Creating the Data Basis for Environmental Evaluations with the Oil Point Method

In order to support designers in decision-making, some methods have been developed which are based on environmental indicators. These methods, however, can only be used, if indicators for the specific product concept exist and are readily available.Based on this situation, the authors developed a simple, indicator-based method for environmental evaluations, the Oil Point Method, which is described in this paper. Oil Points are derived from energy data and refer to kilograms of oil, therefore the name. In the Oil Point Method, a certain degree of inaccuracy is explicitly accepted like it is the case with rules-of-thumb. The central idea is that missing indicators can be calculated or estimated by the designers themselves.After discussing energy-related environmental evaluation and arguing for its application in evaluation of concepts, the paper focuses on the basic problem of missing data and describes the way in which the problem may be solved by making Oil Point evaluations. Sources of energy data are mentioned. Typical deficits to be aware of - such as the negligence of efficiency factors - are revealed and discussed. Comparative case studies which have shown encouraging results are mentioned as well.