Design for the environment - do we get the focus right?

Sometimes, products resulting from design for environment (DFE) endeavours are sub-optimisations from an environmental perspective, because the tool determines the process and not vice versa. For a more systematic way of getting the focus right, a hierarchy of focusing is introduced: 1. What is the function provided and what is the optimal way of providing it while making a business out of it? Which product should the company then produce? 2. Where are the “environmental hot spots” in the life cycle of this product? 3. Which DFE tool supports optimisation of the product by reducing these hot spots?