Creative Commons

This dissertation was written as part of the MSc in Strategic Product Design at the International Hellenic University and the selected field of review was selected due to the increasing debate about sustainability. Elevators industry is a supplier for the buildings construction sector, which is becoming more and more concerned about environmental issues with the course of time. Taller buildings, increasing population in urban metropolitan areas and crowded public places make the design of a sustainable, eco-friendly lift and at the same time capable to service buildings with high traffic to seem as a great challenge and a great opportunity for the related companies to innovate and acquire competitive advantage with. That is also the main purpose of the current dissertation, to review some related issues, some practices already being followed by lifts organizations, which have brought considerable improvements and also present some thoughts and ideas that would further favor a sustainability approach in lifts industry. At this moment I would like to thank Professor Dimitrios Karalekas who apart from supervising me and coaching me throughout this effort, he was the one who gave me the idea to work on this interesting topic. Moreover, I would like to thank my wife, my family and my friends who supported me during the challenge of conducting this dissertation. Last but not least, I feel very grateful for company Kleemann S.A., which provided me with much useful information and specially Dr. Ioanna Sfampa the Innovation Researcher of the company, Mr. Dimitris Kominis – R&D Cabins Team Leader and Mr. Theodoros Kokovidis – Cabins Engineering Department, for giving me necessary guidance.