Lesson video

Hi there, everyone.

My name is Mr. Booth, and welcome to your design and technology lesson for today.

It's fantastic that you could join me.

Today, we are gonna be looking at energy and the impact on designs.

This is part of the core principles unit.

In today's lesson, we are gonna look at the linear economy, look at how designers are trying to change to the circular economy, and also, see how we can relate this to the life cycle assessment of products.

The outcome for today, I want you to be able to identify how the design of products can impact the environment in terms of energy.

Four key words for you today.

The first one is circular economy.

This is all about products and materials and how they're kept in circulation and do not become waste.

We then have life cycle assessment.

This assesses the environmental impact at every stage of a products life cycle.

We have carbon emissions.

The volume of carbon produced contributing to global warming.

And then finally, obsolete.

A product that is no longer used or is useful.

And that's what we're trying to stop.

We're trying to stop products becoming obsolete.

We've got two learning cycles today.

The first one is about defining the circular economy and life cycle assessment.

So, let's make a start.

A product's life cycle can be defined as cradle to grave.

It's very linear.

So first of all, we have those raw materials that we usually, get out of the ground.

We can then design a product, we then manufacturing it, using it, those materials, and also the processes that we select.

We then need to distribute it.

We need to send it all over the world and get it into those shops so users can buy it.

The product is then in use by those users.

And then, of course, when it comes to the end of its life, we dispose of that.

Usually, through landfill or incineration.

Now, this is described as a linear process with a starting point, being extraction of raw materials, and a very defined endpoint, where we throw away that item, the disposal stage.

Global sustainable development defined by the United Nation aims to meet present needs without compromising future generations.

I really like that quote.

I like the way it frames it.

The 2015 Paris Agreement was the first global sustainable development pact focusing on reducing greenhouse gases and emissions.

And this really encouraged designers to move away from the linear product life cycle that we just looked at to a different approach.

And this different approach is called the circular economy.

So, designers are attempting to move away from the linear approach defined as cradle to grave with that very starting point.

And also, that endpoint as well of disposal.

They're moving more towards a circular approach defined as cradle to cradle.

And you think about that term, 'cause that is really what it's all about.

And we call this the circular economy.

So, let's have a closer look at what this circular economy might be and how it differs from the linear economy.

Well, actually, we're starting with those raw materials again, 'cause if we're gonna make a product, we still need to find those materials that we're gonna make it from.

We then have the design stage, but notice we also have a redesign stage added to that.

That'll become clear in a moment.

We still need to manufacture these products using the materials and the processes that we have selected, but, of course, we can very carefully consider those materials and those processes and think about how we can make those more sustainable.

We then need to distribute the product just as usual.

We also then have the product in use, but then we have repair and maintenance.

Notice that is a new stage.

So, what we're trying to do is instead of just throwing away the item that might not be useful anymore, making it obsolete.

What we wanna do is we actually wanna repair it or maintain it to keep it in circulation.

And then, of course, sometimes we're always gonna have waste.

There's nothing we can do about that.

But we can also recycle and then put the recycled materials or products back into the circulation.

And therefore, it's called the circular economy, because it starts again.

And the introduction of the repair and maintenance and also the recycling stages reduces the environmental impact of those products and services that we use.

This obviously, reduces waste by ensuring the whole product is not disposed of or the product does not become obsolete when we don't need it anymore.

The circular economy can be defined as products and materials are kept in circulation and do not become waste.

That's a great definition to try and remember.

Quick check for understanding.

Which title fits the dark green segment that you can see is missing here?

Is it A, product in use, B, waste, C, disposal, or D, recycling?

Pause the video how, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is, of course, recycling, D.

That's what we're going to do.

Recycle those products, recycle the materials, and put it back into circular, okay, the circular economy.

Now, let's have a look at life cycle assessment.

This is where the environmental impact is assessed at every single stage of the product's life cycle so that through design decisions that the designer will make, the environmental impacts can be reduced.

Now, how on Earth do you carry out an LCA?

Well, you can access the following at each stage of the circular economy.

We can look at the sources of energy to where we're getting the energy from that we need to use.

The amount of energy that is required at each stage, and also the amount of carbon emissions that is being emitted at each stage of the circular economy.

