There should be no concept of ‘design for the environment’; it is simply ‘design.’
This means updating product designers’ skills and knowledge so that they know the impacts of their decisions across the complete product life cycle.
Sustainability is becoming embedded in society. Consumers are increasingly associating long-life products, such as windows, with the environmental impact of short-life products, such as plastic straws. Research has shown that almost half of homeowners would not purchase home improvement products containing ‘plastic’ because of concerns about the impact of plastic pollution on the planet.
Consumers are no longer differentiating between long-life and short-life products!
At the strategic level, getting the design right is fundamental. Trying to improve sustainability after the product is designed, produced and with the consumer is futile. We must start with design.
Dr. Robin Kent is the author of ‘Sustainability Management in Plastics Processing’, published by the British Plastics Federation and Managing Director of Tangram Technology Ltd. (www.tangram.co.uk), consulting engineers for energy and sustainability management in plastics processing.
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