L6. Assessing impact for Sustainable Decision Making

Question 1

What is a sustainable product?

Answer 1

• Life Cycle Thinking (LCT): going beyond the traditional focus on production site and manufacturing processes to include environmental, social and economic impacts of a product over its entire life cycle.

Question 2

Design for Environment (=Design for Sustainability)

Answer 2

• Method to minimize or eliminate environmental impacts of a product over its life cycle
• Effective DfE practice maintains or improves product quality and cost while reducing environmental impacts
• DfE expands the traditional manufacturer’s focus on the production and distribution of its products to a closed-loop life cycle

Question 3

Industrial designers need to mind

Answer 3

• Functionality and performance (product must do the job)
• Manufacturability, logistics (one should be able to make the product)
• Reliability, safety (there must be some quality standard)
• Cost, market penetration (product needs to be competitively priced)
• 70-80% of the environmental impact are generated during the ideation and design phase

Question 4

Cradle-to-cradle (McDonough & Braungart)

Answer 4

Framework for designing products and industrial processes that turn materials into nutrients by enabling their perpetual flow within one of two distinct metabolisms: the biological metabolism and the technical metabolism.

Question 5

LCA (Life Cycle Assessment)

Definition

Answer 5

• A method in which the energy and raw material consumption, different types of emissions and other important factors related to a specific product are being measured, analysed and summoned over the products entire life cycle from an environmental point of view.
• Measures the “cradle to grave” or “cradle to cradle” impact of a product, process, service, activity or technology on the ecosystem.
• Started in the early 1970s, initially to investigate the energy requirements for different processes. The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), an international platform for toxicologists, published a Code of Practice, a widely accepted series of guidelines and definitions.
• IS0 14040-14043: LCA standard

Question 6

LCA goal and scope

Answer 6

• the functional unit, which defines what precisely is being studied and quantifies the service delivered by the product system, providing a reference to which the inputs and outputs can be related
• the system boundaries (temporal and spatial)
• any assumptions and limitations
• the impact categories chosen

Question 7

Life-cycle Inventory analysis

Answer 7

• The Inventory analysis involves creating an inventory of flows from, and to nature for a product system.
• Inventory flows include inputs of water, energy, and raw materials, and releases to air, land, and water.
• To develop the inventory, a flow model of the technical system is constructed using data on inputs and outputs.
• The flow model is typically illustrated with a flow chart that includes the activities that are going to be assessed in the relevant supply chain and gives a clear picture of the technical system boundaries.
• The input and output data needed for the construction of the model are collected for all activities within the system boundary, including from the supply chain.
• The data must be related to the functional unit defined in the goal and scope definition.

Question 8

EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) and Eco-Labels

basic def

Answer 8

An independently verified and registered document that communicates transparent and comparable information about the life-cycle environmental impact of products.

Question 9

EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) and Eco-Labels

what else?

Answer 9

• As a voluntary declaration of the life-cycle environmental impact, having an EPD for a product does not imply that the declared product is environmentally superior to alternatives.
• Provides trust and transparency for stakeholders and consumers
• Helps to communicate all relevant environmental information along a product’s value or supply chain
• Is complementary to eco-design and favours continuous improvement

Question 10

some stuff about Bolton foods

Answer 10

• CSR= Responsible Quality: 360° Quality
• Global, Scientific approach
• International Seafood Sustainablity Foundation
• Long-term strategic approach
• Governance
• Strong stakeholder engagement
• Involve entire supply chain and sector
• Holistic approach to communication