A quick check for understanding.

LCA considers a product's impact on the environment at what stage of a product's life cycle?

Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you think you've got the correct answer.

It is, of course, every stage of a product's life cycle.

So, let's zoom in and have a closer look at each stage of the circular economy and how this relates to a life cycle assessment.

At the raw material stage, extraction and processing can use huge amounts of energy and produce carbon emissions.

Two examples for you here.

Processing iron ore into steel and of course, processing crude oil into polymers, huge amounts of energy and also carbon emissions.

Let's have a closer look at turning iron into steel.

Now, extracting and turning iron into steel uses lots of energy and produces lots of carbon emissions, because the process involves heating and mixing materials at extremely high temperatures.

We have blast furnaces.

Iron ore is heated in a blast furnace to separate the iron from the ore.

We then need to turn the iron into steel.

Raw iron is not useful enough so carbon and other impurities are removed in another furnace.

And then we need to improve the steel to make it into a better product, such as mixing it with chromium to make stainless steel.

And this, again, is done in another furnace.

So, as you can see, we're using a lot of energy here.

Quick check for understanding.

Turning iron into steel uses lots of energy due to the high temperatures needed.

Fill in the gaps with the following words.

So, the words you have are mixed, heated, and impurities.

So, first of all, we have the blast furnace.

Iron ore is what in a blast furnace to separate the iron from the ore.

Iron into steel.

Iron ore is not useful enough so carbon and another what are removed in another furnace.

Improving steel.

Other metals or materials such as chromium in stainless steel are what in another furnace.

Pause the video now, fill in the gaps, and come back to me when you've done that.

So, your answers should, of course, have been heated, impurities, and mixed.

Well done, if you've got all those correct.

What design decisions could be made to reduce the environmental impact at this stage of the product's life cycle?

So, we're looking at raw materials.

So, we're gonna do two things here.

First of all, we're gonna look at the life cycle assessment.

So, we're gonna assess this stage, and then we're gonna make some design decisions on how we can reduce the environmental impact.

So, let's show you some examples.

So, first of all, as we know from the previous slides, high temperatures to heat, melt, and mix the raw material produce high volumes of carbon emissions.

So, we've assessed that we've done a life cycle assessment at that stage.

Now, the design decision we might make to reduce that environmental impact would be to use recycled materials, 'cause if we're using recycled materials, we're not getting materials that are new.

We are using ones that have already gone through a lot of those processes already.

So, of course, that will reduce the environmental impact.

We also have non-renewable sources of energy are often used producing high volumes of carbon emissions.

So, what design decision could we make to actually, reduce the environmental impact at this stage?

Well, of course, we could use renewable sources of energy.

That would be a great way to reduce the environmental impact at the raw materials stage.

Let's look at the distribution stage now.

So, transportation creates huge amounts of carbon emissions, often with products traveling huge distances between manufacture and, of course, use.

Locating manufacture close to the location of sales will reduce that greatly.

So, here's a question for you.

Have you ever opened a parcel to find the smallest of products inside the largest of boxes?

Mindful use of packaging or making products more lightweight, flat pack, or stackable can reduce the amount of required transportation and consequently, the amount of carbon emissions.

Now, distribution companies are trying to reduce this and you might find that a lot of the cardboard packaging that you get through your letterbox recently has actually been reduced dramatically, because they've realised that actually, to reduce the environmental impact they need to reduce the size of the boxes that they are sending their products in.

So once again, let's do a life cycle assessment at the distribution stage and think about some design decisions we could make to reduce the environmental impact of the products.

So, a life cycle assessment might be the types of vehicles used.

Now, what design decisions could we make that will reduce the environmental impact when we consider the types of vehicles that are used for distribution?

What I want you to do now is pause the video, have a think, and come back to me when you think you've got an answer.

So, what did you think of?

Well, I thought of using hybrid or electric vehicles.

And actually, you might find that a lot of the delivery vehicles in your area now are actually electric.

Next time you see one coming up your road maybe have a look.

You might find it's an electric vehicle.

We also have the location of manufacturer in comparison to the place of sale.

So again, what design decisions can we make to reduce the environmental impact?

