This paper reports on the results of a three year UK government research project entitle DEsign for the Environment Decision Support (DEEDS). As part of this project, a survey of the electronicis and electrical industry was carried out in order to understand the way in which industry in the UK, Central Europe, and the USA are carrying out ecodesign. The survey also investigated the successes and failures that compnies have experienced and the lessons learned along the way. Part 1 of this two-part paper focuses on the early stages of the product development process. It shows how products can change fundamentally if the environemtn is considered pre-specification. In this second paper, we are concerned with the implementation of environmental considerations post-specification.