This volume is a technical and operative contribution to the United Nations "Decade on Education for Sustainable Development" (2005-2014), aiding the development of a new generation of designers, responsible and able in the task of designing environmentally sustainable products. The book provides a comprehensive framework and a practical tool to support the design process. This is an important text for those interested in the product development processes.

This volume is a technical and operative contribution to the United Nations "Decade on Education for Sustainable Development" (2005-2014), aiding the development of a new generation of designers, responsible and able in the task of designing environmentally sustainable products. The book provides a comprehensive framework and a practical tool to support the design process. This is an important text for those interested in the product development processes.

With radical and innovative design solutions, everyone could be living in buildings and settlements that are more like gardens than cargo containers, and that purify air and water, generate energy, treat sewage and produce food - at lower cost. Birkeland introduces systems design thinking that cuts across academic and professional boundaries and the divide between social and physical sciences to move towards a transdiciplinary approach to environmental and social problem-solving. This sourcebook is useful for teaching, as each topic within the field of environmental management and social change has pairs of short readings providing diverse perspectives to compare, contrast and debate. Design for Sustainability presents examples of integrated systems design based on ecological principles and concepts and drawn from the foremost designers in the fields of industrial design, materials, housing design, urban planning and transport, landscape and permaculture, and energy and resource management.

This monograph offers analyses of construction activities using various key concepts and assessments of sustainable development, and provides students and researchers with methodologies and design aspects for the sustainable development of the built environment. Additionally, the book demonstrates various national and international policies for assisting architects, engineers and policy makers in understanding the relevant decision-making approaches to sustainable development in construction. The book begins by reviewing the background of sustainability and sustainable development. The focus then turns to the effects of climate change on the built environment, including impacts of energy and carbon emissions, as well as constraints on water and waste management. The remaining chapters discuss the necessary approaches to achieve sustainable waste management, energy efficient building design, and resilience and adaptation in the built environment In eight chapters, the book encourages readers to think independently, logically and objectively about the complex issues presented by the applications of sustainable development in construction, including resource efficiency, environmental impacts, human health, building economics and social development.

Pixels use electricity, and a lot of it. If the Internet were a country, it would be the sixth largest in terms of electricity use. That’s because today’s average web page has surpassed two megabytes in size, leading to slow load times, frustrated users, and a lot of wasted energy. With this practical guide, your web design team will learn how to apply sustainability principles for creating speedy, user-friendly, and energy-efficient digital products and services. Author Tim Frick introduces a web design framework that focuses on four key areas where these principles can make a difference: content strategy, performance optimization, design and user experience, and green hosting. You’ll discover how to provide users with a streamlined experience, while reducing the environmental impact of your products and services. Learn why 90% of the data that ever existed was created in the last year Use sustainability principles to innovate, reduce waste, and function more efficiently Explore green hosting, sustainable business practices, and lean/agile workflows Put the right things in front of users at precisely the moment they need them—and nothing more Increase site search engine visibility, streamline user experience, and make streaming video more efficient Use Action Items to explore concepts outlined in each chapter

Design for Sustainability: Green Materials and Processes provides fundamental and practical knowledge surrounding product development applications throughout the entire lifecycle of green materials, ranging from conceptual design, material and manufacturing process selection, and environmental lifecycle assessment. In addition, several topics covering recent advances in the application of sustainable design within the automotive, building and construction, packaging and consumer product industries are also included in this book to provide practical examples of this philosophy in current applications. Lastly, a section on implementation of design for sustainability in education is added to aid readers that wish to introduce this philosophy to younger students. This book will be beneficial to researchers, students in higher education institutions, design practitioners and engineers in private and public sector organization with aspirations to develop sustainable products in the future. Design for sustainability is one of the primary focuses in human advancement nowadays, with the aim of developing products and services that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. - Provides an overview on materials and process design for sustainability - Discusses theoretical aspects about design for sustainability - Includes a discussion of the most recent advances and applications in design for sustainability

