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Description

Eco-Design in Business: Framing the Approach, Assessing Impacts and Driving Change

Embedding environmental criteria into product design without delaying schedules or commissioning studies that lead nowhere

  • 2 days — 14 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Expert
  • Up to 6 participants

Eco-design initiatives are often triggered by a client request or a market requirement. The team then tries to measure everything, commissions a lengthy study and receives a report that the engineering department cannot translate into decisions. In the meantime, choices of materials and processes continue to be arbitrated on cost and lead time alone.

This short programme is designed for experienced professionals. It covers the framing of an eco-design approach, the logic of life cycle assessment and the functional unit, the identification of environmental hotspots, the design levers available and the integration of these decisions into the development process.

Learning objectives

  • Frame an eco-design approach for a product or a product range
  • Define a relevant functional unit for comparing alternative solutions
  • Identify the environmental hotspots across the life cycle
  • Select the design levers that genuinely shift impacts
  • Embed environmental decisions into the product development process

What makes this programme different

A framing exercise completed in session on a product brought by the participant
A rapid assessment method to apply before committing to a full study
Clear criteria to avoid shifting the impact from one life cycle stage to another

Programme

1Framing the approach

Decide before you measure

  • Defining the scope and the product under review
  • Functional unit and conditions for valid comparison
  • Selecting the environmental indicators that are actually useful
  • Matching the depth of the study to the decision being sought

2Assessing the life cycle

Locating the hotspots

  • Life cycle stages and associated material and energy flows
  • Collecting data from suppliers and from production
  • Reading the results and identifying hotspots
  • Impact transfers from one stage to another
  • Limitations and uncertainties of the assessment

3Designing differently

Turning assessment into decisions

  • Levers relating to materials
  • processes and transport
  • Product durability
  • repairability and ease of disassembly
  • Anticipating end of life and available treatment channels
  • Embedding environmental criteria into development gate reviews
  • Drafting environmental claims with appropriate caution

Who is it for

Engineering managers · product managers · design engineers and sustainability managers involved in the evolution of a product range.

Prerequisites

Be involved in product design or development and be familiar with the manufacturing cycle of those products.

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.