This document provides a summary of a guest lecture on ecodesign given to the Green Industry Summer Course. The lecture discusses the need for more sustainable design given environmental problems like pollution, waste, and resource scarcity. It highlights how design decisions have significant impacts and that ecodesign must consider environmental and social issues across a product's entire lifecycle. The lecture argues that both individual behavior and systemic changes are needed across industries, education, policies and design to transition to more sustainable practices. Examples of collaborative ecodesign work in Europe are presented to illustrate approaches. The overall message is that ecodesign thinking can help address pressing environmental and social challenges if adopted more widely.
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Unido ceu slides ecodesign centre-foc_3_july2013
1.
2. guest lecture / workshop on
ecodesign at the Green Industry
Summer Course organised by
Central European University, in
partnership with UNIDO
July
2013
4. to
believe
in
something,
and
not
to
live
it,
is
dishonest.
Mahatma
Gandhi
5. “… The times of thoughtless design,
which can only flourish in times of
thoughtless production for thoughtless
consumption, are over.
We cannot afford any more
thoughtlessness.”
source:
Dieter
Rams
6. “… The times of thoughtless design,
which can only flourish in times of
thoughtless production for thoughtless
consumption, are over.
We cannot afford any more
thoughtlessness.”
source:
Dieter
Rams
9. image source: ads-ngo.com
source:
Edwin
Datschefski
&
United
NaFons
University
…
and
now
98%
of
products
are
thrown
away
within
6
months.
10. we
conFnue
to
over
consume.
11. …
If
everyone
in
the
world
were
to
consume
natural
resources
and
generate
carbon
dioxide
(CO2)
at
the
rate
we
do
in
the
UK,
we‘d
need
three
planets
to
support
us.
source:
WWF
UK,
DEFRA
three
planet
living
factor
‘X’?
12. Image
source:
Banksy
we
see
even
more
of
a
disconnect
between
people
…..
and
between
planet
and
people.
..
and
true
costs
conFnue
not
to
be
accounted
for.
25. can design be good?
if it does not consider the key
environmental and social impacts
along the life cycle?
26. can design be good?
if it does not consider the key
environmental and social impacts
along the life cycle?
27. we
conFnue
to
experience
a
collecFve
unconscious
behaviour
…..
with
catastrophic
unintended
consequences.
good design is a
behaviour.
28. we
con6nue
to
experience
a
collec6ve
unconscious
behaviour
…..
with
catastrophic
unintended
consequences.
good design is a
behaviour.
29. every design choice has
a consequence
image
source:
Chris
Jordan
80% of impacts
are determined
at design stage
30. There are professions more harmful than
industrial design, but only a very few of
them. And possibly only one profession is
phonier. Advertising design, in persuading
people to buy things they don‘t need, with
money they don’t have, in order to impress
others who don‘t care, is probably the
phoniest field in existence today.
Victor Papanek,
Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social
Change, Thames and Hudson, 1984
33. population growth
source: engine group and UNFPA
source: engine group and UK statistics
ageing population
a move to cities
non-inclusive
resource scarcity
knowledge loss
emerging economies
natural disasters
change
41. between
100
and
1000
species
become
ex6nct
each
year,
because
their
habitats
are
changing
or
being
destroyed.
source: UK Government
responsibility
degradaFon
43. over
1
billion
people
do
not
have
access
to
clean
drinking
water
source: UNDP
responsibility
access
to
water
44. 80%
of
all
disease
in
developing
countries
is
caused
by
consump6on
of
contaminated
water
source: WHO
responsibility
access
to
water
45. 3800children die each day
from diseases associated
with lack of access to safe
drinking water, inadequate
sanitation and poor hygiene
water access
source: UN / flickr
responsibility
access
to
water
48. what would the design brief for the
industrial revolution look like?
design a system of production that:
1. puts billions of pounds of toxic material into the air, water and soil
2. measures prosperity by activity, not legacy
3. requires thousands of complex regulations to keep people and
natural systems from being poisoned too quickly
4. produces materials so dangerous that they will require constant
vigilance from future generations
5. results in gigantic amounts of waste
6. puts valuable materials in holes all over the planet, where they can
never be retrieved
7. erodes the diversity of biological species and cultural practices
source: William McDonough and Michael Braungart in Penny Allen (ed) (2001) Metaphors for Change: partnership, tools and civic
action for sustainability, Sheffield: Greenleaf: 68 – from a presentation by Dr. Emma Dewberry to the Ecodesign Centre & partners in
2008
50. ‘commandments
of
industrialised
society’
1) create
more
desire
(perceived
needs)
2) thou
shalt
consume
(=
good
life)
culture
of
consumpFon
-‐
devaluing
of
culture
source:
Henry
1949
cited
in
Jones
1987
56. images:
Apple
products,
Harman,
miscell.
sites
1988
1993
2013
2009
2006 !
reflecFons
on
my
journey
57. our mission is to make ecodesign happen
through collaboration along the life cycle
58. eco-strategies:
ecodesign is an approach to designing
products and services that aims to reduce
environmental impacts over the full life cycle.
eco-innovation is an approach to innovation
that leads to a reduction in environmental
impacts through targeted technological,
organisational or institutional mechanisms.
source:
EU
Eco-‐innova6on
Ac6on
Plan
website:
hPp://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoap/index_en.htm
59. ecodesign
thinking
considers
the
materials,
processes
&
pracFces
of
a
organisaFon.
