Design for the Environment
![Each piece of the pie chart depicts the role that the individual processes play in the overall design and production of a product. In recent years the environment has begun to play an important role in this diagram. If any piece is missing, production may not be able to occur. This figure was adopted from Conrad Luttropp and Jessica Lagerstedt.[3]](/uploads/202501/08/Updated_Fig.1_Pie5738.png)
![Resource consumption and mitigation strategies for product production which minimizes environmental and health impacts.This figure has been adapted from Spangenberg et al.:[5]](/uploads/202501/08/Designforenvironment_fig15738.png)
Design for the Environment (DfE) is a design approach to reduce the overall human health and environmental impact of a product, process or service, where impacts are considered across its life cycle. Different software tools have been developed to assist designers in finding optimized products or processes/services. DfE is also the original name of a United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program, created in 1992, that works to prevent pollution, and the risk pollution presents to humans and the environment. This program provides information regarding safer chemical formulations for cleaning and other products. This program was renamed EPA Safer Choice in 2015.