Lesson video

Hello there.

My name is Mrs. Darmi.

Welcome to your design and technology lesson today.

Now, the big question for today is how can the environmental impact of a product be reduced at the distribution stage of the circular economy? So let's get exploring together.

Our outcome for today is we will be able to explain how decisions for the distribution stage can reduce the environmental impact of a product.

We have three key words today, distribution, which is the process of getting a product from the manufacturer to the stakeholders.

Circular economy, which is where products and materials are kept in circulation and do not become waste.

And lastly, carbon emissions.

They are the volume of carbon produced, which contribute to global warming.

We have two learning cycles for our lesson today, distribution and investigate.

So let's get cracking with distribution.

The circular economy can be defined as an economic system where products and materials are kept in circulation and do not become waste or become very little waste.

At the distribution stage and that's highlighted in a circle on the diagram, at the distribution stage, decisions can be made to reduce the environmental impact, and that's what we're going to explore today.

These decisions include the location of manufacture, transport choices such as fuel choices, green fleets or aerodynamic vehicles, packaging, such as the ability of a product to be flatpack, stacked or disassembled, eco-friendly material choices for packaging.

We will explore each one of these in a little bit more detail, and these decisions may be through the result of a life cycle assessment, which we can call LCA.

LCA is where the environmental impact is assessed at every single stage of the product's lifecycle with the aim to reduce the impact on the environment.

Quick check-in, life cycle assessment, LCA, assesses the environmental impact at something of the product's lifecycle with the aim to reduce impact.

Have a little think.

Come back to me when you've got an answer.

Well done if you've got the words every single stage.

Lifecycle assessment assesses the environmental impact at every single stage of the products lifecycle with the aim to reduce the impact on the environment.

Transportation creates huge amounts of carbon emissions, often with products travelling long distances between manufacture and use.

Let's remind ourselves, carbon emissions refer to their volume of carbon produced, which obviously contributes to global warming.

Therefore, locating manufacture close to the location of sales reduces the amount of travel and consequently, the amount of carbon emissions.

There is a choice when considering how to power a vehicle.

Examples include diesel, petrol, hybrid, which could be diesel or petrol plus electric or purely electric vehicles.

We also have things called green fuels.

Now, Andeep says, "What are green fuels?" Have a little think, chat to the person next to you.

Do you know what a green fuel is? Come back to me when you've had a think and we'll address it on the next slide.

So green fuels are renewable and produce either low or no carbon emissions.

Let's take a look at a few examples.

We have bioethanol, which is made from corn, sugar cane or plant waste.

It's often mixed with petrol in cars and its benefits are renewable of the fact that it is renewable and it has lower carbon emissions.

We then have biodiesel, which is made from vegetable oils or animal fats.

It's often used in diesel engines such as cars and trucks and it again, it reduces carbon emissions.

We then move on to biogas, which is made from food waste, sewage or manure.

Oh, it sounds smelly that one.

It's used for heating, cooking, electricity or vehicle fuel, and it's made from waste, therefore it has low carbon emissions.

What a great use of food waste.

Then we have hydrogen fuel, which is made from H2O, water, water, fire, electrolysis.

It's used for fuel cells in cars, buses or trucks.

And the benefits are that it only emits water vapour, what a great choice.

And then lastly, we have algae fuel.

It's made from fast growing algae, it's used for and it's been developed for planes, cars and industry.

It has a high yield and a low land use.

Isn't it amazing how fuel can be made from so many things that we see or have or produce ourselves every day? Green fleets are groups of vehicles that are designed or managed to reduce environmental impact.

They can do that in a variety of ways.

So one way is switching to biofuels or low emission fuels such as electric, hybrid or hydrogen powered vehicles, or any of the ones that we've just talked about.

Improving fuel efficiency through route planning and driver training.

Therefore, planning the route really carefully so they take the most fuel efficient one and don't go the long way round.

Monitoring emissions and setting sustainability targets.

Therefore, green fleets help reduce carbon emissions, air pollution and fuel consumption.

They also receive encouragement from the government through subsidies.

Now that's money given to them to encourage them to do that, tax reductions so they don't have to pay as much tax and exemptions or discounts from charges in clean air zones.

So green fleets will be allowed right into the middle of cities for a much lower cost than normal.

Aerodynamic lorries are trucks that are designed or modified to reduce air resistance, otherwise known as drag, while driving.

This improves the airflow, reducing the fuel use and carbon emissions, and therefore increases efficiency.

Let's take a look at one.

It has roof fairings, which are curved tops, allowing the air to flow across the top of it, improving the air flow.

