ADVANCES IN COMPOSITE MATERIALS - ECODESIGN AND ANALYSIS

Ecodesign of composite materials and structures

1.1 Position of ecodesign approach within sustainable development concept

According to most scientific results related to the protection of biodiversity, global warming and climate change may have severe effects on human health and the environment. To improve the well-being and living conditions of present and future generations, it is important that the negative impacts generated from human and industrial activities should be seriously considered in all design phases of a new development. To this end, the sustainable development concept is a strong key issue aiming to achieve the previously discussed objective, which is obviously based on three main criteria or "pillars"; these are: (i) environmental sustainability, (ii) economic sustainability and (iii) social sustainability. As the concept of sustainable design or simply ecodesign is inseparable from the sustainable development concept, it is therefore an undissociable part of it, where quality assurance, health protection and environmental preservation aspects are considered to be important branches belonging to the previously described main pillars. Figure 1 illustrates the specific ecodesign situation in relation to the sustainable development concept.