Topic 2 - Resource management and sustainable production

Question 1

Circular economy

Answer 1

An economy model in which resources remain in use for as long as possible, from which maximum value is extracted while in use, and the products and materials are recovered and regenerated at the end of the product life cycle.

Question 2

Clean technology

Answer 2

Products, services or processes that reduce waste and require the minimum amount of non-renewable resources.

Question 3

Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

Answer 3

A system that simultaneously generates heat and electricity from either the combustion of fuel, or a solar heat collector.

Question 4

Converging technologies

Answer 4

The synergistic merging of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information and communication technologies and cognitive science.

Question 5

Cradle to Cradle

Answer 5

A design philosophy that aims to eliminate waste from the production, use and disposal of a product. It centres on products which are made to be made again

Question 6

Cradle to Grave

Answer 6

A design philosophy that considers the environmental effects of a product all of the way from manufacture to disposal.

Question 7

Dematerialization

Answer 7

The reduction of total material and energy throughout of any product and service

Question 8

Design for the environment software

Answer 8

Software that allows designers to perform Life cycle analysis (LCA) on a product and assess its environmental impact.

Question 9

Eco-Design

Answer 9

A design strategy that focusses on three broad environmental categories - materials, energy, and pollution/waste.

Question 10

Embodied Energy

Answer 10

The total energy required to produce a product.

Question 11

End-of-pipe Technologies

Answer 11

Technology that is used to reduce pollutants and waste at the end of a
process.

Question 12

Energy distriution

Answer 12

The method with which energy is transported from a source to where it is used.

Question 13

Energy storage

Answer 13

The method with which energy is stored for later use.

Question 14

Energy utilization

Answer 14

The method with which energy is used.

Question 15

Green design

Answer 15

Designing in a way that takes account of the environmental impact of the product throughout its life.

Question 16

Green legistation

Answer 16

Laws and regulations that are based on conservation and sustainability principles, followed by designers and manufacturers when creating green products.

Question 17

Incremental solutions

Answer 17

Products which are improved and developed over time leading to new versions and generations.

Question 18

Individual energy generation

Answer 18

The ability of an individual to use devices to create small amounts of energy to run low-energy products.

Question 19

Legislation

Answer 19

Laws considered collectively to address a certain topic.

Question 20

Life cycle analysis (LCA)

Answer 20

The assessment of the effect a product has on the environment through five stages of its life: pre-production; production; distribution (including packaging); utilization; and disposal

Question 21

Linear economy

Answer 21

An economy based on the make, use, dispose model.

Question 22

Local combined heat and power (CHP)

Answer 22

CHP plants that generate heat and power for a local community - the plant is close enough to the community so that the heat generated can be dispersed through the community efficiently.

Question 23

National and international grid system

Answer 23

An electrical supply distribution network that can be national or international. International grids allow electricity generated in one country to be used in another.

Question 24

Non-renewable resources

Answer 24

A natural resource that cannot be re-made or re-grown as it does not naturally re-form at a rate that makes its use sustainable, for example, coal, petroleum and natural gas

Question 25

Product cycle

Answer 25

Also known as the product life cycle, it is a cycle that every product goes through from introduction to withdrawal or discontinuation.

Question 26

Product recovery strategies

Answer 26

The processes of separating the component parts of a product to recover the parts and materials.

Question 27

Quantification of carbon emissions

Answer 27

Defining numerically the carbon emissions generated by a particular product

Question 28

Radical solutions

Answer 28

Where a completely new product is devised by going back to the roots of a problem and thinking about a solution in a different way

Question 29

Recondition

Answer 29

Rebuilding a product so that it is in an “as new” condition, and is generally used in the context of car engines and tyres.

Question 30

Recovery of raw materials

Answer 30

Strategies for the separation of components of a product in order to recover raw materials.

Question 31

Recycle

Answer 31

Recycling refers to using the materials from obsolete products to create other products.

Question 32

Re-engineer

Answer 32

To redesign components or products to improve their characteristics or performance.

Question 33

Renewability

Answer 33

The level at which a resource is renewable. The rate that a resource can be replenished.

Question 34

Renewable resources

Answer 34

A natural resource that can replenished with the passage of time, or does not abate at all.

Question 35

Repair

Answer 35

The reconstruction or renewal of any part of an existing structure or device.

Question 36

Reserves

Answer 36

Reserves are natural resources that have been identified in terms of quantity and quality.

Question 37

Resources

Answer 37

Resources are the stock or supply of materials that are available in a given context.

Question 38

Re-use

Answer 38

Reuse of a product in the same context or in a different context

Question 39

System level solutions

Answer 39

Solutions that are implemented to deal with the whole system, rather than just components.

Question 40

The precautionary principle

Answer 40

The anticipation of potential problems in relation to the environmental impact of the production, use and disposal of a product.

Question 41

The prevention principle

Answer 41

The avoidance or minimization of producing waste in relation to the production, use and disposal of a product.

Question 42

Waste mitigation strategies

Answer 42

Strategies used to reduce the waste produced by a product or in the production and disposal of a product.