A Systematic Review of Factors Considered for Sustainable Product Design

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the factors that have been considered for sustainable product design (SPD) . To achieve this, a systematic literature review was carried out to identify design factors published in peer-reviewed articles that are relevant to SPD and/or product sustainability assessment. As a result, a total of 272 design factors (i.e. 63 economic design factors, 120 environmental design factors and 89 social design factors) were identified considering triple bottom line approach. The majority of the design factors were used (mentioned) only once in the reviewed literature, implying inconsistency in their application (more specifically, the type of product affects the use of design factors). While, a few design factors were found to be frequently used (frequently mentioned) in the reviewed literature. These factors have been considered for SPD related to quality and reliability, assembly, costs, financial gain, resources, waste and emissions, post-use (end-of-life management), functionality and usability, and the well-being of employees, customers and community. The paper have considerable academic, managerial and policy implications and will provide a theoretical foundation for future research on SPD and product sustainability assessment.