Pause the video again, come back to me when you think you've got an answer.

But once again, we could locate manufacturing in the country of sale or even, you know, the county of sale.

As long as it's closer to where we're selling it, that will reduce the environmental impact.

And then finally, the volume of products to be transported.

So once again, what design decisions could we make to reduce the environmental impact of products for the volume of products to be transported?

Again, pause the video, come back to me when you think you've got an answer.

So, I decided that actually, we could flat pack our products to reduce the size and enable more to be transported in the same volume.

That, of course, would reduce the environmental impact.

So, we're on to your first task now.

I would like you, first of all, to define the circular economy.

Give me your best definition.

I then want you to define life cycle assessment.

Again, really think about that definition and everything you have learned in this learning cycle.

The diagram shows the stages of the circular economy.

I want you to match the following methods of reducing environmental impact to the correct stage or stages of the diagram.

You have use of hybrid vehicles, use of recycled materials, flat pack products, and heating/mixing of materials.

Pause the video now, have a go at this task, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

So, how did it go?

Well, let's have a look at some sample answers.

So, your answers could include, the circular economy can be defined as products and materials are kept in circulation and do not become waste.

And for life cycle assessment, well, this is where the environmental impact is assessed at every single stage of the product's life life cycle.

I'm sure you got two definitions that are just as good as those.

And then I wanted you to match the the different aspects to the circular economy.

So, let's have a look.

Well, first of all, A, we had use of hybrid vehicles.

Well, I'm gonna match that to distribution.

That's a pretty obvious one.

We then have use of recycled materials.

Now, we could have this for raw materials, but also for the design/redesign stage as well.

We then had flat pack products.

Now, this, of course, could be in the distribution stage, but it could also be in the design and redesign stage as well.

And then finally, we had the heating/mixing of materials.

Well, of course, this is part of the raw materials stage.

Well done with that task.

The next part of the task I want you to do is life cycle assessment.

Now, this is a process of evaluating the impact of a product on the environment throughout its life cycle.

This product is made from steel, this stainless steel sink.

What I would like you to do is explain how the material is sourced and processed and its impact on the environment.

I then want you to tell me all about transport.

Transporting products use energy.

Explain one way that energy can be reduced in the transportation of this product.

Pause the video now, have a go at this task, and come back to me when you've got your brilliant answers.

How did it get on?

Well, your answers might be similar to these.

Turning iron into steel uses lots of energy, because the process involves heating and mixing materials at extremely high temperatures.

We've then got each of those stages.

Iron ore is heated in a blast furnace to separate the iron from the ore.

Raw iron is not useful enough, so carbon and other impurities are removed in another furnace.

And then, of course, other metals or materials such as chromium, if we're gonna make stainless steel, are mixed in another furnace to make it a more useful material.

And then finally, the sink and taps could be manufactured close to where they are going to be sold.

This would reduce the amount of transportation required and the subsequent carbon emissions produced through minimised transportation.

Well done with your answers.

I'm sure they were brilliant.

So, we're now on to the next learning cycle, which is design for the circular economy.

We can now define it, an LCA.

We want to now be able to design for the circular economy.

So, let's get going.

At the design stage, designers have a huge responsibility to influence many other segments of a product's life cycle through their design decisions.

Some examples of this.

Well, material choice, for example, biopolymers.

If they make that choice in the design stage, they can, of course, greatly reduce the environmental impact of their product.

The ability of that product to be flat packed, assembled, or stacked.

That can have a huge impact as well as we know on the distribution phase.

Energy sources such as using rechargeable batteries instead of throwaway batteries.

Again, that can reduce the environmental impact, and those decisions are made at the design stage.

We also have encouraging products to be repaired rather than thrown away.

So, design for disassembly or design for maintenance is a really important aspect that we can include as well.

We also have enabling products to be dismantled for recycling.

So, it's easier to take them apart, separate the materials out, and then obviously, send some to waste, if they need to, but actually, we can then reuse a lot of them.

They can be recycled and put back into the cycle.

It's also really important that we encourage products to be passed on.

Quick check for understanding.

The missing stage of the circular economy has an influence on many of the other stages.

The missing stage is called the what stage.

