmental Relations. 2.7. Environmental Impact Causes Environmental Problems. 2.8. Products from the Perspective of Environmental Management. 2.9. Establishing an Appropriate Product Characterization. 3: Targeted Identification of Ecodesign-Measures. 3.1. Systematic Product Improvement. 3.2. The Concept of an Ecodesign Database. 3.3. The Ecodesign Aspects along the Product Life Cycle. 3.4. From Ecodesign Aspects to Ecodesign Guidelines. 3.5. Assigning Ecodesign Guidelines to Objectives and Strategies. 3.6. Assigning Ecodesign Strategies to Product Types. 3.7. Three Steps Toward Ecodesign Product Improvement. 4: Prepare Ecodesign for Product Development. 4.1. Principles of a Methodological Approach to the Product Development Process. 4.2. Fundamental Way of Thinking in Product Development. 4.3. Fundamental Approaches in Product Development. 4.4. Integrating Ecodesign in Product Development. 5: Embedding Ecodesign in Product Development. 5.1. Relations between Ecodesign and Environmental Management. 5.2. Integration of Ecodesign and Environmental Management. 5.3. Will Ecodesign be Implemented? 6: Successful Initiation of Ecodesign Projects. 6.1. Convincing Presentation of Ecodesign Benefits. 6.2. Considering Critical Success Factors in Project Preparation. 6.3. Scheme of a Successful Ecodesign Project. References.