Design for Environment

In the era of mass production, when all activities tend to be planned in detail, design becomes a powerful instrument by which mankind forges the world we live in. The reach of this instrument clearly also extends to the management of environmental problems.

Having examined the main concepts of Industrial Ecology, it is possible to consider the interpretation of these concepts in the context of the design of industrial processes and products. Design, essentially consisting of molding material and energy flows for the purposes of satisfying the needs of humankind, ultimately becomes a process of transformation when the needs generating it are contextualized in the patterns and flows of natural systems, assimilating the organizing principles of the ecosphere.

The analysis of the main factors influencing the environmental efficiency of industrial systems, allows the identification of the contexts most appropriate for a design intervention directed at environmental protection. In particular, it underlines the importance of product and process design on the efficiency of working, re-collecting, recycling materials, and preventing pollution. Due to its great potential, therefore, design becomes one of the most influential factors in the development of sustainable production systems and products.

I.    DEFINTION

       Design for Environment (DfE) is a method to minimize or eliminate environmental impacts of a product over its life cycle that maintains or improves product quality and cost while reducing environmental impacts focuses on the production and distribution of its products to a closed-loop life cycle. Initial guidelines for a DfE approach were written in 1990 by East Meets West, a New York-based non-governmental organization. It became a global movement targeting design initiatives and incorporating environmental motives to improve product design in order to minimize health and environmental impacts by incorporating it from design stage all the way to the manufacturing process so it helps designers make better informed choices and to better appreciate the impact of their decision on the product environmental performance

II.    MAIN CONCEPTS

1.      Design for environmental processing and manufacturing

This ensures that raw material extraction (mining, drilling, etc.), processing (processing reusable materials, metal melting, etc.) and manufacturing are done using materials and processes which are not dangerous to the environment or the employees working on said processes. This includes the minimization of waste and hazardous by-products, air pollution, energy expenditure and other factors.

2.      Design for environmental packaging

This ensures that the materials used in packaging are environmentally friendly, which can be achieved through the reuse of shipping products, elimination of unnecessary paper and packaging products, efficient use of materials and space, use of recycled and/or recyclable materials

3.      Design for disposal or reuse

The end-of-life of a product is very important, because some products emit dangerous chemicals into the air, ground and water after they are disposed of in a landfill. Planning for the reuse or refurbishing of a product will change the types of materials that would be used, how they could later be disassembled and reused, and the environmental impacts such materials have.

4.      Design for energy efficiency

The design of products to reduce overall energy consumption throughout the product's life

III.    SUCCESS PARAMETER

1.      Supportive Environmental Strategy and Objectives

Companies must have a clear environmental strategy, with defined objectives and priorities to embed environmental considerations in the product creation process. Environmental improvement objectives for the product should be based on relevant internal and external requirements and expectations as recommended by environmental management systems standards.

2.      Raise Awareness

Raising awareness amongst employees of a company’s environmental impacts and objectives and actions to control and reduce them is a key part of an environmental management system. Opportunities should be taken as part of the awareness raising programme to introduce the life cycle thinking concept, the product life cycle impacts, how to reduce these impacts and who can contribute.

3.      Appropriate Tools

In order to reduce the environmental impact of a designed product, designers must have suitable information made available for a reasonable expenditure of its time. A characteristic crucial to the effective implementation of these tools is its usability by designers. Tools constitute acrucial means of communication between environmental experts and designers and ensure that the relevant ecological information and data concerning the product is transferred and well interpreted during development. When developing products, designers have to consider the consequences of their decisions in a number of fields ranging from economy, reliability and ease of change to the environmental impact

IV.  IMPLEMENTATION

The implementation of Environmental Management System should provide the basic framework needed for a successful introduction of Design for Environment. Environmental policy and objectives should be the guarantee of commitment from senior management. The training programme should ensure a good level of environmental awareness across the key functions and personnel. All critical procedures should be in place to allow the identification of impacts, the maintenance of the environmental management programmes, and support adequate audit and reviewing processes as appropriate. However, the implementation of DfE requires major focus on the design process and how it can contribute to the reduction of a product environmental impact. Whether the subject of environmental improvement is a product, a process or each single flow of resources, DFE is implemented in design practice through three successive phases:

1.    Scoping, consists of defining the target of the intervention (product, process, resource flow), identifying possible alternatives, and determining the depth of analysis

2.  Data Gathering, consists of acquiring and evaluating the more significant environmental data

3.  Data Translation, consists of transforming the results from the preliminary analysis data into tools (from simple guidelines and design procedures to more sophisticated software systems assisting the design team to apply environmental data in the design process)

However, it should be noted here that these tools are based on a wide-ranging series of suggestions and guidelines for the designer which can be summarized as follows:

·      Reducing the use of materials, using recycled and recyclable materials, reducing toxic or polluting materials

·      Maximizing the number of replaceable or recyclable components

·      Reducing emissions and waste in production processes

·      Increasing energy efficiency in phases of production and use

·      Increasing reliability and maintainability of the system

·      Facilitating the exploitation of materials and recovery of resources by planning the disassembly of components

·      Extending the product’s useful life

·      Planning strategies for the recovery of resources at end-of-life, facilitating reuse, remanufacturing and recycling, and reducing waste

·      Controlling and limiting the economic costs incurred by design interventions aimed at improving the environmental performance of the product

·      Respecting current legal constraints and evaluating future regulations in preparation

Applying these guidelines in relation to the main phases of the product’s life cycle, as a general rule it is possible to obtain useful information and to explore the whole set of environmental opportunities for an eco-efficient intervention in the product design and development process.