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ecOlOGicAl FOOtpRint
THE ADVENT OF ECO-DESIGN
We’ve gone from raising
awareness about eco-design to
taking concrete steps to
implementing it. Soon, we’ll be
embracing eco-design for all
products, as the concept
of sustainable development quickly
diffuses into our code of conduct.
Pr[í]me is a key player in the
campaign to eliminate the
ecological footprint of future
products.
IIt will only take a single generation
for every citizen of a country in
the Western hemisphere to become
his or her own ecologist.
Without a doubt, it will no longer be
merely be a stance for lip service, as
are freedom of speech and gender
equality. Although we must pointedly
seek out eco-designed products
today, we can look forward to
tomorrow, when all products will be
SOCIAL
Fair trade
Sustainable
development
Livable Sustainable
EnvIrOnmEnt
eco-designed. (Who today
thinks twice about
preserving the ozone layer
when buying deodorant?).
So if today is ripe for spreading
awareness, then tomorrow, the ball
will be in the court of designers,
engineers and architects.
However, the current trend in ecodesign
aims at reducing the worst:
reduction of waste, energy used,
toxic products, etc. This philosophy
sees human production as
irrevocably harmful, and we must limit
its maximum impact.
Yet, why not view human products as
a part of nature—who has ever
complained of having too many trees,
earthworms or too much water?
Conceiving a project from design
to end-of-life
The Cradle-to-Cradle theory
(proposed by McDonough and
ECOnOmy
Eco-design =
How?
Braungart in their eponymous book)
suggests treating products
as if they were a temporary stage
in the life cycle of their material
components. Based on this,
they came up with two cycles
applicable to each material
component:
• the biological cycle, whereby
the materials, which are
biodegradable, return to the earth
• the technological cycle, whereby
the materials return to the beginning
of the production chain for reuse
All products belonging to the two
cycles are “hybrids”, cannot truly be
recycled, and end up being
“downcycled”. This is where
the product loses added value in its
following cycle of use, and
eventually ends up in the dump.
So eco-design is supposed to
invent the processing, use and endof-life
of products—it aims at not
just reducing the ecological
footprint, but at eliminating the
concept entirely. Taken with this
approach, eco-design becomes a
never before seen source of
performance and added value.
AltRAn pR[Í]me
AN EVEN GREENER
TRAIN?
ALTRAN PR[í]ME IS WORKING
WITH COMPIN GROUP—
A SPECIALIST IN DESIGN, AMBIANCE
AND COMFORT OF RAILWAY
EqUIPMENT—ON A REVOLUTIONARY
DEVELOPMENT FOR THE TRAIN
OF THE FUTURE. MORE DETAILS
IN THE NExT ISSUE.
sQuARe cOmpOst’
WHO KNEW SORTING
WASTE COULD BE SO
BEAUTIFUL!
eXAmples
SOME PR[í]ME ECO-PRODUCTS
Square Compost’ is a public garden design concept centred
on a new generation composting bin. Each person in a city like
Paris produces 47 kilos of organic waste per year. A green
space of 4,000 m2 surrounding a Square Compost’
mound three metres high and 12 metres in diameter
processes the annual organic waste of 1,600
people. The result of an eco-design approach,
Square Compost’ respects and improves its
environment using innovative technological
solutions. Rainwater is collected and stored,
all components are easy to care for and
easily recyclable, and the entire set-up
is supplied with electricity from Maxxun
solar panels. Underneath the mound is an
ingenious device that decomposes organic
waste in two steps (aerobic, then anaerobic)
in complete safety, with the end result
(solid compost and compost liquid) readily
available to landscapers and individuals to
beautify their gardens.
• Pr[í]me designed Square Compost’ (see above), a neighbourhood waste
composter that provides fertiliser for the garden in which it is placed.
The sorting of community waste makes the children’s playground possible.
• The SplitPack packaging for chilled liquids (see the previous issue)
designed by Pr[í]me separates the carton and the PET so that each
material can undergo its own recycling procedure. The product recycles
ink, glue, varnish and cap.
• The Lufo3W lamp, developed by Pr[í]me for Serras Technologies, uses
the flame’s heat to power a satellite radio, allowing it to spread information
and culture… battery-free!
Contact : serge.roux@altran.com
12 Altitude n°13 / april 2008 Altitude n°13 / april 2008 13