8.

Sustainability
8.1 Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is concerned with satisfying human needs for
resources now and in the future without compromising the carrying capacity of
the planet. Designers utilize design approaches that support sustainable
development across a variety of contexts. A holistic and systematic approach is
needed at all stages of design development to satisfy all stakeholders. In order
to develop sustainable products, designers must balance aesthetic, cost, social,
cultural, energy, material, health and usability considerations. Triple bottom
line sustainability does not only focus on the profitability of an organization or
product, but also the environmental and social benefit it can bring.
Organizations that embrace triple bottom line sustainability can make
significant positive effects to the lives of others and the environment by
changing the impact of their business activities.
Triple Bottom Line Sustainability:

Historically there has been a close correlation between economic growth and
environmental degradation—as economic prosperity increases so
environmental quality decreases. This trend is clearly demonstrated on graphs
of human population numbers, economic growth and environmental indicators.
Sustainable development frameworks enable the evaluation of the complex
and interrelated concepts that are associated with development.
There is a correlation between economic development and human well-being.
Design involves problem-solving to develop products and services to enhance
human well-being. The importance of sustainability issues and strategies is
critical to sustainable economic development.
Economic development consumes resources, resulting in environmental
impact. Designing for sustainability is dependent upon an understanding of the
short- and long-term goals and values of individuals, institutions and
governments.
It is about the big picture that allows economic activity to rise while reducing
resource use and reducing environmental impact.
Decoupling:
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Decoupling refers to disconnecting two trends so that one no longer depends
on the other. Through the act of decoupling (using resources more productively
and redesigning production systems), it is technically possible to deliver the
same or equivalent goods and services with lower environmental impact while
maintaining social and equity benefits.
Kyoto Protocol: An international treaty that sets binding obligations on
industrialised countries to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The treaty
was agreed in 1997 and came into force in 2005.
Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (1992): The UN sought to help
Governments rethink economic development and find ways to halt the
destruction of irreplaceable natural resources and pollution of the planet. The
summit has produced results, making eco-efficiency a guiding principle for
business and governments alike.
International and National Laws: Adopting a corporate strategy that has
the support of shareholders/stakeholders can be difficult to achieve.
International and national laws encourage companies to focus on aspects other
than shareholder value and financial performance, which include transparency
of corporate sustainability, transparent sustainability assurance and whether
businesses, public services, national resources and the economy have the
means to continue in the years ahead at a micro and macro level.
Sustainability Reporting
A sustainability report is a company report that focuses on four aspects of
performance.
• Economic
• Environmental
• Social
• Governance
 The reliability and acceptance of sustainability reporting requires
accurate data gathering to be maintained over a lengthy period of time.
Students need to be able to explain the benefits of sustainability
reporting for governments, manufacturers and consumers.
 Benefits for manufacturers: Builds trust Transparency about
environmental impact can help to reduce reputational risks, open up
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dialogue with stakeholders such as customers, communities and
investors, and demonstrate leadership, openness and accountability.
 Helps to attract capital from green investors by identifying new markets
and business opportunities. A growing number of companies see
sustainability reporting as a means to drive greater innovation through
their businesses and products to create a competitive advantage in the
market. Better reputation Improves consumer brand loyalty.
 Meets the expectations of employees, improved morale. Increased
efficiency In a 2012 global survey of sustainability reporters, 88%
indicated that reporting helped make their organizations’ decision-
making processes more efficient.
 Benefits for consumers: Consumers want to know whether a company is
performing in a globally responsible manner from an environmental
perspective (e.g., water use, emissions, waste), and a social perspective
(e.g., labor practices, human rights, corruption, customer health and
safety).

Product Stewardship:

Product Stewardship is an environmental management strategy that means

whoever designs, produces, sells, or uses a product takes full responsibility for
minimizing the product’s environmental impact throughout all stages of the
product’s life cycle, including end of life management (disposal). Designers
may need to respond to consumer pressure as more consumers become aware
of resource issues and product labelling. Product stewardship requires all
stakeholders involved in making, buying, selling or handling equipment to take
responsibility for minimizing environmental, health and safety impact at all
stages of the life cycle. E.g. Bodyshop & LUSH and also these examples below:
o organic foods
o genetically modified food
o green cotton
o forest stewardship
o bioplastics.
Manufacturers: In most cases, manufacturers have the greatest ability, and
therefore the greatest responsibility, to reduce the environmental impacts of
their products. Reducing use of toxic substances, designing for reuse and
recyclability, and creating take back programs are just a few of the many
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opportunities for companies to become better environmental stewards of their
products. Forward-thinking businesses have recognized that demonstrated
corporate citizenship and maximum resource productivity are essential
components to creating competitive advantage and increasing shareholder
wealth (triple bottom line sustainability).
Retailers: As the sector with the closest ties to consumers, retailers are one of
the gateways to product stewardship. From preferring product providers who
offer greater environmental performance, to educating the consumer on how to
choose environmentally preferable products, to enabling consumer return of
products for recycling, retailers are an integral part of the product stewardship
revolution.
Consumers: Ultimately, it is the consumer who makes the choice between
competing products and using and disposing of products responsibly. Without
consumer engagement in product stewardship, there is no “closing the loop.”
Consumers must make responsible buying choices which consider
environmental impacts. They must use products safely and efficiently. Finally,
they must take the extra steps to recycle products that they no longer need.
8.2 Sustainable Consumption
Sustainable consumption focuses on reducing the use of resources of a product
to minimize its environmental impact. Designers develop products, services
and systems that satisfy basic needs and improve quality of life. To meet
sustainable consumption requirements, they must also minimize the use of
natural resources, toxic materials and waste, and reduce emissions of
pollutants at all stages of the life cycle. It is not only the role of designers to
create markets for sustainable products. Consumers need to change their
habits and express a want and need for these products.
Consumer Attitudes
Consumer attitudes and behaviours towards sustainability can be classified into
4 groups.
Eco-Warriors:
• Actively demonstrate on environmental issues.
• It is an individual who cares about our environment & the diversity of life
forms so much that they want to take action. An eco-warrior can be
someone such as non-confrontational as a tree sitter or someone who
engages in direct action, ranging anywhere from planting tree spikes into
trees on public lands, to keep the lumber industry from cutting them
down, to sit-ins which occupy a corporate office.
Eco-Champions:
• Champion environmental issues within organizations.
• Attempt to introduce or create change in a product, process, or method
that takes into account green or environmental issues
• He is a person who fights or argues for a cause.
Eco-Fans:
• Enthusiastically adopt environmentally friendly practices as consumers.
• It is usually someone who accepts all green design products on the
current market or its related objectives. An eco-fan will usually buy
anything that is environmentally friendly and will never buy a harmful
product.
Eco-Phobes:
• Actively resent talk of environmental protection.

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• Eco-phobes are people who are against helping the environment and
purposely go against the ecological movements.
• They believe that the environmental problems are irrelevant to their lives
or are blown out of proportion.
• An example of an eco-phobe is a head of a country refusing to sign the
Kyoto agreement which is based on controlling the c02 output in a
country and limit it in order to decrease global warming.
Eco-Labelling and Energy Labelling Schemes
• For the designer such labels can help guide their designing in order to
meet country regulations or the manufacturers design specifications.
• When designers design products they need to take into consideration the
criteria that make up the different eco and energy labels for different
labelling schemes.
• For the consumer they can make the appropriate purchase if they are
environmentally concerned. Different countries ahead different contexts.
• International standardisation has resulted in many eco- and energy
labelling schemes being similar thus easy for the consigner to
understand.
Eco-Labelling:
• Provides reliable information about how the product impacts the
environment, considering all stages of the product’s life cycle:
manufacture, distribution, use and disposal. An example of this is Swan
eco-label.
• Aids in the improvement of the workers have a role in the production’s
social and economic conditions, like the Fair Trade Labelling.
• Informs customers about how the energy is produced, and whether it
meets certain requirements, like those of The FANC energy eco-labelling
scheme.
• Allows consumers to make informed choices.

Energy-Labelling show a products Energy – Efficiency and

Consumption
• As with Eco-labelling this label is given by a third party company
• It shows the user how much energy is required/used by a product, as well
as how efficient it is (how much heat-loss for example)
• By using such labels, consumers can make their choices in products, by
taking into account how much energy (toll on the environment) is used
by the product.
• By comparing these two labels and with consumer help, more
environmentally friendly products could be sold therefore making
companies use greener design.
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Market for Sustainable Products
Corporate strategies have an impact on the design brief or specifications, such
as, market development, where we take an existing product and develop a new
segment.

