2.8 Responsible design

environmental issues

designers have responsibility to think about the environmental impact of a product when designing

Three strands of sustainable development

economic, social, and environmental

sustainable development

the consideration of the three strands when designing and manufacturing a product and how they effect decisions made

carbon footprint

the total amount of CO2 emissions released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of an individual, community, or an organisation

primary carbon footprint

Measures direct emissions of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels, including transport and domestic energy consumption

secondary carbon footprint

measures indirect CO2 from the products we use

six Rs of sustainablity

the starting point of environmental decisions within the design of a product

reduce

cut down the amount of material or energy used to make and package a product

reuse

at the end of life, reuse the product for the same or another purpose

recycle

covert if waste products into new materials for new products

repair

when a product or component fails, fix it rather then throwing it away

refuse

exercise consumer choice as to whether to buy a product or not

rethink

rethink the way a product is designed and manufactured so that they carry out the same function but more efficiently

environmental impact of packaging

packaging is needed to store and protect products when designing the impacts need to be considered and changes should be made where plausible

conservation of energy

energy is needed within manufacture and the running of a product, finite and non finite resource need to be conserved and used respectively

conservation of resources

some resources such as crude oil are finite and need to be conserved, this needs to be looked at when designing a product

renewable energy sources

sources of energy able to be replaced through ongoing natural processes

advantages of reewable energy

sustainable, generally require less maintenance, little or no waste, social, and economic benefits

disadvantages of renewable energy

difficult to generate large quantities, often relies on weather as the source, cannot be stored in large quantities, more expensive than traditional methods currently

conservation of materials

products should be designed with as minimum waste material as possible, with waste ideally being reused or recycled

conservation of components

certain parts of electronics can be taken and reused at the end of life since these components can contain precious metals

product miles

The total lifetime distance that a product is transported from its place of production to the place of use by the consumer

circular economy

Aims to keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of their life

circular economy nutrients

biological and technical, can be continuously reused at the same quality

biological nutrients

organic, non toxic materials that can be simply composted and safely re enter eco systems without harming the natural environment

technical nutrients

man made materials including polymers and alloys , designed to be used repeatedly at the same initial high quality

principles of circular economy

- preserve and enhance natural capital

- optimise resource yields

- foster system effectiveness

preserve and enhance natural capital

the control of finite resources and the uses of processes and technologies that use renewable or more efficient resources

optimise resource yields

designing for refurbishment, effective disassembly, remanufacture, reuse and recycling. Aims to keep the highest quality and value in all resources

foster system effectiveness

considering, assessing and rethinking design to reduce negative impacts on factors that could directly affect the population

importance of circluar economy

creates new opportunities for growth and more sustainable design