DT Topic 2

Circular economy

Circular economy

An economy model in which resources remain in use for as long a possible from which maximum value is extracted while in use and the products and materials are recovered and regenerated at the end of the product life cycle

Clean technology

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

Cradle to cradle

Circular economy. A design philosophy that aims to eliminate waste from the production, use, and disposal of a product

Cradle to grave

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

Dematerialisation

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

Eco-design

A design strategy that focuses on three 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 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 and regulations that are based on conservation and sustainability principles followed by designers and manufacturers when creating green products

Incremental solutions

Products which are improved and developed over time leading to new versions and generations

Individual energy generation

The ability of an individual to use devices to create small amounts of energy to run low energy products (solar panels and wind turbines)

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 five stages of its life; preproduction, production, distribution, utilization and disposal

Linear economy

An economy based on the make, use, dispose model

National and international grid systems

An electrical supply distribution network that can be national or international. International grids allow electricity generated in one country to be used in another

Non-renewable resources

Finite. A natural resource that cannot be remade or regrown as it does not naturally re-form at a rate that makes its use sustainable. For example coal petroleum and natural gas

Quanitification 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 and tyres

Recovery of raw materials

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

Recycle

Recycling refers to using the material from obsolete products to create other products

Re-engineer

To redesign components or products to improve their characteristics or performance

Renewability

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

Renewable resources

A natural resource that can be replenished with the passage of time

Repair

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

Reserves

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

Resources

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

Re-use

Reuse of a product in the same contest or in a different context

System level solutions

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