Creating a Market for Sustainable Products:

• Pricing considerations: ensuring the products proved vale-for-money to
the customer. For example incandescent bulbs are very cheap and long
life bulbs tend to more expensive. The Incandescent bulbs need regular
changing.
• Stimulating demand for green products
Lifestyle and Ethical Consumerism
Consider strategies for managing western consumption while raising the
standard of living of the developing world without increasing resource use and
environmental impact.
Some companies incorporate ethics into their corporate strategy and designers
need to work within such constraints. They aim to curb and manage Western
consumption while raising the standard of living of the developing world
without increasing its resource use and environmental impact.
Pressure Groups
“Non-profit and usually voluntary organization whose members have a
common cause for which they seek to influence political or corporate decision
makers to achieve a declared objective. Whereas interest groups try to defend
a cause (maintain the status quo), the pressure groups try to promote it
(change the status quo).”
• Pressure groups are not a market segment but they can influence the
market and product cycle.
• Some large organizations have evolved to inform consumers about
environmental issues and ethical issues relating to the activities of
certain multinational corporations.

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• These pressure groups are able to exert considerable influence to press
for changes on these issues and to support or undermine development of
specific technologies, for example, GM food production.
• Consumer and environmental pressure groups can attract widespread
support using the media (including social media).
• Consumers have become increasingly aware of information provided by
these organizations and, as markets have globalized, so has consumer
power.
Implications of Take-Back Legislation for Designers, Manufacturers
and Consumers
Take back legislation is the legislation that holds manufacturers responsible for
the environmentally safe recycling or disposal of their end-of-life products.
They are expected to provide a financial and/or physical plan to ensure that
such products are collected and processed.
• In Maine in the U.S.A., Car manufacturers have take-back legislation in the
sense that they have to pay the collection and recycling of mercury switches
from old cars.
• In March 2003 the UK government issued a legislation requiring that all car
manufacturer’s and vehicle importers of new cars into the United Kingdom
take back vehicles from their previous owner and guarantee that they are
treated environmentally friendly.
• In Sweden, Producers and importers must take back for free a piece of old
equipment (all electrical household appliance) when the customer buys a
new product.
• In Norway, Producers and importers are responsible for collection,
transportation, recycling and safe disposal of any electrical appliance.
• In Japan, the end users are obliged to pay fees for collection, take-back and
recycling at the time of disposal. The government sets the fees to cover
industry’s actual costs for take-back, transportation, and recycling. They are
(in U.S. dollars): washing machine, $24; air conditioner, $35; refrigerator,
$46; and television, $27.
8.3 Sustainable Design
Sustainable design is a philosophy of developing products in line with social,
economic, and ecological sustainability principles. The first step to sustainable
design is to consider a product, service or system in relation to eco-design and
analyse its impact using life cycle analysis. The designer then develops these
to minimize environmental impacts identified from this analysis. Considering
sustainability from the beginning of the process is essential. Datschefski’s five
principles of sustainable design equip the designer with a tool not only to
design new products, but also to evaluate an existing product. This can lead to
new design opportunities and increase the level at which a product aligns with
these principles.
Green Design versus Sustainable Design
Green design began when consumers started to demand eco-friendly products
as a result of concerns over damage to our environment. Green design refers
to the development of products to have a reduced impact on the environment.
Sustainable design is based on the growing realization that what we have done
so far is not enough. Sustainable 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.

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Green Design Sustainable Design
 Products that have little or no effect  Deals with TBL sustainability,
on the environment. economic, environmental & Social
 Cradle to the grave approach  Cradle to cradle approach
 Shorter (than sustainable design)  Longer timescale which can affect
therefore easier and cheaper to the R & D stage (system wide
address environmental concerns in research needed) of the design
products. process increases costs therefore
 Incremental idea generating may not be feasible.
techniques are feasible as possibly  Idea generating techniques are
only small changes need to be more radical to re-think
made. (over-haul/redesign) the nature of
the product and how it works

Datschefski’s Five Principles of Sustainable Design:

8.4 Sustainable Innovation

Sustainable innovation facilitates the diffusion of sustainable products and
solutions into the marketplace. Sustainable innovation yields both bottom line
and top line returns as developing products, services and systems that are
environmentally friendly lowers costs through reducing the resources required.
Designers should view compliance with government legislation as an
opportunity for sustainable innovation. As energy security becomes an ever
more important issue for all countries, designers, engineers and inventors need
to develop new ways of efficiently generating energy. As new energy
production technologies become available, designers need to harness them to
be used in new products to improve their energy efficiency.

Complexity and Timescale of Sustainable Innovation:

Sustainable innovation relies on cooperation between different stakeholders
such as government and manufacturing. It is the broadest approach going
beyond technical solutions. This approach is based on a socio-technical
systems intervention rather than just considering product improvement.
The huge timescale means that sustainability is difficult to maintain as
conditions/criteria can change significantly, for example, a lengthy period of
economic downturn.

