Green design can refer to a broad range of design
strategies, philosophies, and goals. At its most basic, green design simply means a design that is intended to consider the sustainability of the planet as central to its goal. Of course, environmental impact must be weighed in balance with consumer preference, cost, quality, and ease of manufacture, but whereas historically sustainability was not a critical piece of the equation, it is increasingly becoming so. 

One of the most important components of green design is a tool known as a lifecycle assessment or LCA. The Lifecycle Assessment is a way to evaluate a product or service by understanding all phases of its lifecycle, from its design to its raw materials, from its manufacturing to its shipping, from its usage to its disposal. By taking an LCA approach, businesses can more fully understand the effect of their decisions, both on the environment and on the bottom line. For example, if a chemical company has to pay millions in regulatory compliance fees for its toxic materials, it may be able to actually reduce overall costs by using a more expensive but less toxic chemical for its products. Only by looking at the full lifecycle of the product can the higher cost of an environmentally beneficial raw material be defended.

Using the LCA framework, there are a number of different green design models that are used. Many of them, including Design for the Environment and Cradle-to-Cradle Design, use Design for Disassembly in their process. Design for Disassembly, or DfD, refers to product design that considers the product's ultimate disposal, so that all components can be easily removed and either reused or recycled with minimum waste. Industries as diverse as automotive, electronics, and construction all look to DfD to help them reduce waste, and therefore reduce costs. As the regulatory environment increases, both abroad and in the US, smart companies will use some of these green design models to help differentiate their products and improve their bottom line.