I found a useful and well explained article on a Canadian industry website. It helped me to understand what eco-efficiency is. This is what I now know;
Eco-efficiency is increasingly becoming a key requirement for success in business. Its a management strategy for doing more with less and it is achieved by completing three objectives;
1 Increasing product or service value
2 Optimising the use of resources, and
3 Reducing environmental impact.
Each of these gives an opportunity for cost savings, so it makes very good business sense to follow them. Case studies show that companies that have bought Eco-efficient technology and practices have higher productivity and innovation, increses competitiveness and improves environmental performance.
Reaping the Benefits
Eco-efficiency offers a number of practical benefits for your business, including
Reduced costs - through more efficient use of energy and materials;
Reduced risk and liability - by "designing out" the need for toxic substances;
Increased revenue - by developing innovative products and increasing market share;
Enhanced brand image - through marketing and communicating your improvement efforts;
Increased productivity and employee morale - through closer alignment of company
values with the personal values of the employees; and,
Improved environmental performance - by reducing toxic emissions, and increasing the recovery and reuse of "waste" material.
http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic
Friday, 23 April 2010
What is meant by eco-efficiancy?
Three definitions that I think explain the term eco-efficiency best.
Eco-efficiancy
The development of technologies that generate economic growth, but which do so at minimal cost to the environment.
http://www.polity.co.uk/giddens5/students/glossary/default.asp
Eco-efficiency
Put at its simplest eco-efficiency is about making more and better products with less (materials and being more energy efficient) and which last longer.
http://www.sd3-global.com/glossary.html
Eco-efficiency
The delivery of competitively priced goods and services that satisfy human needs and bring quality of life, while progressively reducing environmental impacts and resource intensity throughout the life cycle, to a level at least in line with the earth’s estimated carrying capacity.
http://www.ami.ac.uk/courses/topics/0100_gls/glossary/glosse.htm
Eco-efficiancy
The development of technologies that generate economic growth, but which do so at minimal cost to the environment.
http://www.polity.co.uk/giddens5/students/glossary/default.asp
Eco-efficiency
Put at its simplest eco-efficiency is about making more and better products with less (materials and being more energy efficient) and which last longer.
http://www.sd3-global.com/glossary.html
Eco-efficiency
The delivery of competitively priced goods and services that satisfy human needs and bring quality of life, while progressively reducing environmental impacts and resource intensity throughout the life cycle, to a level at least in line with the earth’s estimated carrying capacity.
http://www.ami.ac.uk/courses/topics/0100_gls/glossary/glosse.htm
3 key pillars of sustainable design/development
The three key pillars of sustainability are:
Social - people
Environmental - planet
Economic - profit
The word 'pillar' suggests separate, static entities when in fact there is a dynamic between all three elements. It might be easier to think of them as three balls in a juggling act - the trick is to keep them working together in a simple, smooth process. At the moment, it has to be said, we often don't juggle too well. But we're making progress.
http://www.design-council.org/About-Design/Business-Essentials/Sustainability/?print=true
Sustainability involves juggling a number of issues in a careful balancing act
Materials - using less material (lightweighting), fewer materials (making it easier to recycle) and if possible avoiding toxic substances and choosing renewable or recycled/recyclable.
Dematerialisation - could include some of the above, lightweighting for example, but also designing things to be multifunctional, or finding a different way to deliver the same benefit through a service or product-service combination, variously referred to as selling performance or results, or 'product service systems' (PSS).
Design for disassembly - making things easy to take apart so they can be repaired, serviced, upgraded, remanufactured, or recycled, such as through modular design, or smart materials which can self-disassemble when needed.
Energy - both in production (which would mean looking at the manufacturing process), and in use and disposal. This includes minimising energy use, moving to the use of renewable energy, and extracting energy from waste in some cases.
Life extension - keeping a product, or its parts or materials, in productive use for their optimal lifespan, so slowing or preventing the linear flow of materials from extraction and processing to disposal.
Transport - minimising it, that is. Sourcing a renewable, impeccably green material which you ship four times round the world may not be as sustainable as something a little less clean from down the road.
