Design for Environmental Sustainability
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Design for Environmental Sustainability Carlo Vezzoli • Ezio Manzini Design for Environmental Sustainability 123 Carlo Vezzoli Ezio Manzini Design and Innovation for Sustainability Politecnico di Milano INDACO Department 20158 Milan Italy ISBN 978-1-84800-162-6 e-ISBN 978-1-84800-163-3 DOI 10.1007/978-1-84800-163-3 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Vezzoli, Carlo Design for environmental sustainability 1. Sustainable design 2. Design, Industrial - Environmental aspects I. Title II. Manzini, Ezio 745.2 ISBN-13: 9781848001626 Library of Congress Control Number: 2008930165 © 2008 Springer-Verlag London Limited Authorized translation from Italian language edition published by Zanichelli editore SpA, Bologna, Italy (Design per la Sostenibilita Ambientale, 2007, ISBN 978-88-08-16744-6). Translation: Kristjan Pruul Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers. The use of registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. Cover image: The MULO system, a four-wheeled hybrid convertible vehicle powered by solar, electric and human power. The MULO system was designed by Fabrizio Ceschin of the Design and System Innovation for Sustainability research unit of the Politecnico di Milano Department of Industrial Design (INDACO), in collaboration with the “A. Ferrari” istituto Professionale Statale per l’Industria e l’Artigianato (IPSIA), Maranello. Image research: Sara Cortesi, Lucia Orbetegli, Carlo Proserpio Cover design: eStudio Calamar S.L., Girona, Spain Printed on acid-free paper 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 springer.com To my daughters Giada and Viola United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development The goal of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005−2014, DESD), for which UNESCO is the lead agency, is to integrate the principles, values, and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning. This educational effort will encourage changes in behaviour that will create a more sustainable future in terms of environmental integrity, economic viability, and a just society for present and future generations. www.unesco.org/education/desd/ Preface and Acknowledgements This book was born from close co-operation between two authors. However, the first part is written mainly by Ezio Manzini, meanwhile the second, third, fourth and appendixes are written by Carlo Vezzoli. The book is based on the work, research and didactic activities of the Research Unit Design and Innovation for Sustainability (DIS), and the Environmental Re- quirements for Industrial Products Laboratory (RAPI.labo) of INDACO Depart- ment at the Politecnico di Milano University and the Italian National Network of Universities for Design for Sustainability (RAPI.rete). A valuable contribution comes from the collaboration of many years within these structures with Lucia Orbetegli and Carlo Proserpio. The first part outlines and defines the main features and scenarios of sustain- able development; proposes new ideas for well-being in sustainable society; de- scribes the roles of various stakeholders inside system innovation, paying particu- lar attention to the function of the designer. The second part looks into the approach to and various strategies for designing environmentally sustainable products. With special emphasis on the Life Cycle Design approach, the design criteria and guidelines for integrating environmental requirements as early as the development stage will be explained. System design for eco-efficiency is also introduced. The third part presents several methods and tools for the development and as- sessment of low impact products, services and systems, stressing the Life Cycle Assessment method. In the fourth part the historical course of research, education and practice of de- sign for sustainability is outlined. The appendixes summarise the design strategies/criteria and guidelines, and outline the environmental effects. This text was published and written in order to offer both a comprehensive and organic picture of the topic of design for environmental sustainability as well as a supporting handbook in design. For this reason, as well as the general discus- sion, possible strategies, guidelines and design options are also listed. For the very vii viii Preface and Acknowledgements same reason, the overall text is illustrated with a healthy amount of examples of low impact products. These examples are chosen for a dual purpose: to clarify design options and their position with regard to various other types of products. To make things easier to understand in a visual way, and to provide access on differ- ent levels, these examples are listed against a coloured background. Some arguments that are closely related to the subject, but more detailed than others, are also presented in deliberately distinctively coloured boxes. The reading of this book can be greatly assisted by employing the auxiliary de- sign software, which is freely available at www.lens.polimi.it. Especially worth mentioning here are: • ICS_Toolkit – qualitative tool for creating environmentally sustainable product concepts (coherent with criteria and guidelines of Chaps. 5–9). • SDO_MEPSS – qualitative tool for creating environmentally sustainable sys- tem concepts (as approached in Chap. 10). Introduction The combination of environment and design has been termed ecodesign. Even if, as it appears, it would be more precise to use other, more specific terms, let us start with few ideas on ecodesign as it allows us to define better our application field (and because ecodesign is still widely used). So what is ecodesign? It is unquestionable that on the first comprehensive level the word eco-design is rather self-explanatory, as its general meaning derives directly from its component terms: eco-design is design following ecological criteria. Manifested as a com- pound expression of a vast complex of design activities, it tends to handle ecologi- cal questions with an upstream approach, i. e. redesigning the products themselves. But at the same time, eco-design is one of those terms that, even if it represents certain ideas, it is far away from giving any precise definition. In this case, its insecure state is born from carrying and amplifying the vast semantic fields of ecology and design that in turn are not free from indetermination either. It appears that, when the expression has entered into research and professional circles and finally into institutional documents, then whoever speaks using these terms refers to theoretical hinterlands and introverted fields that very often vary from speaker to speaker. If eco-design means a general designing tendency, conscious of the environ- mental impacts of its products, we can easily judge that it represents a rather blurry concept (and behind it rather large set of indications). It is well known that design in its full meaning concerns any planning activity ranging from urban and territorial design to visual or architectural design up to the designing of consumable goods. On the other hand, extension of environmental issues that cross all topics that arise actually allows to the terms of ecology and design to be bound in all those diverse surroundings of design activities for as long as possible, with an accurate analysis of specific practices, identifying a block of questions associated or asso- ciable with the environment. ix x Introduction Besides, it is not only possible, but already a reality, in a sense, that there is no domain of design where, at least on a debatable level, the question about relation- ships between a specific sector and environmental issues has not been raised. But here the range of attention will be restricted to the complex design activity that mainly deals with manufacturing industrial goods, or rather the field that is currently referred to as industrial design. This limitation of observation platform, even while excluding other important sectors of design, maintains a remarkable internal articulation and complexity, due to either a wide range of interested professionals or a degree of operational field or cultural background from which it originates. Not only this though. The industrial design will be intended in its most up-to- date definition, which does not apply merely to physical products (defined by material, shape and function), but which also extends to the production system, that is, the integrated body of goods, services and communication that is used to represent the companies on the market. Environmental awareness and derived activities have followed an upstream route: from pollution treatments (end-of-pipe policies rely on downstream neu- tralisation of negative