1. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Dr. Bert Bras ME 4171 - Environmentally Conscious Design & Manufacturing

2. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Outline Environmental impact, reduction and approaches Pollution Prevention ECDM, DFE approaches and guidelines Design for Recycling Design for Remanufacture Eco-labels Life-Cycle Assessment Life-Cycle Costing ISO 14000

3. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Engineering and the Environment The focus of engineering design has primarily been on achieving superios products from a technical, economical and quality perspective. However, there is an increasing awareness of the effects of technological advances on the environment. The focus of engineering design has primarily been on achieving superios products from a technical, economical and quality perspective. However, there is an increasing awareness of the effects of technological advances on the environment. Note: Environment does not have to refer only to the global, natural environment. The phrase "environment" can also include the close proximity (user) environment of a technical system.

4. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Typical Questions to be Answered The following questions need to be addressed: 1)what exactly is the impact of technical systems on the environment? (and how can we measure it?) 2)how can this impact be reduced? 3)how can (computer-based) tools be developed and integrated with other engineering tools to assess and reduce the environmental impact of engineering systems? The following questions need to be addressed: 1)what exactly is the impact of technical systems on the environment? (and how can we measure it?) 2)how can this impact be reduced? 3)how can (computer-based) tools be developed and integrated with other engineering tools to assess and reduce the environmental impact of engineering systems? Furthermore: How to make Environmentally Conscious Design profitable in terms of dollars? Furthermore: How to make Environmentally Conscious Design profitable in terms of dollars?

5. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Environmental Impact – High Level Most design researchers (and practitioners) agree that: Technical systems convert matter, energy and information into more useful matter energy and information. However, unwanted consumptions and emissions of energy, matter (and information) occur as well. Most design researchers (and practitioners) agree that: Technical systems convert matter, energy and information into more useful matter energy and information. However, unwanted consumptions and emissions of energy, matter (and information) occur as well. Environmental impact is made in the form of matter and energy consumption and emission throughout the life cycle. Because of the diversity of opinions, a unifying measure of environmental impact has to be established.

6. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Municipial Solid Waste (MSW) Municipial solid waste (MSW), that is, your trash, averages 4 pounds per person per day. The USA generated 180 million tons of MSW in 1988 One third of US MSW consist of packaging materials. –Can you understand why Germany has made a packaging law? The European Community’s annual waste output (including packaging) is estimated at 2.2 billion tons. –The amount of the EC’s packaging waste is estimated at 50 million tons with 9 million tons being recycled to a different extent in the Member States.

7. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Industrial Wastes U.S. Industry, on the other hand, generates 700 million tons of hazardous waste, and 11 billion tons of “non-hazardous” waste. U.S. Industry, on the other hand, generates 700 million tons of hazardous waste, and 11 billion tons of “non-hazardous” waste.

8. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Traffic Impact In the Federal Republic of Germany, the transport sector accounts for –75 percent of the carbon monoxide emissions –60 percent of the nitrogen oxide emissions –50 percent of the organic hydrocarbon emissions –20 percent of the carbon dioxide output –as much as 26 percent of end-point energy consumption. The approximate 3 million inhabitants of the metropolitan Atlanta area drive 100 million miles per DAY!

9. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Refrigerator Impact In the course of its service life, an average three-star refrigerator consumes roughly 5,000 kilowatt-hours and produces about 2,400 kilograms of CO 2 (a Greenhouse contributor) An assessment of the entire product line of a refrigerator - ranging from the extraction of raw materials to the disposal of the used product -shows that the lion’s share of this energy (90 percent or more) is consumed during the refrigerator's period of use.

10. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Computers and Energy Consumption If the number of workstation computers continues to grow as it has in the recent past, a new power plant will have to be built every five years in order to cover the increasing electricity consumption in Germany. While the computers' specific energy consumption per processing transaction is decreasing, this development is offset by the greater computing power of the new machines. According to calculations made by the World Watch Institute, all the computers operated worldwide consume as much energy as all of Brazil during the same period of time.

11. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Paper Each German citizen consumes about 200 kilograms of paper per year, while the per-capita consumption in China, for instance, is only 13 kilograms.

12. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Reducing Environmental Impact

13. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory EPA’s View Environmental requirements should minimize: raw materials consumption energy consumption waste generation health and safety risks ecological degradation

14. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory US Congressional View The congressional view on the issue is reflected in (or at least influenced by) the report "Green Products by Design – Choices for a Cleaner Environment" from the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA-E-541), published in October 1992. Green design Waste prevention Reduce:weight toxicity energy use Extend:service life Better materials management Facilitate: remanufacturing recycling composting energy recovery Green design consists of two complementary goals. Design for waste prevention avoids the generation of waste in the first place; design for better materials management facilitates the handling of products at the end of their service life. SOURCE: Office of Technology Assessment, 1992.

15. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Policy Implications The environmental evaluation of a product or design should not be based upon a single attribute, such as recyclability. The trend toward increasing product complexity seems certain to make the environmental evaluation of products more difficult and expensive in the future. Policies to encourage green design should be flexible enough to accommodate the rapid pace of technological change and the broad array of design choices and tradeoffs. The biggest environmental gains will likely come from policies that provide incentives for greener production and consumption systems, not just greener products Based upon (inter)national studies, the Office of Technology Assessment states:

16. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Guiding Principles according to OTA Principle 1: Identify the root problem and define it clearly. All the different perceptions on "the environmental problem" are not helping solving the problem. The tradeoffs and interactions between the problems have to be considered carefully. Principle 2: Give designers maximum flexibility that is consistent with solving the problem. Strict regulations and rigid Federal mandates will have adverse effects. Promote flexibility (in policies). Principle 3: Encourage a systems approach to green design. Don't just focus on the component, but look at the big picture. For example, German automakers are rethinking their entire "ecology" of car production and disposal.

17. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Product Life Cycle(s)

18. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory A Product’s Life Cycle – From Cradle to Re-Incarnation The term “demanufacture” is used to characterize the process opposite to manufacturing involved in recycling materials and products.

19. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Stages of the Product Life Cycle (Office of Technology Assessment) Environmental impacts occur at all stages of a product’s life cycle. Design can be employed to reduce these impacts by changing the amount and type of materials used in the product, by creating more efficient manufacturing operations, by reducing the energy and materials consumed during use, and by recovery of energy and materials during waste management. (OTA)

20. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Automobile Life-Cycle Many modern products like automobiles are assembled by OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) from components manufactured by numerous suppliers, creating a complicated network of interactions.

21. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Examples of undesired releases and consumptions The above names for life cycle stages are often used in Defense related industries and products.

22. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Generic High Level Life-Cycle Activities For a mechanical product. Source: EPA

23. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Aspects of an Environmentally Benign Product The terms “material” and “product” recycling are used in Germany and the German engineering standard VDI 2243 – “Designing Technical Products for Ease of Recycling”

24. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Reducing Environmental Impact - Approaches and History

25. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory From: Coulter, S., B.A. Bras and C. Foley (1995). A Lexicon of Green Engineering Terms, 10th International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED 95), V. Hubka Ed., Praha, Czech Republic, Heurista, Zurich, Switzerland, pp. 1033-1039. Bras, B., 1997, "Incorporating Environmental Issues in Product Realization," Industry and Environment, United Nations UNEP/IE (invited contribution), Vol. 20, No. 1-2 (double issue), pp. 7-13, 1997. A Classification of Environmental Impact Reduction Efforts

26. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Classification Three classes of approaches can be identified: –those which are applied within a single product life-cycle and focus on specific life-cycle stages, –those that focus on a complete product life-cycle and cover all life-cycle stages, and –those that go beyond single product life-cycles. Product Life-Cycle

27. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Approaches Focusing on Specific Life-Cycle Stages Traditional environmental engineering is concerned with managing the fate, transport, and control of contaminants in water supplies and discharges, air emissions, and solid wastes (after pollutants have been generated, or at the “end of the pipe”). Pollution prevention usually focuses on elimination of pollutants from existing products and process technologies. With the exception of Design for Environment, environmentally oriented Design for X approaches are all focused on a specific aspect of a product’s life-cycle (e.g., Design for Disassembly, Design for Recycling) –A danger of focusing too much on specific DFX approaches (or specific aspects of a product life-cycle in general) is that strong concentration on a single environmental aspect may negatively affect other aspects and render the product less environmental friendly as a whole.

28. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Approaches Focusing on a Complete Product Life-Cycle In Design for Environment, Life-Cycle Design, Environmentally Conscious Design and Manufacturing, and Green Design, the scope of considerations, both in terms of time and the environment, is the life cycle of one product. All these approaches have similar goals and encourage a holistic product view. However, it has already been recognized by many that this may not be enough. –For example, modern manufacturers often rely on multiple suppliers, have multiple product lines, multiple facilities, often in multiple countries.

29. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory ECDM, DFE, Life-Cycle Design, etc. Environmentally Conscious Design & Manufacture (ECDM) and other Design for Environment (DFE) efforts are largely motivated by a drive to reduce the (negative) impact of engineering systems (products, processes) on their environment. Environmental impact occurs throughout a product’s life cycle by means of unwanted and unnecessary energy and material consumptions and emissions. Design for Environment – “Systematic consideration of design performance with respect to environmental, health, and safety objectives over the full product and process life-cycle” (Joseph Fiksel, “Design for Environment – Creating Eco-Efficient Products and Processes”, McGraw-Hill, 1996). Sustainable Development is considered the ultimate goal: –Economic growth that is in harmony with the environment

30. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Approaches Going Beyond Single Product Life-Cycles In industrial ecology, companies, organizations and communities work together to minimize environmental impact and use each others waste in an intelligent manner for creating new products. –Industrial ecology is not limited to a single product life cycle, but considers the interactions of several product life cycles (of possibly different lengths) over a larger time scale. Sustainable development is the broadest but also the least well-defined approach in terms of tools and methods. –The United Nations’ World Commission on Environment and Development in their report Our Common Future, defines sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of future generations.” –It is generally agreed that sustainable development requires at least pollution prevention, consideration of life-cycle consequences of production, and an approach that imitates natural or biological processes.

31. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory DFE, ECDM, etc. in Practice

32. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Some Drivers Legislation: –Clean Air Act has limited use of a number of materials. –(European) take-back legislation is driving Design for Recycling efforts. Customers: –Awareness of environmental issues is increasing among customers. In Europe, some customers will already pay more for a product if it is green. –Industrial customers (e.g., Original Equipment Manufacturers) do not want (future) environmental liability for your product. Eco-Labels: –How “green” is your product? Having an eco-label becomes a competitive advantage. ISO 14000: –ISO 14000 (environmental management standards) certification may become a crucial element in doing business, like ISO 9000 (quality management standards). In addition, many have noted that DFE makes good business sense and has many other positive effects. –Reduction of material diversity, driver for new creative solutions, etc.

33. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory The Bad News Common “complaint” : “I have to satisfy my customer demands, my boss, get the product out on time, meet all the deadlines, do DFMA, TQM, etc., and now I also have to worry about DESIGN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT?” (a.k.a. the swamped engineer syndrome

34. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Technical, Economical, Ecological Trade-offs Please note: Compromises between technical, economical and environmental concerns are a fact of life Environmental extreme Technical extreme Compromise (?) or... (?)

35. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Different Levels of Organizational Concern ? !

36. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory The Good News Most Design for Environment (DFE) guidelines also have other benefits (technical, economical, quality). –Reducing material diversity for ease of product recycling leads also to lower inventory and purchasing expenditures. –Life extension practices place renewed emphasis on design for serviceability which typically pleases customers. –Etcetera. Increasing efficiency and reducing waste ALWAYS makes sense! Plus, it is argued that the biggest advantage of doing DFE is that it forces more creative thinking.

37. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Industry Experiences Many (larger) companies have adopted the DFE paradigm. –The Environmental Protection Agency is also moving away from Best Available Technologies to Common Sense Initiatives and also has a (small) group working on DFE. DFE success stories are emerging. –Also, the chemical industry has a solid base of pollution prevention success stories »3M’s Pollution Prevention Pays (3P) program (established in 1975). »Dow Chemical’s Waste Reduction Always Pays program. Invariably, everybody buys into the DFE philosophy. The challenge is in the implementation, in particular –the seamless horizontal and vertical integration, and –the trade-off assessment and resolution.

38. Georgia Institute of Technology Systems Realization Laboratory Green Engineering – Engineer's point of view What needs to be done? 1)define what is environmental impact (establish objective) 2)identify relationships between environmental impact and designs (create “analysis” model) 3)provide capability to select design with reduced environmental impact (selection between alternatives) 4)provide capability to improve design with respect to reducing environmental impact (“optimization”) 5)establish tradeoff model with respect to the other design goals such as performance, cost and quality (compromise). What needs to be done? 1)define what is environmental impact (establish objective) 2)identify relationships between environmental impact and designs (create “analysis” model) 3)provide capability to select design with reduced environmental impact (selection between alternatives) 4)provide capability to improve design with respect to reducing environmental impact (“optimization”) 5)establish tradeoff model with respect to the other design goals such as performance, cost and quality (compromise). Item 5 is of extreme importance, because: on one hand the tradeoffs are often neglected by researchers, politicians and activists, on the other hand the tradeoffs are often used by companies as an excuse not to participate in Green Engineering. Item 5 is of extreme importance, because: on one hand the tradeoffs are often neglected by researchers, politicians and activists, on the other hand the tradeoffs are often used by companies as an excuse not to participate in Green Engineering.