Nevertheless, a 'green product' could actually be unsustainable. Let's imagine you make something that uses recyclable and renewable materials, but you use child labour so nobody wants to buy it, and it ends up being dumped anyway, driving you out of business. You would have thrown the environmental ball up in the air for a moment, but you'd have dropped the social and economic balls, with the environmental one following soon after.
http://www.design-council.org/About-Design/Business-Essentials/Sustainability/Its-not-easy-being-green/
Social - people
Environmental - planet
Economic - profit
The word 'pillar' suggests separate, static entities when in fact there is a dynamic between all three elements. It might be easier to think of them as three balls in a juggling act - the trick is to keep them working together in a simple, smooth process. At the moment, it has to be said, we often don't juggle too well. But we're making progress.
http://www.design-council.org/About-Design/Business-Essentials/Sustainability/?print=true
Sustainability involves juggling a number of issues in a careful balancing act
Materials - using less material (lightweighting), fewer materials (making it easier to recycle) and if possible avoiding toxic substances and choosing renewable or recycled/recyclable.
Dematerialisation - could include some of the above, lightweighting for example, but also designing things to be multifunctional, or finding a different way to deliver the same benefit through a service or product-service combination, variously referred to as selling performance or results, or 'product service systems' (PSS).
Design for disassembly - making things easy to take apart so they can be repaired, serviced, upgraded, remanufactured, or recycled, such as through modular design, or smart materials which can self-disassemble when needed.
Energy - both in production (which would mean looking at the manufacturing process), and in use and disposal. This includes minimising energy use, moving to the use of renewable energy, and extracting energy from waste in some cases.
Life extension - keeping a product, or its parts or materials, in productive use for their optimal lifespan, so slowing or preventing the linear flow of materials from extraction and processing to disposal.
Transport - minimising it, that is. Sourcing a renewable, impeccably green material which you ship four times round the world may not be as sustainable as something a little less clean from down the road.
Nevertheless, a 'green product' could actually be unsustainable. Let's imagine you make something that uses recyclable and renewable materials, but you use child labour so nobody wants to buy it, and it ends up being dumped anyway, driving you out of business. You would have thrown the environmental ball up in the air for a moment, but you'd have dropped the social and economic balls, with the environmental one following soon after.
http://www.design-council.org/About-Design/Business-Essentials/Sustainability/Its-not-easy-being-green/
my new findings on what a 'carbon footprint' is
My first interpretation was inaccurate. The carbon footprint is not represented by the littering of the can. This can would be an example of 1 0f many products that we use that contributes to our secondary footprint. Our secondary footprint is a measure of the indirect CO2 emissions from the whole lifecycle of products we use. It is a measure of the CO2 emissions caused in their manufacture and eventual breakdown i.e a car getting crushed uses a high power crusher which consumes a huge amount of energy. This process involves high CO2 emissions on our behalf. The factory that produces the can creates high CO2 emissions, another example of a secondary carbon footprint
Our primary carbon footprint is a measure of directly controlled uses of products and services that cause CO2 emissions. An example of a use of a service that causes CO2 emissions is home electricity. an example of product use that causes CO2 emmisions is the car or private transport.
The carbon footprint is a measurement of all greenhouse gases we individually produce and has units of tonnes (or kg) of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Our primary carbon footprint is a measure of directly controlled uses of products and services that cause CO2 emissions. An example of a use of a service that causes CO2 emissions is home electricity. an example of product use that causes CO2 emmisions is the car or private transport.
The carbon footprint is a measurement of all greenhouse gases we individually produce and has units of tonnes (or kg) of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Thursday, 22 April 2010
my post on 'design for sustainability'
commonly refered to as designing for the environment. Design companies are highly aware that their brand reputation is an important driver for consumers. The companies brand identity should be associated with sustainability. When I researched different design websites, they all stated that one of the most important things about designing a product is understanding how it impacts the environment. So if your wanting to design for sustainability then you must be able to assess which design solution is environmentally preferable.
I saw these guidlines. These helped me to understand what 'designing for sustainability' actually means;
1. Design not products, but life cycles. Do not design green products. Instead you should design environmentally sound product life cycles. Try think about all material inputs and energy use of a product during its whole life cycle. From cradle to grave or even better from cradle to cradle.
2. Natural materials are not always better. of course the production of 1 KG of causes less emissions than the production of 1kg of plastic. But what about the paint to preserve the wood, the energy needed to dry, the sawing losses.
3. Energy consumption is often under estimated. Many designers focus their attention on material selection. This is not always justified.
If a product consumes energy in the use phase, there is a ten to one chance that energy consumption is dominant. People normally under estimate the environmental impacts of energy as you cannot hold electricity or gas in your hands.
4. Increase product life time. You can influence the product life time in several ways. Make it more durable from a technical point of view, or by making it upgradeable( allowing to place the latest chip in a computer or washing machine)
more importantly, try to make the product so that people feel attached to it. Many products are not thrown away because they are broken but because the owners get bored with them.
5. Do not design products but services.
6. Use a minimum of material.
7. Use recycled materials.
8. Make your product recyclable.
9. Ask stupid questions.- Desicions are often based on common practice, you can make huge improvements in environmental performance by simply asking the obvious 'Why?'
