EcoSketch: promoting sustainable design through iterative environmental assessment during early-stage product development

Abstract

Sustainability has long been a topic of substantial interest the design and human-centered computing communities. With industries increasingly prioritizing climate targets, there is a growing demand for sustainable product design. This paper addresses this need through EcoSketch, a digital tool designed to democratize environmental impact assessments for product designers. Shifting typically retrospective evaluations to the early stages of product development, EcoSketch enables proactive consideration and adoption of sustainable alternatives. Unlike software tailored to environmental scientists, it minimizes the need for specialized training or extensive data inputs. We delve into the development and evaluation of EcoSketch, highlighting its unique features and usability strengths. The paper concludes by discussing design implications and proposing future research avenues to strengthen the intersection of human-computer interaction and sustainable product design, advancing progress on environmental challenges at the systems level.