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 This is often difficult as both parties have differing views.
 Sustainable innovation requires a radical change which is time-
consuming and expensive so manufacturers are not so willing to consider
sustainable innovation.
 Sustainable innovation is a hugely complex concept that requires a long
time for implementation, typically 20–40 years depending on the nature
of the innovation.
Sustainable Top-down Strategies
At its most basic, this is the breaking down of a system into component parts.
From a corporate strategy perspective, a top-down strategy means that the
leadership level will determine the goals and how each department and/or
individual employees will contribute to meet those goals. When considering
sustainable innovation, designers are usually more comfortable with top-down
strategies as it means investment and resources are more predictable and
reliable.
 Top-down is controlled by government. E.g. ban plastic bags in shops in
Singapore.
 Management of resources, finances (controlling bank rates, etc) and so
on.
 It provides targets and measures for sustainability
Sustainable Bottom-up Strategies
At its most basic, this is the piecing together of components or systems in
order to give rise to a more complex system or product. From a corporate
strategy perspective, a bottom up strategy methodology means that the
leadership level will determine the overall goals, but the workforce will assist in
developing the mechanisms and ideas to meet that goal.
 Strategies implemented from the ‘bottom’ such as regional or local (city
or town) level. E.g. These include local initiatives like Planting Tree
Campaigns
 Designers are involved with bottom-up strategies are usually enthusiasts
for the project and willing to make a commitment even though it may not
be cost-effective to do so. Students are expected to be able to identify
examples of bottom-up strategies and evaluate the advantages and
disadvantages for consumers/users.
 A potential problem for designers is the changing political scene and
associated policies, for example, within the domain of renewable energy.
Government Intervention in Innovation
There are various strategies that governments use to promote knowledge
exchange and technology transfer. Government intervention includes:
1. Regulation—setting and policing rules to avoid or limit environmental
issues caused by undesirable technologies
2. Education—providing consumers with information and guidance in the
choice of products and services that are more sustainable
3. Taxes—to penalize environmentally damaging technologies and
influence consumer choice of sustainable products and services
4. Subsidies—to stimulate and support sustainable innovations.
Macro Energy Sustainability
Macro energy sustainability can be influenced through international treaties
and energy policies, instruments for change and disincentives, and national
systems changing policy when government leadership changes. Macro-
sustainability is the area of sustainable development that focuses on how a
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nation, region or the entire world would establish large scale behaviors for
sustainability
E.g. the Kyoto Treaty would fall into this category. Kyoto Protocol on the
reduction of greenhouse gases. In order for it to be successful all governments
need to agree, for a while Australia and USA did not so many countries followed
suit.
How macro energy sustainability can be influenced through:
 International treaties and energy policies
 Instruments for change and disincentives
 National systems changing policy when government leadership changes
Micro Energy Sustainability
Micro energy sustainability can be influenced by the role of the government in
raising awareness and changing attitudes, and promotion of individual and
business action towards energy sustainability.
Micro energy sustainability can be influenced by:
 The government raising awareness and changing attitudes
 Promotion of individual and business action towards energy sustainability
 E.g. Local governments installing Combined Heat and Power (CHP)
Energy Security (Energy Demand)
Energy demand is rarely constant and this puts a responsibility on those that
generate and manage the flow of energy to understand when peaks and
troughs of energy use occur over the course of days, weeks and years. For
example:
 In many countries, energy demand increases substantially during breaks
and following popular TV shows as large numbers of people put the kettle
on to enjoy a hot beverage.
 Also, there may be particular periods during the night where energy use
is at a minimum. In these situations it is vital that the power-generating
stations are informed when to start and stop energy generation.
 The difficulty arises as massive amounts of electricity cannot easily be
stored, excess energy generated at these times is wasted.
 Demand/supply trends need to be predicted carefully to create a
responsive and efficient energy supply.
Smart Grids
A modernised electrical grid that uses analogue or digital information and
communications technology to gather and act on information (such as
behaviours of suppliers and consumers) in an automated fashion to improve
the efficiency, reliability, economics and sustainability of the production and
distribution of electricity. They can be national or international. International
grids allow electricity generated in one country to be used in another.
Advantages Disadvantages
 Mostly electromechanical  Digital in nature
 One-way communication  Two-way communication
 Mostly centralised generation  Distributed generation
 Sensors are not widely used  Sensors are widely used
 Lack of monitoring: manual  Digital self-monitoring
 Failures and blackouts  Adaptive and intelligent
 Lack of control  Robust control technology
 Less energy-efficient  Energy efficient
 Usually not possible to integrate with  Possible integrate large scale
renewable energy renewable energy
 Customers have less scope to modify  Customers can check uses and modify
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uses

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