Pause the video now, have a go at this, come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is, of course, design/redesign stage.

Well done.

Now, have you ever opened an Easter egg and been disappointed at the amount of chocolate you received in comparison to the size of the packaging?

I certainly have.

Lots of very disappointing Easter mornings.

This is a sales tactic to try and encourage users to buy a particular product, but with a detrimental effect on the environment.

Designers have the opportunity to reduce the amount of materials or packaging required in a product.

And an Easter egg is a great example of this.

Now, a question for you.

How long does it take for a PET bottle to degrade?

These are your kind of standard, single-use water bottles that you can buy in the shops.

How long do you think?

Okay, I'll give you some options.

You've got one year, four years, 45 years or 450 years.

Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you think you have the correct answer.

Have you got your answer?

Well, you might be surprised to find out it's actually, 450 years.

Designers have a really important role in deciding what materials to use for their designs.

Now, if you are designing a single-use product that is going to be thrown away after its only use, it's one and only use, then you should be thinking about alternative materials such as biopolymers, for example, like PLA.

These will biodegrade under certain conditions and are excellent alternatives to synthetic polymers such as PET.

But it's not just about them degrading as well, it's where we get them from.

So, biopolymers come from things like starch, so they're not coming from crude oil.

So, we're also reducing the environmental impact just from that raw material stage as well.

Now, again, if you think about a chair, an office chair, if it comes fully assembled, you're gonna get one of them in a box, but if you could disassemble it and flat pack it, you might be able to get nine in the same size box.

By reducing the size and weight of products, it means that you can fit more into a ship or a lorry.

Reducing the amount of transportation and consequently, the amount of carbon emissions.

And this can be achieved by, using lightweight materials, designing products to be flat pack, self-assembly, or stacked.

Now, my kids love electronic books.

These are books that interact with the reader.

Most of them now feature replaceable button batteries.

And these are accessible as well, so you can get easy access to them as long as you've got a little screwdriver.

Now, this ensures the product does not become obsolete once the batteries run out.

This nightlight that you can see in this gif here, attaches to the wall with a magnet for ease removal and recharging.

You actually, plug it into five volts and then you can recharge it.

Designing products to have or use rechargeable batteries reduces the need for disposable ones, minimising chemical waste and also battery disposal, which is very difficult.

I'm sure you've been to your local supermarket and you've seen the battery bins there.

That's because we have to dispose of them in a special way.

We can't just throw them in our household waste.

Quick check for understanding.

Designing a product such as a nightlight with a charging port enables what?

Is it A, minimal chemical waste, B, product use life to be extended, C, accessible batteries to be changed, or D, the product to become obsolete.

Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've answered.

The answer is, of course, A, minimal chemical waste, and B, product use life to be extended.

Well done.

Here we are looking at a child's seat.

I'm gonna put these images on the screen, 'cause you can see that this has a play attachment.

You can take the play attachment off and just have a tray, which is useful for when the child is eating.

And you can even have the removable tray so it's a seat.

And finally, you can even remove the insert, which makes the seat actually bigger.

Some baby seats are designed to have multiple functions such as play and eating, but with removable inserts to allow products to grow with their user and extend the product's life or use.

I know from experience, my kids seem to grow every single day.

So, having a product that will grow with them extends the life of that product.

This is the same for adjustable height on seats.

Many bike seats are now designed to adjust the height for using a quick release.

Now, this obviously, means it can be shared between users of different heights without the use of very specific specialist tools, but it also allows the product to grow with the user.

I seem to be putting my son's bike seat up every week as he grows.

Now, these products I absolutely love.

These are Kibu designed headphones, which can be built by children.

They're easily disassembled and reassembled and they can be repaired as well.

Every single part is replaceable.

This reduces the need to throw away products.

We throw away a significant amount of our electrical products every year, even if it's only a small cheap part that has broken.

Kibu headphones are trying to change that.

They're trying to make it so you can take these apart and replace the parts that have failed so the headphones stay in circulation for longer reducing their environmental impact.

Users are also being encouraged by designers to pass on clothes rather than throw 'em away.

Kids grow quickly and often they won't wear out the clothes that they are wearing.

