Qualitative and quantitative tool development to support environmentally responsible decisions

Abstract

The Centre for Design at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia has developed various quantitative and qualitative tools to supportdecision-making by industry and government partners in product design and policy development. The aim, in general, is to support developmentof attractive, functional, marketable products while enhancing their environmental performance. Depending on the product, the project scope andthe client, the tools that are used can be anything from a half-day char-rette, environmental checklist, to a one-year life cycle assessment (LCA).In this paper we describe our approach and the various tools that have been developed by the research team at the Centre over recent yearswith the use of case studies. The paper argues that it is important for tool development to be based on solid research and information, but the keyto influencing product design decisions is the translation of this information into a usable format for the users.