Introduction to Design for the Sustainability (D4S)

Learning Objectives Recognize the importance of the environment in human and long-term economic and social welfare Understand how engineering affects the environment Gain basic understanding of environmental impact assessment methods Learn about tools that can be used to design for the environment

What is the Environment? It is the physical environment that surrounds us and includes: – Air – Water: oceans, lakes, rivers, springs, underground water – Land and what covers it: forests, tall grass, plains, …..

How Do Human Activities Affect the Environment? Essential human activities: – Food (cultivation, use of land, water resources, fertilization, etc.) – Shelter (buildings, energy, transportation, sewer, runoff water, etc.) Recreational activities: – Shopping (energy, manufacturing of consumer goods, plastics, etc.) – Sports – Entertainment Human activities draw from limited and unlimited (renewable) natural resources Limited natural resources are depleted in a high rate

What is Sustainability? One definition of sustainability: “an economic state where the demands placed upon the environment by people and commerce can be met without reducing the capacity of the environment to provide for future generations.”.... your business must deliver clothing, objects, food or services to the customer in a way that reduces consumption, energy use, distribution costs, economic concentration, soil erosion, atmospheric pollution, and other forms of environmental damage. Ref: Paul Hawken, The Ecology of Commerce, Collins, 1993, p. 139.

How is Sustainability Attained? Rates of use of renewable resources should not exceed their rates of regeneration; Rates of use of nonrenewable resources should not exceed the rate at which sustainable renewable substitutes are developed; Rates of pollution emission should not exceed the assimilative capacity of the environment

What is Design for Sustainability? Wikipedia Definition: Sustainable design (also called environmental design, environmentally sustainable design, environmentally conscious design, etc.) is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability.

Approaches to Sustainable Design Minimize sources of environmental impacts – Material selection – Manufacturing processes – Energy use Design for Life Cycle of a product, not just the product – Implement guidelines that reduce impact through the life cycle of the product Industrial ecology – Circulating and using materials – Reducing material use – Protecting living organisms – Minimizing the use of energy

The Life Cycle Perspective Life cycle assessment is a sophisticated way of examining the total environmental impact of a product through every step of its life - from obtaining raw materials all the way through making it in a factory, selling it in a store, using it in the home, and disposing of it.

Stages of the Life Cycle of Products E. Rubin, Introduction to Engineering and the Environment

Life Cycle Impacts Raw Materials Extraction Energy Wastes Material Processing Wastes Product Manufacturing Wastes Use, Reuse Wastes Materials Energy Materials Energy Materials Energy Materials Life- Cycle Stages global warming ozone depletion smog formation acidifi- cation other toxic releases Human health and ecosystem damage Life- Cycle Impacts -Robert Hesketh Disposal Wastes Energy Materials

Categories of Impact Natural resource depletion – Water use, mineral extraction, land occupancy/use, non-renewuable energy Air impacts – Air acidification, photochemical oxidation, ozone layer depletion Terrestrial and aquatic impacts – Water eutrophication, aquatic ecotoxicity, terrestrial ecotxicity Climate effects – Climate change, global warming Human health – Human toxicity, respiratory inorganics, ionizing radiation

Design for Life Cycle Guidelines Raw materials - Design for resource conservation - Design for low impact materials Manufacturing - Design for cleaner production Use - Design for energy efficiency - Design for water conservation - Design for minimal consumption - Design for low-impact use - Design for service and repair - Design for durability End of life - Design for re-use - Design for re-manufacture - Design for disassembly - Design for recycling - Design for safe disposal Distribution - Design for efficient distribution F. Kurk, C. McNamara, Better by Design found at

ENERGY... from alternative forms of power to efficient appliances, ways of living greener are all around us. Ref: Press DID someone say "hi-tech camping?" A new product not only stores plenty of energy to power a laptop, it can network with a solar collector. Designs to Reduce Energy Consumption

Example: Design for Assembly F. Kurk, C. McNamara, Better by Design found at

Example: Design for safe disposal F. Kurk, C. McNamara, Better by Design found at

Complete Design for Life Cycle Fuji Xerox uses life-cycle concepts to design copy machines with reuse and recycling in mind. Used products collected from customers are disassembled and cleaned, checked for quality, then reused. Materials from parts that cannot be reused are recycled for use in new components. The end result is a closed loop system. F. Kurk, C. McNamara, Better by Design found at

Summary Engineering influences the environment through the development and deployment of technical solutions to human needs Engineers reduce the environmental impact of technology on the environment through better design practices (D4S)

Assignment Read Chapter 1 from the book by E. Rubin, Introduction to Engineering and the Environment. Copy is posted on the L: Drive Read white paper “Sustainable Design - Not Just for Architecture Any More”. Copy is posted on the L: Drive Incorporate Sustainability in your design: – Select at least one component of your design to re-design based on Sustainability principles – Conduct impact analysis of product as outlined in the tutorial SolidWorks® Sustainability An Introduction to Sustainable Design. Copy is posted on the L: Drive – Perform meaningful design changes to reduce impact, as outlines in SolidWorks® Sustainability An Introduction to Sustainable Design. – Discuss your findings in a separate section of the final report. Name this section “Design for Sustainability”

SolidWorks Design for Sustainability

Sustainability vs. SustainabilityXpress FunctionalitySolidWorks SustainabilityXpress SolidWorks Sustainability Integrated into the SolidWorks software interface Analyze parts Select materials Find similar materials Display real-time feedback in Environmental Impact dashboard Set and import baselines Generate and send customizes reports Display detailed comparison panes per environmental impact area Analyze assemblies Support for Assembly Visualization tool Support configurations "Use Phase" energy consumption inputs Specify transportation type