So, by passing on clothes, we can actually, extend the life of those clothes, and again, reduce the environmental impact of having to buy new ones.

The circular economy and life cycle assessment encourages both designers and users to place greater value on sustainability and shift away from the previous thinking of a throwaway society, which unfortunately, is what we have got in our country at the moment.

Many products were designed for one-off use.

So, we're trying to change that, and that's great.

And designers have a responsibility to be at the front of that.

Design decisions within the circular economy can often be generated through consideration of the 6 R's.

Now, you might have heard of the 6 R's.

So, let's have a reminder of what they actually are.

So, the first one is reuse.

Designing parts that could be reused or products that grow with the user.

We've already talked about that.

Recycle, designing parts to be easily dismantled for recycling.

Repair, designing accessible compartment for batteries/recharging and easy to fix replaceable parts.

Reduce, designing products with reduced packaging such as flat pack or stackable.

Manufacturing products in the country that they are to be sold.

Refuse, designing products that will stand the test of time and fashions.

And rethink, designing using environmentally-friendly plastics such as biopol, for example, or PLA.

So, here's a quick check.

Have you been listening?

Which of these is not one of the 6 R's?

Is it A, reduce, B, recycle, C, repair, or D, repeat.

Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is, of course, repeat.

That's not part of the 6 R's.

Goin on to task B.

First thing I'd like you to do.

The diagram represents the circular economy.

Match the method of reducing environmental impact to the correct stages of the circular economy.

We have an adjustable height chair, plug in rechargeable controllers, compostable plastic bags, and self-assembly furniture.

Pause the video now, have a go at this task, and come back to me when you got your answers.

So, let's see how you got on.

Well, first of all, we have the adjustable chair.

Now, I'm gonna put that in product in use, because it's extending the use of the product.

Not only it can be used by other people, but it actually, might be used for longer, because it's more comfortable.

It can also grow with the user as well.

So, if it's adjustable and it's for a child, they might be able to use it for longer in their life, because it can grow with them.

We then had the plug in rechargeable controllers.

So, I put this in the product in use, but also the repair and maintenance, because we're reducing the impact of the batteries rather than being thrown away, we're recharging those.

The compostable plastic bags.

Well, they're biodegradable, little impact on the environment.

So, that's part of the waste, that's what I chose.

And then we have the self-assembly furniture, reducing the size of packaging, enabling more to be transported in the given method of transport in the same volume.

So, I put that in the distribution stage.

Next part of this task, cots are produced for babies to sleep in.

They have sides so that the baby does not fall out of, if they roll over.

Many cots can then be turned into beds by removing the sides.

I want you to identify, which section of the circular economy this would fit into.

I want you also to explain the positive environmental impact of turning a cot into a bed.

And finally, explain how manufacturing collapsible, foldable, or self-assembly products can have a positive environmental effect on transportation.

And there you have a nice example of one of these cot beds.

Pause the video now, have a go at this task, and come back to me when you've answered.

So, how did you get on?

Your answers could include these.

So, first of all, I said product in use, 'cause that's where, I think, it's having the biggest impact.

Turning a cot into a bed extends the use of the product, ensuring that is not thrown away.

It ensures that multiple products do not need to be bought, reducing material processing and transporting of products.

This then reduces the effect on the environment by lowering carbon emissions.

And finally, the packaging can be minimalised with collapsible and foldable products as more products are likely to fit in a standard size box.

This allows more products to be carried in one go, thus reducing the amount of vehicles required.

Consequently, this reduces the amount of fuel required and carbon emissions produced.

I'm sure your answers were also fantastic.

So, that brings us to the end of today's lesson.

Let's have a quick summary before we go.

The circular economy refers to products and materials being kept in circulation, so they do not become waste.

Life cycle assessment, or LCA, is where the environmental impact is assessed at every single stage of the product's life cycle, so that through desired decisions the impacts can be reduced.

Extracting and processing raw materials can use huge amounts of energy and produce carbon emissions.

Transportation can create huge, huge amounts of carbon emissions.

At the design stage, designers have a huge responsibility to influence many other stages of a product's life cycle through their design decisions.

You've been absolutely brilliant today.

I look forward to seeing you all next time.

Goodbye.