It
can
idenFfy
layers
of
waste
but
also
layers
of
value
60. effecFve
ecodesign
thinking
is
open,
process-‐oriented,
mulFdisciplinary
and
cross-‐funcFonal,
involving
people
as
well
as
stuff
61. it’s
a
way
of
thinking
and
doing
to
saFsfy
real
societal
needs
in
a
responsible
way
62. recent Ecodesign Centre
briefings & outputs
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
• Critical Materials (CRM)
• survey of European Design Centres
• Eco-innovation
• baseline study on resource hungry products
Visit: http://www.edcw.org/en/resources
78. "Sonicare Elite 7000
produced at 11 locations and in five time zones, comprised of 38 components,
parts supplied by Japan, France, China and Malaysia, materials and production
in Austria, Sweden, assembly in Philippines and United States, when fully
assembled and packaged in Seattle the components have travelled a full
27,880 kilometres, two thirds of the Earth's circumference.
source: SPIEGEL Magazine
85. design for…. full life cycles
life cycles, nutrient cycles, material selection, cradle to cradle
image source: mc donagh / braungart
86. design for…. fair &
just production
health and safety, employees
rights, unions, forced labour, child
labour, discrimination,
source: martin charter / CFSD
87.
…...individuals
act
primarily
on
issues
that
impact
their
personal
well-‐being,
their
family,
and
their
immediate
community.
Unless
those
needs
are
tended
to,
most
individuals
won't
commit
to
causes
that
promise
to
benefit
the
world
at
large.
Catherine
Greener
source: WHO / BBC
88. invesFgate
the
internal
and
external
drivers
for
packaging,
product
or
service
(re)
design.
these
drivers
could
include
legislaFon,
customers,
new
technology,
compeFFon.
assess
the
environmental
impacts
of
the
packaging
and
product.
map
the
life
cycle
so
you
understand
where
these
impacts
occur.
idenFfy
where
materials
and
energy
is
used
and
where
waste
is
produced.
select
ecodesign
strategies
that
will
allow
designers
to
tackle
the
main
environmental
impacts.
explore
the
compromises
and
trade-‐offs.
involve
others
from
markeFng,
sales,
producFon,
purchasing.
develop
a
clear
brand
and
markeFng
strategy
to
reflect
and
communicate
the
environmental
improvements.
consider
how
the
packaging
will
impact
upon
the
brand.
rethink
assess
communicate
design
1.
2.
3.
4.
96. a
marketable
set
of
products
and
services
capable
of
fulfilling
a
user’s
need
(Goedkoop
et
al.)
product
service
systems
97. …
also
known
as
a
funcFon
oriented
business
model
(e.g.
Xerox)
product
service
systems
98. hire
lease
/
service
consumer
goods
cooperaFve
full
ownership
shared
(adapted from Cooper et al.)
individual
no
ownership
responsible
business
models
product
service
systems
112. Cradle to Cradle
“remake the way we
make things” thinking about the materials we use, how
our products are designed and assembled, and their cycles
of use with our customers.
No matter how good your products are, there comes a time
when their first useful life comes to an end. In considering
product life cycles Cradle to Cradle asks us to re-think the
commonplace approach of “take, make & waste” and this
prompted us to act.
During the early stages of the design of Ara we established a
relationship with one of Cradle to Cradle’s authors, renowned
industrial chemist Micheal Braungart. Throughout the
development we have been working with EPEA, Micheal’s C2C
organisation based in Hamburg.
We’ve always very carefully considered the materials that we use
in our products but our aim in working with EPEA is to ensure
that what we’re using is truly safe, for humans and the
environment alike, and successful in technical cycles of reuse.
This means looking in much more detail at every chemical
ingredient in the materials we use; to determine which inhibit
this aim and need to be substituted or remove as a result.
Cradle to Cradle is an approach to design which looks to make
us truly environmentally effective, by developing products for
closed loop systems in which all the materials used are safe and
beneficial - either to biodegrade naturally or to be fully recycled
into high quality materials for subsequent product generations,
again and again. In order for us to maximise the value of the
materials used in your chair we’d like to get them back once
you’ve finished with them. It’s pretty simple, all you need to do
is visit our website at www.orangebox.com/endoflife.htm
Returning your ARA at ‘End of Life’
Armsupportthat’sthereonlywhenyouneedit.
