Designing for sustainability: Eco-design innovation driven by the Circular Economy
Mustapha BELFAHLI, Mehdi ELAMINE, Abdelmajid AITTALEB, Mohammed SALLAOU
Abstract. Eco-design is an anticipatory approach aiming to reduce wastes and overconsumption of materials throughout the product lifecycle. It constitutes a practical tool towards achieving sustainable development. However, choosing the appropriate eco-design strategy remains a challenging issue. This paper has the purpose to provide an overview on eco-design strategies in the context of circular economy. It includes a narrative review of 50 articles published between 2015 and 2025 with emphasis on eco-design integration. The analysis identifies four eco-design strategies: design for disassembly, design for recycling, design for modularity and lightweighting. It also highlights three innovation tools that support eco-design, namely: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), TRIZ method and material selection. Based on the reviewed literature, an integrated eco-design innovation framework is proposed to support the operationalization of circular economy principles in product development. The study provides a structured synthesis and practical guidance for designers and manufacturers aiming to improve environmental performance through anticipatory design strategies.
Keywords
Circular Economy, Eco-design, Design Strategy, Innovation, Sustainability
Published online 4/25/2026, 7 pages
Copyright © 2026 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Mustapha BELFAHLI, Mehdi ELAMINE, Abdelmajid AITTALEB, Mohammed SALLAOU, Designing for sustainability: Eco-design innovation driven by the Circular Economy, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 64, pp 1049-1055, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644904091-130
The article was published as article 130 of the book Energy Futures
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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