sustainable development - DT

Water energy

Running water turns turbines/ generates hydro-eletric power, clean 80-90% efficient. Though high set up cost/sites generally remote from markets/contributes small proportion of totak energy needs of an industrial society

Solar energy

Hot water/electricity generated via solar cells

Huge amounts of energy available

Could generate 50% of hot water for a typical house

Biggest demands in winter

Geothermal

Deep holes in earth’s crust produce steam to fenerate electricyt

Only cost effective where earth’s crust is thin e.g New Zealand and Iceland

Biomass energy

Burning of wood/ plant matter that generates heat, forests are renewable but only as long as they are replanted

Low cost, more greenhouse gas released

Key concepts of sustainable development

• Important to share wealth and make sure everyone is considered

• Meet essential needs for jobs/energy/water/sanitation

• Sustainable world for increasing population

• Take into account the environment and economics/natural and industrial world

Stat about UK and renewable energy

Renewable energy provided over 50% of the UK’s energy

Wind provided 30% of this energy

Companies must do these things to be sustainable

• Try to reuse same materials e.g injection or mould casting

• Recycle waste in different manufacturing processes

• Design for easy maintenance or repair

• Design the product so that the whole or parts of it can be reused/recycled

• Use efficient manufacturing processes to save energy and prevent waste

• Reduce amount of material used in product

Sourcing cotton - issues environmentally

Sourcing raw cotton:

• Water scarcity and depletion - cotton is a very ‘thirsty crop, with estimates that suggest it takes from 10,000 to 20,000 litres of water to produce only 1 kilo of cotton

  • High demand leads to depletion of water reserves

• Pesticide and insecticide use - uses lots of these harmful products to grow = contaminate water and soil sources and harm biodiversity

• Soil degradation

• Greenhouse gas emissions from fertilisers and energy needed for irrigation

Processing it into workable form:

• Bleaching, dyeing and finishing requires vast quantities of water

• Chemical contamination - dyes and heavy metals and finishing agents used in textile processing can be toxic

• Energy consumption and carbon emission are energy intensive

Importance of sustainable development to companies’ reputation

• Offering eco designed products and packaging saves materials and reduces shipping costs

• Paying attention to employees and improving their quality of life at work = develop their skills = strengthens their engagement which creates better overall involvement and therefore makes their products available to growing markets

• Monitoring conditions from suppliers and contractors minimises things that could damage a companies’ image

• Companies are committed to making a difference, ones that seize this opportunity to create value see that this is sustainable

Sustainable design - made up of what 3 things

Sustainability comes in the crossroads of economic goals, social responsibility and environmental protection

sustainable partnerships - UK

Partnership between Met Office and NESO is important to understand weather patterns and build a better energy system for the future UK