Sustainability workshop slides

1. Whole Systems &
Life-Cycle Thinking
for
Sustainable Design
Sustainability
Workshop
autodesk.com/sustainabilityworkshop

2. Lifecycle Thinking is a way of thinking
about all of the stages involved in a
product’s life: raw materials extraction,
manufacture, transport, use, and disposal.
Lifecycle Assessment is a way of quantifying the
environmental impacts that occur at each stage.
Whole Systems Thinking is a way of thinking
about the related social, environmental, and
technical systems that a product is a part of.
For example, how is the product used, who manufactures it,
what other products are used with it?

6. (1) Define the problem
by looking at
the whole system

10. • What parts and sub-systems make up the
product?
• How do those parts connect?
• When & why does the user use it?
• What other things are always used with
it?
• How are the product, the user, and other
components of the system connected?
• What kinds of environmental impacts
occur where?

12. (2) Prioritize objectives
by assessing
life-cycle impacts

19. (3) Brainstorm solutions
by looking at
the whole system

27. Factor Ten Design Principles
Principle 1. Collaborate across disciplines
Principle 2. Develop multiple design iterations
Principle 3. Define shared and aggressive goals
Principle 4. Adjust incentives
Principle 5. Define the service provided
Principle 6. Establish the theoretical minimum end-use
Principle 7. Identify and communicate all possible benefits
Principle 8. Start with a clean sheet
Principle 9. Use real data
Principle 10. Start downstream
Principle 11. Design for radical simplicity
Principle 12. Tunnel through the cost barrier
Principle 13. Base design on oscillating demand
Principle 14. Functionally integrate components
Principle 15. Include feedback in the design
Principle 16. Address Systemic Causes

28. (4) Use metrics
to evaluate and choose
solutions

34. (5) Repeat