Faced with increasing regulatory requirements, customer expectations, and resource pressures, eco-design is no longer optional. It becomes a strategic lever. But how can one move from intent to a structured, measurable approach that truly creates value?

At WeLOOP, we view eco-design as a lever for innovation and differentiation. Our approach is based on a 360° life-cycle perspective, enabling us to identify the real drivers of environmental improvement while strengthening economic performance. It relies on stakeholder engagement and co-creation carried out with all parties involved from the project’s inception.

We support companies at every stage: strategic framing, LCA analysis, team mobilization, development of an operational action plan, and funding acquisition.

A structured, progressive, and actionable eco-design approach. 

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Our approach is based on a logical and educational progression, inspired by best practices in eco-design and LCA methodologies, while being tailored to the realities of businesses.

1. Structure the project and engage the teams 

2. Define the product and its scope 

Once the project is launched, the process continues with a detailed definition of the product and its scope of analysis.

This step involves formalizing what will be assessed: the product description, its functions, usage conditions, and environment. We define the functional unit, a central element of any life cycle analysis, which enables objective comparison of environmental impacts.

3. Identify environmental impacts and hotspots 

Eco-design is based on a factual understanding of environmental impacts. This step aims to identify the product’s hotspots across its entire life cycle.

We conduct an LCA analysis tailored to the project’s maturity level, which can be qualitative, semi-quantitative, or quantitative. This analysis enables identifying the life cycle stages that contribute most to environmental impacts (materials and substances, energy, transport, use, end-of-life) and helps prevent impact shifting.

4. Generate eco-design solutions 

Based on the analysis results, we enter a phase of ideation and creativity, essential to turn findings into concrete solutions, involving all stakeholders.

Through collaborative workshops, we employ various creativity techniques (brainstorming, reverse brainstorming, lotus blossom, eco-design strategy wheel). These methods enable us to go beyond existing solutions, explore new avenues, and structure coherent eco-design strategies aligned with the product’s technical, economic, and regulatory characteristics.

The identified avenues may relate to material selection, reducing production impacts, optimizing usage, extending product lifespan, or end-of-life strategy. 

This broader view of the product system promotes action coherence and enhances the company’s ability to operate beyond its immediate boundaries. 

5. Build a prioritized action plan 

The final step is to turn ideas into a prioritized and actionable plan.

Each action is evaluated against several criteria: expected environmental impact, technical feasibility, costs, timelines, and alignment with the company’s strategy. We support teams in prioritizing actions, identifying responsible parties, defining monitoring indicators, and integrating eco-design into existing processes (R&D, procurement, innovation, marketing). 

This step aims to ensure proper implementation and embed eco-design within a continuous improvement framework. 

Applied eco-design: examples of concrete transformations 

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Since its founding, WeLOOP has assisted companies in their eco-design initiatives; over fifty companies have already been supported across a wide range of sectors. The Lorban, Roll Gom, Mecaware, Le Fourgon, and Kylii Kids cases demonstrate how eco-design translates into concrete, context-specific decisions.

WeLOOP supported them in structuring their approach, identifying priority levers, and translating environmental challenges into actionable measures.  

At Lorban and Roll Gom, the initiative focused on increasing the use of recycled materials while refining formulations, processes, and product durability to reduce overall impact without compromising performance.

With Mecaware, eco-design was applied to an innovative industrial process: optimizing key steps, improving material yields, and reducing critical consumptions to enhance battery circularity.

For Le Fourgon, eco-design addressed the service system: reusable packaging, waste reduction, optimization of return loops, more efficient logistics, and increased turnover rate.

Finally, Kylii Kids demonstrates use-oriented eco-design: selection of durable materials, modularity, reparability, and ease of maintenance to extend equipment lifespan. Together, these projects show that eco-design is primarily a pragmatic innovation approach: designing better (materials, manufacturing, use, end-of-life) to reduce impacts while creating value.

An approach aligned with the NFX30-264 standard 

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The French standard NFX30-264 structures the implementation of an eco-design approach within companies. It provides a methodological framework to integrate eco-design into existing processes, formalize key steps, ensure decision traceability, and embed the approach within a continuous improvement logic.

Our methodology fully aligns with this framework, enabling companies to enhance the credibility of their approach, organize their internal structure, and prepare for potential certification processes. 

Which funding options are available for an eco-design initiative?  

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Are you wondering about the funding available to start an eco-design initiative? Several programs now make it possible to significantly reduce the company’s out-of-pocket costs for implementing eco-design.

Our team includes Diag’Ecoconception experts from BPI France, who can support SMEs and very small enterprises through funded assistance programs, significantly lowering the company’s financial contribution.

ADEME also offers a funding program dedicated to eco-design support studies to assist companies:

Depending on your situation and location, additional funding may also be available, particularly for companies based in the Hauts-de-France region.

We assist our clients in identifying, applying for, and securing these funding opportunities to optimize their projects both technically and financially.