What are the best metrics to track for green design success?

When defining the functional unit and the elementary or intermediate flows, it is important to consider how many products or components are required to fulfil the function over the full lifetime. Considering how the components wear overtime under the different loading conditions could provide a better lighting than just making an LCA with a funcional unit based on the production of one single item. This is relevant when changing materials or taking out mass inf a product, precisely because one material might require more replacements than its counterpart that might seen to be less sustainable. So a good measure is a well how many of the same product will be needed to cover a larger lifespan with the design considerations made.

I would recommend that companies should consider the circular economy principles during the design stage itself rather than measuring success post launch/production. Top metrics to be considered are: - Material Efficiency : total material recycled, refurbished or reused compared to total input material - Waste Management : waste segregation at source and overall reduction in waste generated and sent to landfills - Resource Utilisation : how much input material is taken from the waste of another company/industry and how much waste generated is sent to be used as input material at another company - Product Life : has the product’s life term been enhanced as compared to before implementing green design

In my experience user feedback can be much more positive than you would anticipate. I, similarly to many businesses, always prepare for the worst as the threat of the user stigma of greenwashing is looming around every new green design or product. But for example when we tested the UX of our business sustainability info site I was expecting the criticism of the testers at certain points of the user journey, however, what we got back was 'it was okay' :) So with user feedback, prepare for the worst and you may receive better things than expected.

The most important factor in successfully implementing green design is PARTNERSHIPS. Partnerships are required at every stage of product usage to reduce it footprint and increase it life cycle. For instance, a waste collection partner is essential to ensure all waste generated via the product is collected, segregated, diverted, recycled and reused efficiently. Another example is partnering with companies for sustainable sourcing of input material. Companies need to ensure that a large percentage of input material comes from recycled or reprocessed materials. To ensure a steady supply, partnerships need to be established at various levels of sourcing.