3. Example of eco-design

LCA does not provide solutions for designing products or processes with low environmental impact, but it does provide a guide for selecting the steps to be improved. LCA is thus a tool for making choices and thus for directing research to encourage innovation. Indeed, the results of the life cycle of a given initial product ( 12 ) show that the highest impact X is linked to the raw materials production stage. It is therefore at this stage that research must be carried out to identify access routes or raw materials with lower impact, in order to develop a new, eco-designed product. It is in this research process that innovation lies, and it is in this sense that eco-design represents a real innovation tool [18].