It has streamlined cabs, it has side skirts.

Now these are panels that cover the gap under the trailer to stop the air going underneath and directing the air flow along the sides.

And then lastly, it has tapered rear ends or boat tails.

Again, improving the airflow and reducing the air resistance.

Next time you're on the motorway, look out for an aerodynamic lorry.

Quick check-in, which environmentally friendly methods can help reduce the environmental impact during the distribution stage? A, green fleets.

B, manufacturing close to sales, C, aerodynamic lorries, and D, increasing the number of small individual deliveries.

Have a think.

Come back to me when you've got an answer.

Well done if you've got A, B, and C.

Environmentally friendly methods to help reduce the environmental impact during the distribution stage include using green fleets, manufacturing close to sales to reduce the amount of transportation needed and aerodynamic lorries.

Onto task A, part one, I would like you to match the fuel to the source.

So the fuels we have bioethanol, biogas, hydrogen, biodiesel and algae fuel.

So the descriptions are one of them is produced from using cooking oil.

One is made from water using electricity.

One comes from organic waste, one uses fast growing aquatic organisms, and the last one is made from crops like corn.

Have a think.

Come back to me when you have worked it out.

Hopefully you found biodiesel is produced from used cooking oil.

Hydrogen is made from water using electricity.

Biogas comes from organic waste.

Algae fuel uses fast growing aquatic organisms and bioethanol is made from crops like corn.

Well done if you got those right.

Part two, I'd like you to identify three methods that can reduce environmental impact at the distribution stage.

And part three, choose one of those methods that you've just identified and explain how it manages to reduce environmental impact.

Come back to me when you've got some great answers.

So answers could include, part two, three methods that can reduce environmental impact at the distribution stage include using green fuel, locating manufacture close to the point of sale and efficient route planning for a driver.

Part three, I asked you to explain one of those.

So let's take aerodynamic lorries.

Aerodynamic lorries are specially designed trucks that reduce air resistance when driving.

They often have smooth, rounded shapes, side panels and roof covers to help the air flow over them more easily.

This means the engine doesn't have to work as hard, so the lorry uses less fuel.

Using less fuel helps the environment by cutting down on pollution and carbon emissions.

It also saves money for companies because the trucks are more fuel efficient.

Aerodynamic lorries are a smart and eco-friendly way to improve transport.

Well done with your answers.

Onto learning cycle two, investigate.

Design decisions often need to be made at the design or redesign stage.

You can see I've run a circle around that on the diagram.

These decisions then impact the distribution stage.

So for example, the ability of a product to be flatpacked or stackable, and then packaging requirements and choice of packaging materials.

And we're gonna talk about both of those two points in a lot more detail in the next few slides.

Imagine an office chair like this one here with the rolling wheels.

Imagine if that is not disassembled, the size of the box that will be required to distribute that chair.

Now the next diagram, imagine if that same chair is disassembled.

So all the different parts are taken off, the wheels are, the arm rests are, the back rest is, the seat part is, imagine they're disassembled and then they are flat packed.

Now, rather than just requiring one chair in one box, more chairs are likely to be able to fit into that same one box.

Therefore, reducing the size and weight of products means that more can fit onto a ship or lorry.

This therefore reduces the amount of transportation because if more can fit in one box, therefore only a set amount will be able to fit into the lorry.

But if there are more in one box, then more can obviously go in the lorry.

Therefore, it consequently reduces the amount of transportation required and the amount of carbon emissions.

Design decisions therefore include, shall they use lightweight materials and designing products to be flat pack, self-assembly or stackable.

Time for a quick check-in.

Without disassembling any of these chairs, which chair is a good example for sustainable distribution? So we have A, the deck chair, B, the office chair, and C, the polypropylene chair.

Have a think, have a discussion.

Come back to me when you have got a great idea.

Okay, well done if you got A and C.

A, the deck chair, that can quickly be folded quite flat and you can fit lots of them in one box for distribution.

And then of course C, the polypropylene chair, you can see that it is stackable.

So again, lots more will fit into one box.

B is not good unless it is disassembled for distribution because you'd only fit one in a box unless of course you disassemble it.

Well done if you got those right, have you ever opened a parcel or an Easter egg to find the smallest of products inside the largest of boxes? I quite often get a home delivery where there is something tiny inside a huge box.

I actually get confused when I see the box and think, what did I order? And then obviously with the Easter eggs, I've bought several Easter eggs before or been given Easter eggs.

I open them up and I think, wow, that egg is tiny in comparison to the size of the packaging.