Ourgoalwastodesignanewarmpadthatwasmorecomforta
thanever,usingmaterialsthatcouldbesegregatedeasilyandrecyc
moreeffectively.ThetraditionalPUisreplacedbyaflexiblepolym
withaseparateinsertmadefromrecycledfoam.Theresultis
armrestthat’srobust,easytouseandprobablythemostcomforta
we’veevermade.
Dosomethingreallysimple;makethechairbase100%
recyclable.
Notthemostcomplicatedpartonataskchair,granted,butweas
ourselvesthequestion-somelookmuchbetterthanothersbut
plasticchairbasesareprettymuchthesame,aren’tthey?Wellin
sensetheyare,andwithveryfewexceptionstheyallhaveam
collarmouldedintotheplastictostopthegasliftcreepingthroug
thebase.Greatfornotdraggingyourchairacrossthecarpetbut
notsogreatwhenyoucometorecycleit,asthecollarcanbever
difficulttoremove.
Smartdesignandcarefulmaterialselectionhasenabledustocre
abasewithoutacollarinsert.Asimplepointbutunlikealmost
otherplasticbasesoursis100%recyclable.Andrestassuredwe
testeditlikemad.
Weknowthatpeoplecomeinallshapesandsizes.That’swhy
smartengineeringinsidethemechanismmeanstheridecanbe
tunedandbalancedtoyourpreciseneeds,usingadjustment
controlsthatareeasytooperateandlabelledclearly.
disassembly
takeback, reuse
cradle to cradle,
collaboration
Ara: ecodesign = good design
@Orangebox_Ltd
113. do: more for less
part reduction (25% less
weight), disassembly,
dematerialisation
& material streamlining@Orangebox_Ltd
114. do: supply chain
a local supply chain has reduced
manufacturing costs, allowed for closer
working relationships with suppliers and has
reduced environmental impacts through
energy reduction at the transport stage (a
direct saving on average of 20% on the cost of
components = £280,000 saving)
@Orangebox_Ltd
115. do: responsible design
estimated that £750,000 will be saved annually
on the do range alone as a direct result of the
ecodesign led approach employed as part of
core business strategy.
@Orangebox_Ltd
117. product
design
the ‘environment’:
• true cost
• consumption
• business model
• infrastructure
• education
• procurement
• people
• LCA, etc. image source:
http://www.cpnd.org/
118. good
design
consideraFons
considera6on
of
full
life
cycle
/
system
/
true
cost
no
shi[
between
stages
of
life
cycle
/
LCA
design
for
transformaFve
use
cycles
design
for
new
models
of
business
&
un-‐ownership
1
120. good
business
consideraFons
adaptable
supply
circles
instead
of
chains
transparency,
honesty
&
openness
(traceability)
true
collabora6on
through
empathy
&
extending
trust
framework
to
build
capacity
&
competencies
3
121. innovaFon
through
mindset
changes
–
think
…
‘resource’
instead
of
‘waste’
‘need’,
‘use’
instead
of
‘consume’
how
to
transform
‘stuff’
&
not
destroy
wider
life
cycle
/
‘circular
economy’
team
4
123. generic first steps
decide not to stay where you are
find something you love, believe in, are
passionate about
take responsibility, lead
don’t be afraid to fail
learn from your mistakes
understand your own role
ensure you are contributing, relevant
124. generic first steps
clearly define your values
set a clear vision, mission
seek to understand, empathise, trust
focus on building capacity
‘walk the talk’
keep it simple, do it now
132. support reading - personal viewpoint
Can design be good?
http://www.thepeoplesdesignlab.org.uk/can-design-
be-good/
Why we cannot accept bad design
http://www.edcw.org/en/why-we-cannot-accept-bad-
design
Being design
http://hiatusbookblog.wordpress.com/2013/02/22/
frank-oconnor-eng/
137. choose
a
product
to
ecodesign?
explain
your
choice
(of
product)
and
approach
(i.e.
key
strategies).
!
138. choose
an
item
of
clothing
and
map
out
its
story
/
life
cycle?
how
would
you
re-‐ecodesign?
explain
your
decision
making.
!
139. what
is
the
one
thing
you
would
do
to
make
ecodesign
happen?
!
140. what
is
the
one
thing
you
would
do
to
make
responsible
business
happen?
!
141. consider
the
role
of:
§ government?
§ industry?
§ educaFon?
in
an
world
where
responsible
design
&
business
is
the
norm.
!
142. choose a product
sketch circle(s) of use
include key stages
identify key actors
select a life cycle strategy
consider role of:
government, business, education and design
!