IB Design Technology - Topic 2

Circular Economy

Economy model in which resources remain in use as long as possible, from which maximum value is extracted while in use, and the products/materials are recovered/regenerated at the end of the product’s life cycle

Clean Technology

Products, services, or processes that reduce waste and require the minimum amount of non-renewable resources

Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

A system that simultaneously generates heat and electricity from either the combustion of fuel, or a solar heat collector

Converging Technologies

The synergistic merging of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information and communication technologies, and cognitive science.

Cradle to Cradle

A design philosophy that aims to eliminate waste from the production, use, and disposal of a product. Centers on products which are made to be made again

Cradle to Grave

A design philosophy that considers the environmental effects of a product all the way from manufacture to disposal

Dematerialization

The reduction of total material and energy throughout any product/service

Design for the Environment Software

Software that allows designers to perform Life cycle analysis (LCA) on a product and assess its environmental impact

Eco-Design

A design strategy that focuses on 3 broad environmental categories - materials, energy, and pollution/waste

Embodied Energy

The total energy required to produce a product

End of Pipe Technologies

Technology that is used to reduce pollutants and waste at the end of a process

Energy Distribution

The method with which energy is transported from a source to where it is used

Energy Storage

The method with which energy is stored for later use

Energy Utilization

The method with which energy is used

Green Design

Designing in a way that takes account of the environmental impact of the product throughout its life

Green Legislation

Laws/regulations that are based on conservation/sustainability principles, and that are followed by designers/manufacturers when creating green products

Incremental Solutions

Products are improved/developed over time leading to new versions/generations

Individual Energy Generation

The ability of an individual to use devices to create small amounts of energy to run low-energy products

Legislation

Laws considered collectively to address a certain topic

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)

The assessment of the effect a product has on the environment through 5 stages of life: pre-production; production; distribution; utilization; and disposal.

Linear Economy

An economy based on the make, use, dispose model

Local Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

CHP plants that generate heat/power for a local community. The plant is close enough to the community so that the heat generated can be dispersed through the community efficiently

National/International Grid Systems

An electrical supply distribution network that can span across a country or several countries

Non-Renewable Resources

Natural resource that cannot be re-made/re-grown as it does not naturally re-form at a rate that makes its use sustainable

Product Cycle

Cycle that every product goes through from introduction to withdrawal/discontinuation

Product Recovery Strategies

Processes of separating the component parts of a product to recover the parts/materials

Quantification of Carbon Emissions

Defining numerically the carbon emissions generated by a particular product

Radical Solutions

Where a completely new product is devised by going back to the roots of a problem and thinking about a solution in a different way

Recondition

Rebuilding a product so that it is in an “as new” condition, and is generally used in the context of car engines/tires

Recovery of Raw Materials

Strategies for the separation of components of a product in order to recover raw materials

Recycle

Using the materials from obsolete products to create other products

Re-Engineer

To redesign components/products to improve their characteristics/performance

Renewability

The level at which a resource is renewable/the rate that a resource can be replenished

Renewable Resources

Natural resource that can replenished with the passage of time, or does not abate at all

Repair

The reconstruction/renewal of any part of an existing structure/device

Reserves

Natural resources that have been identified in terms of quantity/quality

Resources

The stock/supply of materials that are available in a given context

Re-use

Using a product again in the same context or in a different context

System Level Solutions

Solutions implemented to deal with the whole system, rather than just components

The Precautionary Principle

The anticipation of potential problems in relation to the environmental impact of the production, use, and disposal of a productT

The Prevention Principle

The avoidance/minimization of producing waste in relation to the production, use, and disposal of a product

Waste Mitigation Strategies

Strategies used to reduce the waste produced by a product/in the production/disposal of a product