Now, if companies do use excessive packaging, therefore they are going to increase the amount of transportation that they need.

Whereas if they made the packaging smaller, they'd be able to fit more on.

So therefore, mindful use of packaging can reduce the amount of required transportation.

And consequently, the amount of carbon emissions.

Decisions about packaging materials made at the distribution stage of the circular economy can also impact the environment and subsequent carbon emissions at later stages.

Let's focus in on recycling and waste.

Decisions therefore will determine whether those materials become waste or whether they can be recycled or composted.

Therefore, it's an important decision to make to affect other stages of the circular economy.

Polymers such as bubble wrap and polystyrene are being replaced by eco-friendly options such as recycled paper, natural materials and biopolymers.

The use of eco-friendly options isn't just good for the environment, but it's also really good for the brand image.

And often with people being a lot more environmentally friendly these days and having an appreciation for it, often creates good customer loyalty for that brand.

Recycled paper sheets and shredded paper provide a lightweight and sometimes aesthetically pleasing alternative that can be composted.

Polystyrene pellets, chunks and shaped pieces used to be really popular and were frequently used to distribute large or breakable objects.

I remember breaking them up when I was a child into small pieces, so bad for the environment, they used to get everywhere.

They are being replaced these days by other options such as lightweight air-filled pods, which can be manufactured using either recycled polymers or biopolymers.

So air is great for protecting breakable objects.

Lots of research has been done over the past few years into different biodegradable and natural materials that can be used to manufacture eco-friendly packaging from sustainable sources.

And that includes packaging made from seaweed, coconut coir and mushrooms. I ordered a food parcel a few months ago and it came with sheep's wool packaging around it.

Now the reason for that was because it was frozen and just in case I wasn't in and it was left on the doorstep or behind the bin, it meant that the wool would act as insulation so that the food did not defrost.

What a great idea.

I kept that because I thought, I know I will use it somewhere.

And in the end, I came up with a great idea for stopping the slugs from eating all of my plants.

So I put that wool around the plant and luckily it did stop, and that is my plant there, it is growing beautifully.

The other thing, there is a rise in embedding flower seeds into packaging.

Now this is great because not only does it stop you putting it in the waste bin, it also stops you putting it in the recycling too, because it encourages us as users to actually plant it in the garden so that it decomposes and beautiful flowers bloom.

Therefore, it hasn't got to be sorted out by any third party.

It is sorted out by ourselves in our own gardens.

What a wonderful idea, time for a quick check-in.

Wool packaging is a good eco-friendly choice because A, it is biodegradable, B, it is lightweight.

C, it is made from a fossil fuel.

And D, it's an insulator, have a think.

Come back to me when you've got a good idea.

Well done if you've got A, B and D, wool packaging is a good eco-friendly choice because it is biodegradable, it is lightweight and it is an insulator.

Think of my frozen food.

Onto Task B, part one.

I would like you to suggest an eco-friendly packaging material for each product and justify your choice.

Good luck, come back to me when you've got some answers.

Answers could include, for the frozen meal you could use wool.

Why, because it is insulating and natural, because it is from sheep and it will stop your frozen food from defrosting just like mine.

The glass vase, you could use biopolymer airpods because the air inside provides cushioning to prevent breakages.

And lastly, the book.

You could use recycled paper or card because a book requires very little protection and bulky packaging is not required.

Well done if you got some of those answers and perhaps you might have got different answers as long as you justified them, then that will be brilliant.

Well done.

Many companies are choosing to use eco-friendly materials for packaging and distribution.

So for part two, I would like you to explain two reasons why using eco-friendly materials for distribution is important.

Answers could include, it reduces environmental impact, using eco-friendly materials like recycled cardboard or biodegradable packaging reduces the amount of waste sent to landfill and lowers pollution and carbon emissions.

It also improves brand image.

Companies that use eco-friendly packaging are often viewed more positively by customers, which can increase sales and customer loyalty, which is always going to be a good thing for a company.

This brings us to the end of our lesson today.

Let's summarise what we have found out.

At the distribution stage of the circular economy, decisions can be made to reduce environmental impact and lower carbon emissions.

These decisions include the location of manufacture, transport choices such as fuel choices, green fleets or aerodynamic vehicles, packaging, such as the ability of a product to be flatpacked, stacked or disassembled and eco-friendly material choices for packaging.

Eco-friendly material choices for packaging include recycled paper, biopolymer airpods, use of natural materials such as wool, seaweed, coconut coir and mushroom.

Well done with all of your hard work today and hopefully see you in another lesson soon.

Take good care, bye bye.