Lecture Notes for Eco-design principles lecture

Eco-design principles: lecture notes Helsinki Summer School | 140809 Sustainable design principles | Design Factory| 140809

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • People: social aspects and user needs in design, PROFIT manufacturing, use and recycling PEOPLE SUSTAIN • Planet: considering the well- ABILITY being and continuity of environment • Proﬁt: ﬁnancial sustainability PLANET Sustainable design principles | Design Factory| 140809

By whom? • Decisions made during product development have significant impact on material flows and behavioural patterns • Product development teams (particularly design-led) have a capability to synthesise and solve problems caused by often conflicting demands • Solutions require controlling large, complex problems; cannot be done alone Sustainable design principles | Design Factory| 140809

Five demands for sustainable products Cyclic: and/or Product uses bio-based materials materials suitable for recycling.  Renewable: Manufacturing and use utilize renewable sources of energy.  Safe: Products are safe to use and dispose. Manufacturing and using products/ services does not produce toxic waste or  ecosystem disruption. Efficient: The efficiency of manufacture and use are significantly better than goods of ⅞ equivalent utility. Social: not cause Manufacture, use or disposal do harm to physical, social or  emotional well- being of people affected LÄHDE: http://www.biothinking.com/btintro.htm / The Total Beauty of Sustainable Products Sustainable design principles | Design Factory| 140809

Five eco-design strategies Design for Longevity: Durable, easy to repair, timeless Design for Disposal: Simple, renewable, fashionable Reduce: Optimize materials and energy Re-use: Increase re-use potential Re-cycle: Design for disassembly, remanufac- ture and material reclaiming Sustainable design principles | Design Factory| 140809

From efficient to effective: Cradle-to-Cradle Eco-efficient: Minimizing the damages caused by development Eco-effective: Maximizing the positive effects, including profit Biological Technological cycle cycle Nutrients for Nutrients for biological technological cycle cycle LÄHDE: Cradle to Cradle Sustainable design principles | Design Factory| 140809

Complete (Covers different processes and all phases of life cycle) Qualitative Life Cycle Matrix LCA Assessment Pharos Subjective Objective (“Guesstimates,” not (Repeatable measurements) repeatable) LiDS Ecological wheel Footprint MBDC Total Beauty Incomplete SOURCE: Okala Design Guide 2007 / IDSA (Lacks impact categories, processes or life cycle phases) Sustainable design principles | Design Factory| 140809

Why designers don’t do LCA • Full-blown LCA can take 6 months • Collecting environmental information throughout the product life cycle can be difﬁcult • Interpreting results is an art Sustainable design principles | Design Factory| 140809

Single-ﬁgure LCA rides to rescue E.g. Eco-99 and Okala account for • Health hazards • Ecosystem damages • Resource depletion Including: • Materials usage • Production processes • Energy production • Disposal/recycling …rolling all these into single ﬁgure! Sustainable design principles | Design Factory| 140809

What is light LCA good for? Light LCA methods intended for early design phases • Benchmarking • Concept evaluation • Rapid testing of assumptions • Comparing different products, processes and industries Lightweight methods SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR • Marketing • Greenwashing • Public announcements Sustainable design principles | Design Factory| 140809

Basics of life cycle assessment 1. Define what the LCA is used for: comparing products, components, different product alternatives... 2. Define life cycle: draw a diagram of product’s life cycle 3. Define materials and processes; make assumptions where necessary 4. Gather information: make best estimates if data isn’t available 5. Interpret the results; REMEMBER THE STRESS TEST! Sustainable design principles | Design Factory| 140809

Example case: life cycle of coffee cup Detergents Pigments Logistics Paints Clay Energy Water Manufacture for oven Use & Packaging & Electricity cleaning logistics Broken cup Waste water disposal Sustainable design principles | Design Factory| 140809

System description for coffee cup Purpose: • Hold coffee and prevent burns System includes: • All products and processes needed to keep the cup from becoming mouldy Assumptions: • Product lifetime 4 years • Used once a day • 30 cups in dishwasher Sustainable design principles | Design Factory| 140809

Complex products Divide the product to parts, analyze separately and add up Sustainable design principles | Design Factory| 140809

If you’re stuck: • Check whether missing data signiﬁcantly affects the results • Use known, similar indicators • Calculate from e.g. energy use • Get professional help Sustainable design principles | Design Factory| 140809

Dealing with uncertainties Uncertainties come from • difference between models and real life; assumptions and preferences have an effect • errors in data result to absolute and relative uncertainties Sustainable design principles | Design Factory| 140809

Dealing with uncertainties (part II) Products, materials, manufacturing processes • Similar = relative error, probably to same direction, doesn’t have (much) effect on end results • Dissimilar = results can be very uncertain! Rule of thumb: • Similar processes: 10-50% difference in results is likely to be signiﬁcant • Dissimilar processes: aim for at least 100% difference before making ﬁrm conclusions! Sustainable design principles | Design Factory| 140809

RE-DESIGN EXERCISE! Items: coffee maker and sofa • You’ll compete against the other team • The objective: suggest improvements to ecological and economical efﬁciency • Prepare a 5-minute presentation Some guidelines • Start with LCA analysis • Use Okala impact factors provided • Make rough assumptions if needed • Identify “low-hanging fruit” • You can improve the product, but you can also improve the business model, service or some other factors • Search for additional information where necessary • Don’t waste anything, especially time! Sustainable design principles | Design Factory| 140809

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Lecture Notes for Eco-design principles lecture

by J. M. Korhonen on Aug 13, 2009

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