10. Become an 02 member. This is an international network for sustainable design where designers gather together, share ideas and over tools.
www.pre.nl/ecodesign
I saw these guidlines. These helped me to understand what 'designing for sustainability' actually means;
1. Design not products, but life cycles. Do not design green products. Instead you should design environmentally sound product life cycles. Try think about all material inputs and energy use of a product during its whole life cycle. From cradle to grave or even better from cradle to cradle.
2. Natural materials are not always better. of course the production of 1 KG of causes less emissions than the production of 1kg of plastic. But what about the paint to preserve the wood, the energy needed to dry, the sawing losses.
3. Energy consumption is often under estimated. Many designers focus their attention on material selection. This is not always justified.
If a product consumes energy in the use phase, there is a ten to one chance that energy consumption is dominant. People normally under estimate the environmental impacts of energy as you cannot hold electricity or gas in your hands.
4. Increase product life time. You can influence the product life time in several ways. Make it more durable from a technical point of view, or by making it upgradeable( allowing to place the latest chip in a computer or washing machine)
more importantly, try to make the product so that people feel attached to it. Many products are not thrown away because they are broken but because the owners get bored with them.
5. Do not design products but services.
6. Use a minimum of material.
7. Use recycled materials.
8. Make your product recyclable.
9. Ask stupid questions.- Desicions are often based on common practice, you can make huge improvements in environmental performance by simply asking the obvious 'Why?'
10. Become an 02 member. This is an international network for sustainable design where designers gather together, share ideas and over tools.
www.pre.nl/ecodesign
Friday, 16 April 2010
What is a Carbon Footprint?
Carbon footprint - an individual's carbon footprint is the direct effect one's actions and lifestyle have on the environment in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. This is usually estimated by using a Carbon Calculator. From our home electricity use, to travel, to our diet, to the clothes we wear, all of our actions involve emission of carbon dioxide and have direct or indirect impact in accelerating climate change.
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/brc/grants/Glossary.doc
The pie chart above shows the main elements whichmake up the total of a typical person's carbon footprint in the developed world.
carbon footprint is made up of the sum of two parts, the primary footprint (shown by the green slices of the pie chart) and the secondary footprint (shown as the yellow slices).
1. The primary footprint is a measure of our direct emissions of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels including domestic energy consumption and transportation (e.g. car and plane). We have direct control of these.
2. The secondary footprint is a measure of the indirect CO2 emissions from the whole lifecycle of products we use - those associated with their manufacture and eventual breakdown. To put it very simply – the more we buy the more emissions will be caused on our behalf.
http://www.carbonfootprint.com/carbonfootprint.html
http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/brc/grants/Glossary.doc
The pie chart above shows the main elements whichmake up the total of a typical person's carbon footprint in the developed world.
carbon footprint is made up of the sum of two parts, the primary footprint (shown by the green slices of the pie chart) and the secondary footprint (shown as the yellow slices).
1. The primary footprint is a measure of our direct emissions of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels including domestic energy consumption and transportation (e.g. car and plane). We have direct control of these.
2. The secondary footprint is a measure of the indirect CO2 emissions from the whole lifecycle of products we use - those associated with their manufacture and eventual breakdown. To put it very simply – the more we buy the more emissions will be caused on our behalf.
http://www.carbonfootprint.com/carbonfootprint.html
Design for sustainability?
What does it have to do with design?
The term sustainable design is often used interchangeably with related terms such as eco-design or design for environment, or green design (used less these days). This is because sustainable design evolved from the attempt to incorporate environmental considerations into design.
Design is utterly crucial to moving towards a more sustainable future - by rethinking how we deliver products and their benefits without decimating the world around us, or compromising the well-being of others (now or in the future); sustainability is a key to enhanced performance and greater competitiveness.
http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/About-Design/Business-Essentials/Sustainability/
So really what is meant by this is, moving design forward so that new designs take the environment into consideration and the effects of that new design on the environment.
The term sustainable design is often used interchangeably with related terms such as eco-design or design for environment, or green design (used less these days). This is because sustainable design evolved from the attempt to incorporate environmental considerations into design.
Design is utterly crucial to moving towards a more sustainable future - by rethinking how we deliver products and their benefits without decimating the world around us, or compromising the well-being of others (now or in the future); sustainability is a key to enhanced performance and greater competitiveness.
http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/About-Design/Business-Essentials/Sustainability/
So really what is meant by this is, moving design forward so that new designs take the environment into consideration and the effects of that new design on the environment.
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