Abstract
Product eco-innovation based on ecodesign principles is based on the idea of including the environmental aspects of a product
over its entire life-cycle, thus providing the opportunity for manufacturing companies to intervene earlier during product
development processes. The aim of this study was to gather information and evaluate the situation regarding ecodesign within the
ISO 14001 certified medium and large manufacturing companies in the Republic of Slovenia by means of a questionnaire. The
goal was to identify the most important environmental criteria taken into account during product development and to reveal
whether ecodesign measures as a result of adopting ISO 14001 certification being promoted or not. The results revealed that
companies channeled most of their product-development attention towards waste and energy reduction during manufacturing
processes, reduction of material consumption per unit of product, reducing air and water emissions, as well as the replacement of
toxic and hazardous substances. The importance of different ecodesign criteria 'reduction of material consumption per unit of
product' was reported as the most important criterion for Slovene ISO 14001 certified manufacturing companies. Most of the
analyzed firms considered the ISO 14001 standard to be a very useful tool, or at least a useful tool, for helping them to accelerate
and establish product ecodesign activities.