acrobat JSPD 8 - The Centre for Sustainable Design

Product development
and sustainability
Product development and
sustainability are a recent
combination of terms which
have evolved from the recognition
of the importance that
design, manufacturing, material
choice, product type, use and
final disposal have on the environment.
The recognition of a
single global environment in
which all activities are interrelated
and affect each other is
bringing researchers to an indepth
recognition of the importance
of the design process and
its relationship to the environmental
impact of products. This
analysis has led towards the
search for more fundamental
changes at design, production
and user levels aimed at moving
towards sustainable development:
The process through which all the
physical and spiritual needs of the
people of the planet will be permanently
satisfied. Improving (and in
some cases, maintaining) the present
socio-environmental conditions.
Most of the current focus is on
reducing the problems of current
products, such as:
· improving energy efficiency
in washing machines
· making products easy to
disassemble for re-manufacturing
to avoid waste problems
· minimising the amount of
materials used in packaging.
However, there is also an
increasingly serious and mainstream
discussion of how we
can make progress towards more
fundamental changes, eg. ‘Factor
x’ levels of energy and resource
reductions.
The goal of sustainable development
becomes particularly
relevant in the context of small
enterprises in developing countries.
These small enterprises are
fundamental as they provide one
of the few employment opportunities
for local people. However,
in many areas these small enterprises
represent a menace to the
environment.
In the context of small enterprises
in developing countries
SPD is defined as follows:
SPD is the process which creates
product designs that are sustainable in
terms of the environment and resourceuse
whilst considering the need for the
product.
SPD is the process of planning
and designing that integrates
the following elements into a
product:
Resource-use efficiency: in
terms of both energy and materials
used in the manufacturing,
and use phase. It also includes
the selection of materials,
favouring the use of local,
renewable, recycled and low
energy materials and avoiding
those which are scarce or
contain toxic materials.
Product quality: includes the
use, need and function of the
product, durability, optimisation
of the life span, energy
efficiency, proper use of
materials and finishing.
Production organisation and
efficiency: includes optimising
human and technical manufacturing
processes in terms of
resources, labour and machinery,
and the use and development of
appropriate technologies and
renewable energy.
JANUARY 1999 · THE JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT DESIGN
ANALYSIS
SPD is
the process
which creates
product designs
that are sustainable
in terms of
the environment
and resourceuse
whilst
considering the
need for the
product.
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