Environmental accounting in product design

A new method of environmental accounting is applied to the process of Design for Environment (DfE). Focusing on a design process of specific products, environmental cost is determined from all over design cost. At the same time, the effect of DfE is described as the improvement of environmental performance in the subject model compared with a reference model. In this study taking three different products, TV, Computer display and VCR, environmental cost and effect were estimated. The effect of DfE means reduction of environmental impact caused by the product, but here by defining conversion co-efficient the effect is translated into monetary unit as well. This study shows that the economic principles such as break-even-point and Return on Investment (ROI) can be applied in the world of environmental accounting. As a result, more practical, thus efficient DfE cost management can be expected