542
D. Kattwinkel and B. Bender
the past decades, the role of the product developer has altered “from meeting needs
to stimulating desires” (Cooper, 1999, p. 8). Ecodesign also seems to be promising
approach to encourage the development of sustainable desires and thus to foster a
more sustainable consumption among consumers for example through an increased
product durability (Karlsson and Luttropp 2006, p. 1293). Altogether, a widespread
application of Ecodesign will also assist in reaching the Sustainable Development
Goals adopted by the United Nations, such as ensuring “access to affordable, reliable,
sustainable and modern energy for all” (Goal 7) through an improvement in energy
efficiency, promoting “sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full
and productive employment and decent work for all” (Goal 8) through technological upgrading and innovation and ensuring “sustainable consumption and production patterns” (Goal 12) by encouraging companies to implement more sustainable
practices (United Nations 2015).
Over the past decades, many international and European Ecodesign laws, standards and guidelines have been released, that support a sustainable product design
such as the ISO 14040 for life cycle assessment. In addition, numerous methods and
tools for Ecodesign, such as Design for Energy Efficiency or the CAD Plugin “SolidWorks Sustainability” have been developed, mainly in the academic sector (Abele
et al. 2005). Their benefit, significance and application within companies has however
been very limited so far (Rossi et al. 2016). Reasons for the insufficient integration
of Ecodesign into the product development practice are among other things the lack
of knowhow and non-existent competences in the field of Ecodesign as well as not
enough time to acquire information or to receive further training (Vallet et al. 2009).
A central approach for the integration of Ecodesign into the product development
in companies is the development of competences among employees by means of
training and education (Johansson 2002, S. 105). In order to realize this, it is necessary to include Ecodesign into the education of future employees, as there will hardly
be any additional time for extensive trainings in their daily working routine. Consequently, Ecodesign should be integrated into the curricula of prospective product
developers. This strategy is also emphasized by the universities themselves. A major
survey of all German universities for product and industrial design showed that 79%
of lecturers see the university as the most important driver for implementing sustainable design in the industry (Bader 2013, p. 5). Despite this significance, Ecodesign
has hardly found its way into the curriculum of young engineers and prospective
product developers in Germany. A recently conducted study accentuates this fact. We
analyzed the degree course schemes, curricula and module manuals of 118 German
universities (and universities of applied sciences) with a technical focus regarding
the inclusion of environment-related topics (see Fig. 1) (Kattwinkel et al. 2018). In
conclusion, only eleven universities (of applied sciences) offer courses that explicitly address the topic of Ecodesign in a specially designed course. These include, for
example, the courses “Ergonomics and Ecodesign” (Aalen University) or the “Blue
Engineering Seminar” (Technical University Berlin). A total of 98 universities offer
courses on topics that are only implicitly associated with or verged on the concept of
environmentally compatible product development. These include courses on topics
such as lightweight engineering, environmental protection, renewable energies and
D. Kattwinkel and B. Bender
the past decades, the role of the product developer has altered “from meeting needs
to stimulating desires” (Cooper, 1999, p. 8). Ecodesign also seems to be promising
approach to encourage the development of sustainable desires and thus to foster a
more sustainable consumption among consumers for example through an increased
product durability (Karlsson and Luttropp 2006, p. 1293). Altogether, a widespread
application of Ecodesign will also assist in reaching the Sustainable Development
Goals adopted by the United Nations, such as ensuring “access to affordable, reliable,
sustainable and modern energy for all” (Goal 7) through an improvement in energy
efficiency, promoting “sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full
and productive employment and decent work for all” (Goal 8) through technological upgrading and innovation and ensuring “sustainable consumption and production patterns” (Goal 12) by encouraging companies to implement more sustainable
practices (United Nations 2015).
Over the past decades, many international and European Ecodesign laws, standards and guidelines have been released, that support a sustainable product design
such as the ISO 14040 for life cycle assessment. In addition, numerous methods and
tools for Ecodesign, such as Design for Energy Efficiency or the CAD Plugin “SolidWorks Sustainability” have been developed, mainly in the academic sector (Abele
et al. 2005). Their benefit, significance and application within companies has however
been very limited so far (Rossi et al. 2016). Reasons for the insufficient integration
of Ecodesign into the product development practice are among other things the lack
of knowhow and non-existent competences in the field of Ecodesign as well as not
enough time to acquire information or to receive further training (Vallet et al. 2009).
A central approach for the integration of Ecodesign into the product development
in companies is the development of competences among employees by means of
training and education (Johansson 2002, S. 105). In order to realize this, it is necessary to include Ecodesign into the education of future employees, as there will hardly
be any additional time for extensive trainings in their daily working routine. Consequently, Ecodesign should be integrated into the curricula of prospective product
developers. This strategy is also emphasized by the universities themselves. A major
survey of all German universities for product and industrial design showed that 79%
of lecturers see the university as the most important driver for implementing sustainable design in the industry (Bader 2013, p. 5). Despite this significance, Ecodesign
has hardly found its way into the curriculum of young engineers and prospective
product developers in Germany. A recently conducted study accentuates this fact. We
analyzed the degree course schemes, curricula and module manuals of 118 German
universities (and universities of applied sciences) with a technical focus regarding
the inclusion of environment-related topics (see Fig. 1) (Kattwinkel et al. 2018). In
conclusion, only eleven universities (of applied sciences) offer courses that explicitly address the topic of Ecodesign in a specially designed course. These include, for
example, the courses “Ergonomics and Ecodesign” (Aalen University) or the “Blue
Engineering Seminar” (Technical University Berlin). A total of 98 universities offer
courses on topics that are only implicitly associated with or verged on the concept of
environmentally compatible product development. These include courses on topics
such as lightweight engineering, environmental protection, renewable energies and