Design for Sustainability is a practical approach to design which focuses on the challenges and issues faced by those designing consumer products in the 21st Century. It is written from a design perspective and aimed at both professional and student industrial and product designers, and those involved in managing design. The book begins by summarising the historical and current issues of the environmental debate in the context of sustainable product development, highlighting the benefits gained from considering the impact on the environment and issues of sustainability when designing. The authors answer the questions: What is sustainable product development and why is it important? What are the main drivers of sustainable product development? They explain how design can help to control human impact on the environment by not only minimising pollution, waste, energy use and use of scarce resources, but also by thinking outside the box to create systems and services that can reduce the number of products manufactured. The aim is to put sustainable development within a commercial context and introduce a new focus for design. Design for Sustainability outlines and assesses the methods, tools and techniques available to designers, both for design innovation and design improvement. A wide range of case studies are presented across a number of product sectors including electrical goods, IT and furniture. Initially they demonstrate product improvement and redesign, examples include those that reduce waste, pollution and energy consumption, designing for recycling and reuse of parts. Further examples are then provided exemplifying the more radical approach of system and service design. The final section takes the reader through a whole sustainable design project from start to finish, from brief to manufacture. References and sources of information are also included.

Sustainability has emerged as a central issue for contemporary societies and for the world community as a whole. Furthermore, many of the social and environmental concerns that are embodied in the term 'sustainability' are directly or indirectly related to design. Designers help to define our human made environment - how it is produced, how it is used, and how long it endures. Despite some forty years of development and increased awareness of the critical relationships that exist between design decisions and modes of production, energy use, environmental impacts, the nature of work and human exploitation, design for sustainability is still not widely understood or followed. The Handbook of Design for Sustainability presents a comprehensive, state-of-the-art overview of this crucial subject - its development, its methods, its practices and its potential futures. Bringing together leading international scholars and new researchers to provide a substantive insight into the latest thinking and research within the field, The Handbook covers a breadth of historical and theoretical understandings and includes a series of original essays that explore methods and approaches for designers and design educators. The Handbook presents the first systematic overview of the subject that, in addition to methods and examples, includes historical perspectives, philosophical approaches, business analyses, educational insights and emerging thinking. It is an invaluable resource for design researchers and students as well as design practitioners and private and public sector organizations wishing to develop more sustainable directions.

The developed world, increasingly aware of “inconvenient truths” about global warming and sustainability, is turning its attention to possible remedies—eco-efficiency, sustainable development, and corporate social responsibility, among others. But such measures are mere Band-Aids, and they may actually do more harm than good, says John Ehrenfeld, a pioneer in the field of industrial ecology. In this deeply considered book, Ehrenfeld challenges conventional understandings of “solving” environmental problems and offers a radically new set of strategies to attain sustainability. The book is founded upon this new definition: sustainability is the possibility that humans and other life will flourish on Earth forever. There are obstacles to this hopeful vision, however, and overcoming them will require us to transform our behavior, both individually and collectively. Ehrenfeld identifies problematic cultural attributes—such as the unending consumption that characterizes modern life—and outlines practical steps toward developing sustainability as a mindset. By focusing on the “being” mode of human existence rather than on the unsustainable “having” mode we cling to now, he asserts, a sustainable world is within our reach.

Scientific Principles to Guide Sustainable Design Decisions From thermodynamics to fluid dynamics to computational chemistry, this book sets forth the scientific principles underlying the need for sustainable design, explaining not just the "hows" of sustainable design and green engineering, but also the "whys." Moreover, it provides readers with the scientific principles needed to guide their own sustainable design decisions. Throughout the book, the authors draw from their experience in architecture, civil engineering, environmental engineering, planning, and public policy in order to build an understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of sustainable design. Written to enable readers to take a more scientific approach to sustainable design, the book offers many practical features, including: Case studies presenting the authors' firsthand accounts of actual green projects Lessons learned from Duke University's Smart House Program that demonstrate the concepts and techniques discussed in the book Exercises that encourage readers to use their newfound knowledge to solve green design problems Figures, tables, and sidebars illustrating key concepts and summarizing important points For architects, designers, and engineers, this book enables them to not only implement green design methods, but also to choose these methods based on science. With its many examples, case studies, and exercises, the book is also an ideal textbook for students in civil and environmental engineering, construction, and architectural engineering.