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Conceptual Understanding: The starting point for many green products is to improve an existing product by redesigning aspects of it to address environmental objectives. The iterative development of these products can be incremental or radical depending on how effectively new technologies can address the environmental objectives. When newer technologies are developed, the product can re-enter the development phase for further improvement.
Green design integrates environmental considerations into the design of a product without compromising its integrity.
The starting point for many green products is to improve an existing product by redesigning aspects of it to address environmental objectives. The iterative development of these products can be incremental or radical depending on how effectively new technologies can address the environmental objectives.
When newer technologies are developed, the product can re-enter the development phase for further improvement to ensure a sustainable future for all.
Favourable tax concessions may be offered to those industries that integrate pollution controls into the process, reducing waste as opposed to only having end-of-pipe technologies that only deal with pollutants at the end of a process.
The environmental impact of the production, use and disposal of a product can be modified by the designer through careful consideration at the design stage. Design objectives for green products relate to three broad environmental categories: materials, energy and pollution/waste.
Materials
Ensuring that the packaging and instructions encourage efficient and environmentally friendly use (this can fall under pollution category as well) materials
Minimising the number of different materials used in a product
Labelling of materials so they can be identified for recycling
Increasing efficiency in the use of materials and resources
Energy
Increasing efficiency in the use of energy
Pollution and waste
Ensuring that the planned life of the product is most appropriate in environmental terms and that the product functions efficiently for its full life
Reducing to a minimum any long-term harm caused by use of the product
Reducing or negating environmental damage or pollution from the materials selected
Reducing or negating noise or smell pollution
Consider the effects of the disposal of the end of life of the product
Incremental strategies for green design:
These are strategies which often involve a focus on one or two environmental objectives when designing or redesigning products. Often easier to meet green legislation rather than through radical changes.
Often a small changes to the design of the product
This may include changes to:
Use recycled or recyclable materials
Use less materials
Use less parts and processes
Easier way to separate materials so it can be easy to recycle at disposal stage
Radical strategies for green design:
These strategies are when there is a complete redesign of the whole product and may include:
Complete overhaul of the selection of materials, joining method, finishing and manufacturing process
Will take longer as need to negotiate with manufacturing and materials specialists to make the product still have the correct design integrity, function and performance.
Design objectives for green products: How design objectives for green products address three broad environmental categories— materials, energy and pollution/waste
Design for Dematerialisation: Reducing the overall size, weight and number of materials is a simple way of reducing the overall environmental impact of a product. In summary, a reduction of materials, energy and waste.
New coke cans are 220 grams ounce as compared to the older ones which were 340 grams each, that's 30% lighter
Design with Low Impact Materials: Some materials have larger impacts on the environment than others, but there are many misconceptions about what is bad and what is good in terms of material impacts.
Materials that are biodegradable do not guarantee an environmental benefit; they are good in certain circumstances, but remember that they can have big embodied environmental impact as they are often made with mixed plastics- so not always truly biodegradable.
Biodegradable BB-pellets, Reduce environmental damage when used outdoors
IKEA - biodegradable cardboard packaging, no plastics involved
Rida likes Ikea but not Aksel's long hair.
The Macbook air uses arsenic-free display glass, mercury-free LED-backlit display , brominated flame retardant–free, PVC-free and the aluminium can be recycled
Design for Disassembly: (DFD) is the process of designing products so that they can be easily, cost-effectively and rapidly taken apart at the end of the product's life so that components can be reused and/or recycled.
Robot has too many types of materials that are difficult to disassemble and separate
Second generation of TV casing uses less materials and a single manufacturing process which enables it to be separated for disassembly quicker and safer.
The timescale to implement any green design solutions are dependent on the approach. An incremental approach is encouraged where small changes are made at a time will take longer than a radical approach.
Radical Green Design Innovation
Truong Thanh Furniture Corporation is a leading Vietnamese company in wood product manufacturing.
This product was subject to the following improvements:
40% of this product is now made from leftover wood from other production processes
Use of wood in the product has been reduced
All wood used has Forest Stewardship Council Certificate
The BBQ functions have been increased and accessories added to increase the usability and therefore the value of the product
The size of detailed parts was reduced
The new bar is foldable for easy transport and storage.
Incremental Green Design Innovation
Kamworks is a solar company in Cambodia
Cambodia receives on average five solar hours a day, so Kamworks saw the country’s solar capacity as an opportunity for local production of solar lighting products that fit the purchasing power of rural households.
Many people in Cambodia use kerosene fuel lamps as a mobile light for purposes in - and outside the house. The light is not very bright, the lamp cannot be used in windy or rainy conditions, and fuel costs are high.
For the Kamworks lighting project, the goal was to provide a sustainable lighting solution for low-income rural households, the vast majority of which do not have access to the public electricity grid.
Drivers for green design
These include consumer pressure and legislation, among others.
Environmental legislation has encouraged the design of greener products that tackle specific environmental issues, for example, eliminating the use of certain materials or energy efficiency.
Green legislation: Laws and regulations that are based on conservation and sustainability principles, followed by designers and manufacturers when creating green products. Unfortunately, many companies value short term profit and value for shareholders over the impact of their activities on the environment. Some companies lobby governments so that they can be exempt from legislation, or to try and persuade them to ‘water down’ legislation.
Sometimes consumer pressure can be just as effective as legislation. Through social media, the bad behaviour of companies can be exposed quickly, reach a wider audience and consumers can decide as a large group to boycott a company. Social media has allowed the influence of consumers to grow exponentially. This can hurt a company's profits greatly, persuading them to clean up their act.
The public have become aware of environmental issues through media focus and other consumer pressure on issues such as the destructive effect of chlorofluorocarbons on the ozone layer; acid rain in Northern European forests and the nuclear accident at Chernobyl.
Increased public awareness has put pressure on corporations and governments.
CFCs were the ideal refrigerants during their time. They were nonflammable, non corrosive, nontoxic, and odourless. Used consumer products during the 70s and 80s, such as refrigerators, cleansing products, and propellants. CFC’s were found to be destructive to the Ozone layer.
Discuss:
Give some real-life examples of how consumer Pressure has aided the development of Green Design Products
Why does legislation often encourage incremental, rather than radical approaches to green design.
Explain how green products provide social and economic benefits while protecting public health, welfare and the environment throughout their life cycle—from the extraction of raw materials to final disposal.
What are examples of legislation which encouraged the design of products that tackle specific environmental issues.
The prevention and precautionary principle
The prevention principle: The avoidance or minimisation of producing waste in relation to the production, use and disposal of a product.
Aims to prevent, stop or reduce waste based on scientific certainty.
COSHH is the law that requires employers to control substances that are hazardous to health.
Knowledge based
Actual risk of causing harm can be assessed
Occurrence of damage is probable if no measure is taken
Regulation emission framework defines substantial criteria (eg. emissions thresholds)
Definition of acceptable risk is primarily science based
The precautionary principle: The anticipation of potential problems in relation to the environmental impact of the production, use and disposal of a product.
Aims to warn consumer about any possible hazards based on a predicted issue
Principle adopted by the UN Conference on the Environment and Development (1992) that in order to protect the environment, a precautionary approach should be widely applied, meaning that where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage to the environment, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.
Uncertainty
Risk cannot be calculated and is only a suspected risk of causing harm
Occurrence of damage is uncertain and cannot be predicted clearly
Regulation through procedural requirements
Social acceptance of the risk is considered
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