O Ecodesign como ferramenta de análise de produtos a base de alumínio à luz do Ecopilot: um estudo de caso em uma empresa metalúrgica de alumínio e esquadria em Ingá – PB.

Abstract

Given the environmental problems caused by the consumption of resources and waste generated by organizations, new laws and policies for environmental preservation are created, with increasing demands for the use of more sustainable practices and management tools in their different ways of working. That is not different in the construction industry, it being a heterogeneous industry that covers various areas, especially infrastructure, it has a high importance in the economic and social development, as it is an industry supported by a variety of segments, accounting for much of the waste generation in the country. In this sense, this paper seeks to analyze the products of a metallurgical aluminum company in the light of the Ecopilot tool. As a theoretical basis the study utilized Ecodesign by presenting itself as a proactive environmental management approach, which corresponds to the pondering of environmental issues in the process of product development, targeting the mitigation of environmental impacts throughout the product’s life cycle. There are, within the Ecodesign field, several tools that aim to improve the performance of products under an environmental notion, such as Ecopilot, a software that assists the manager in the development or improvement of the product in order to upgrade their environmental performance and identify which stage of a product's life cycle is more environmentally damaging, suggesting strategies that should be adopted primarily and which should follow. Information was obtained through questionnaires developed by the tool used and asked to the manager, making it possible to obtain the necessary information in order to analyze its products, leading to the conclusion that the stage of the life cycle of those products with the highest environmental impact is the choice of materials; specifically, the use of aluminum, for which the software suggests improvements in the company's products’ environmental performance.