Sustainability Overview...

Sustainability Overview...

o What is meant by the term ‘sustainability’?

Sustainability is the ability of a process to be continued indefinitely without damaging and/or degrading the environment on which it depends. This could refer to an eco-system, in which biological systems remain diverse and productive over time, or a business solution, where the business has to evaluate resources even before the business launch.

o What is meant by ‘design for sustainability’?

By carefully planning every aspect of a potential design, we can insure that it will have a minimum economical impact when considering launching a product. This can be achieved by acknowledging every process and material throughout the design period.

This could include ‘re-design’, where products/services are re-thought to reduce the impact of previous products/services and future products/services.

o What is a carbon footprint?

A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment. This can include consumer products, fuel and services.

Individuals and Corporations can calculate their carbon footprint and try to reduce it in numerous ways, from insulating there buildings better, to reduce heating usage to changing transport choices from cars to bicycles.

o Explain the 3 key pillars of sustainable design/development.

Social – People

The sustainability of people is often over looked but if not observed can cause catastrophic sociological effects. There are of course human rights laws, but they are not always adhered to. They are often overlooked by corporations prioritising on profit, so they abuse human rights, this could include employing underage children, paying below the minimum wage or even not considering the long term effects of entering and leaving a community.

Environmental – Planet

Environmental sustainability is the most obvious concern for any product and/or service. It has to be calculated before any launch. With products the materials should be ecologically resourced, this means choosing a material that can be renewed and a material that does not damage the eco system.

Economical – Profit

Corporate profit is usually the objective with any product or service, but often comes at an ecological or social cost. When planned properly, all three pillars of sustainability can be balanced. When businesses close production in a community, often leaving people without jobs, businesses should consider the effect on communities and offer after care where possible.

If all companies would practise all three pillars of sustainability it would create a competitive economical/ecological and social structure, which would encourage well being for all three parties.

o What is meant by Eco-efficiency?

The phrase ‘eco-efficiency’ basically means the economic efficiency’, this can refer to the economic efficiency of a product, both in the making and product life, an eco-system or any facet of human life.

o Find and explain two good examples of sustainable design.

Examples of sustainable design…

ModCell^®

ModCell^® is one of the first products to make large-scale, carbon-negative building a commercial reality. The ModCell^® system utilises the excellent thermal insulation qualities of straw bale and hemp construction to form prefabricated panels.

Employing this new construction material and technique allows super-insulated, high-performance, low energy ‘passive’ buildings to be built using renewable, locally sourced, carbon sequestering materials.

London 2012 Olympic Legacy

The Olympics is a great opportunity for any country to showcase their sporting facilities and national pride, but often after the tourist have left, the hosting country is left with a social and economical deficit, with sporting venues lay empty and all the employees required to deal with the tourist without a job. The 2012 London Olympics committee has produced the following statement…

‘London is the first Summer Host City to embed sustainability into our planning from the start. We're aiming to set new standards, creating positive, lasting change for the environment and communities’

o What are the issues that a Product Designer will have to consider when designing products in the future? How do you think this can this be achieved?

The designing of a product should take into consideration all factors that effect sustainability, the main ones are listed below…

Research

Research is the key to sustainability in design, every aspect of a product can, and should be planned to fulfil all three pillars of sustainability.

Materials

The designer should chose materials that are from a sustainable source, and make sure that they are sustainably cultivated. The life of the product may be altered as a bi-product of the chosen material, if the life of the product is changed then the price of the product may be varied. The location of the raw materials may raise issues with transport, which should also be addressed.

Manufacturing

The manufacturing of a product, like the material choice, should be ethically considered. If a specific work place is put into practice, the sustainability of the work force should be calculated before going into production.

Some manufacturing techniques are more ecologically proffered, where applicable.

After care

The life of the product can also be predicted before production, once this has been established, the sustainability can be reverse engineered, to calculate the reality [financially & ecologically] viable.

o Why should designers give a damn?

It is in everyone who lives on this planets ambition to achieve sustainability for future generations well being.