Sustainability

• We are using the Earth's resources all the time when we manufacture products. We are manufacturing more and more products using sources such as oil, metal ores and timber at an increasingly high rate
• Collecting and processing new materials, converting them into products and then using them consumes huge amounts of energy
• Using natural resources has an impact on the planet, which we need to minimise for future generations
• Sustainability is about meeting our own present-day needs without compromising the needs of future generations
• New technologies can be used to help us manufacture products more sustainably
• A finite resource is a resource that does not renew itself quickly enough to meet the needs of future generations. E.g. coal, oil and natural gas
• Plants and organic materials, with the aid of heat and pressure over millions of years, become coal, oil or natural gas
• Minerals and metal ores, e.g. cassiterite (tin) and chromite (chromium), are also considered finite sources, as once they are completely exhausted there is no natural way to renew them
• Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a new technology designed to extract gas and oil from shale rock, but is proving to be a controversial method of extraction because of concers regarding environmental impact
• Non-finite resources are sources that can replenish quickly enough to meet our needs. E.g. water, and plant life
• There are also common renewable energy sources that we are now using, such as solar, geothermal and wind power
• Technological advancements have allowed us to use renewable resources more effectively and to generate more energy from them, reducing our reliance on finite resources
• Designers need to think about the life cycle of a product. They need to consider the environmental impact of the product from the raw materials required, how long the product will last before it wears out, and its inevitable disposal at the end of its life
• There are different ways designers can make a product's life cycle more sustainable:

  • Using low-impact materials
  • Conserving resources by using recycled materials
  • Reducing material usage
  • Designing producst that use less or no energy when the product is in use
  • Ensuring a prolonged lifetime
  • Making sure materials and components can be easily recycled and recovered at the end of their lifetime
• Factors that affect the life cycle of a product all contribute to the ecological footprint of the product
• The effect that a company or organisation has on people and communities is often referred to as its social footprint
• Companies have a responsibility to consider human rights and the working conditions of their workforce
• Companies with a good social footprint take care of their workers, in terms of health and safety, workforce equality, child labour, and wider social issues that affect communities in their supply chains