Introduction
Reducing material usage, or dematerialisation, means that as little material as possible is used. This reduction in materials can be for the product itself, the product packaging or the distribution packaging. Excess material usage wastes materials, money and landfill space. Dematerialisation can be through miniaturisation, light weighting or physical to digital services (e.g. digital photos, books, movies, music, forms, etc) (Lennart and Ljungberg, 2005)It is believed that product design changes alone could reduce material use by 30% Link
Benefits
- Reduced raw material costs
- Lower distribution costs and emissions
- Less storage space required
- Reduced packaging so less waste for recycling, re-processing and landfill
- The potential to pass on cost savings to the consumer
Considerations
Consideration | Challenge | Opportunity |
Durability of product or packaging could decrease | Product or packaging could fail potentially impacting safety and/or financial loss | Thorough design, modelling and testing will mitigate the risk |
Costs could increase with the change to product or packaging | Higher spec material or production costs could outweigh the material reduction saving | Prior cost benefit analysis would give certainty to the decision |
Product Design
Reducing product material usage:
- Ensure product is designed for its environment, without unnecessary over specifications
- Use higher strength materials, allowing less material to be used –life cycle analysis required
- Optimized cross-sectional shapes of structures to achieve better loading performance
- Only reinforce areas which require additional strength, not the entire product
- Refillables, e.g. printer cartridges
- Reformatted product, e.g. paint powder
- Concentrates, e.g. concentrated drinking squash
- Product packaging and sizing fit for customer, e.g. smaller bread loaves
- Product shape, e.g. reshaping biscuits to fit better in packaging
- Reusable packaging, e.g. reusable carrier bags
Case studies
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Jaguar Land Rover completed a Life Cycle Analysis which showed CO2 emissions accounted for 75% of the life cycle impact. A lighter weight aluminium body structure and reduced engine weight allows higher fuel efficiency for the cars, whilst delivering the same performance. Link
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Apple have reduced their packaging for the iPhone by 28% since 2007. They are now able to transport 60% more phones in the same container; saving material costs, transportation costs and emissions whilst retaining protection to the phone. Link
Introduction
A technical product is usually made of one or several materials and the sustainability of those materials needs to be considered through the entire life cycle (Lennart and Ljungberg, 2005). Selection of material is traditionally made by technical demands like price, strength of material, temperature stability, hardness, etc. (Brechet Y et al, 2001 & Mangonon 1999) However, for a successful sustainable product development, factors like reputation, fashion, product, cultural aspects, etc. must also be taken into account (Ljungberg, 2005). Optimisation of materials can include: 1. Replacement of Technical for Biological materials - This allows materials to be composted or used to create biogas, avoiding the need to cycle materials. Biological materials can include wood, cardboard, paper, sugarcane, hemp etc. An example is a compostable carrier bag or paper packaging. 2. Use of recycled material - Using recycled materials closes the materials loop and can be a cheaper alternative. Recycled materials can include metals, plastics, ceramics and composites (Ljungberg, 2005). A common example of recycled material is in plastic drinks bottles. 3. Removal of toxic materials - Depending on the materials and substances, a material could be potentially toxic for human health throughout its life cycle phase or specifically at the end of its life. Concerning the potential toxicity in the pre-production, production and usage phases, if a material does not release harmful substances during these phases, it is possible to define it as being biocompatible. (Allione et al 2011)4. Eco-efficient materials - Are materials which have low environmental impact. Eco-efficiency includes the embodied energy (direct and indirect energy used to make the materials, energy to transport the materials and recoverable energy from combustion) and CO2 emissions to produce and deliver the materials (Allione et al 2011). For example, replacing plastic for metal may improve the eco-efficiency of the product, depending on the application.5. Reduction of scarce materials - Dependence on scarce materials introduces supply risk and creates an unsustainable product in the medium to long-term. Although replacement of one material for another might not reduce the material volume, it reduces the dependency on the potentially costly and emissions-intensive process of mining the material. Materials on the European Commission critical raw materials list include: Antinomy, Cobalt, Gallium, Geranium, Indium, Platinum, Palladium, Niobium, Neodymium and Tantalum. Link. The redesign of Neodymium in magnets for electrical motors is an example of how scarcity of materials is affecting design.
Benefits
Potential benefits include:
- Reduced virgin raw material consumption
- Good reputation
- Financial benefit
- Reduced material sent to landfill
- Lower emissions and pollution
- Lower supply chain risk (Ljungberg, 2005)
Considerations
Cost to change the design | Potentially high costs are possible for development, production and purchase of materials | Change to design could improve customer satisfaction, green credentials and supply chain risk |
Change to design could impact product functionality or durability | Product or packaging could fail potentially impacting safety and/or financial loss | Thorough design, modelling and testing will mitigate the risk |
Product Design
Products with highly optimised materials will have high proportions of:
- Biological materials/nutrients
- Recycled materials
- No toxic materials
- Eco-efficient materials
- Abundant materials
Case Studies
Introduction
Industrial symbiosis is the physical exchange of materials or energy between companies; waste from one company becomes the resource for another company. Cooperation between companies can lead to “win-win” situations where there is competitive advantage for both companies. The key to industrial symbiosis are collaboration and the synergistic possibilities offered by geographic proximity (Chertow, 2000).
Benefits
Potential benefits include:
- Reducing resource use, dependence on non-renewables, pollutant emissions, and waste discharges
- Reducing input, production, and waste management costs, and generating additional income due to value added to by-product and waste streams
- Improving relationships with external parties, and by facilitating development of new products and their markets
- Generating new employment, and helping to create a safer and cleaner natural and working environment (Mirata, 2004).
Considerations
Developing exchanges and interactions with other companies | Difficult to find and form synergies with partner companies | Organisations like the NISP Network and International Synergies can help. Also, building an understanding of your raw materials, waste products, local users and purchasers will find opportunity |
Quality of supply/feed | Inconsistent raw materials or waste product can affect product quality | Controls, measures and treatment can regulate inbound and outbound quality |
Knowledge sharing of waste stream composition | Competitors knowing composition or volume of waste products could compromise secrecy | If it is an issue, controls and measures with the partner company can protect company information |
Legal regulations around the movement of waste materials | Regulation of hazardous materials could prevent industrial symbiosis | Regulations will cover certain substances, but it will still be feasible for many materials and substances |
Product Design
Industrial symbiosis can be for a wide variety of materials, providing there is a user who needs that input material, industrial symbiosis is possible. Materials include water, heat, steam, ash, paper, sawdust, card, oil, minerals, metals, etc. (Chertow, 2007)