A review of ecodesign and environmental assessment tools and their appropriateness for electrical and electronic equipment

The electrical and electronic equipment sector is a steadily growing one and thus also environmental considerations about it become more and more an issue. There is a large number of tools that can be used for ecodesign and environmental assessment, but not each tool is equally suitable for all products. Although electrical and electronic equipment are often mentioned together, they show major differences and thus tools will be used differently. The choice of an adequate tool depends on many aspects and thus no single rule on how to choose a tool can be given. However, this paper gives an overview of different well-known tools. Case studies from literature and new ones illustrate the process of choosing tools and furthermore show their use on particular products. The applicability of tools for electrical and electronic equipment is then thoroughly discussed.