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With businesses continuing to feel the effects of the economic downturn, there is no better time to investigate the significant benefits that sustainable design can bring.
We have seen examples of businesses turning to approaches such as eco-design to help them reduce raw materials costs, as well as reduce the environmental impact of their products or packaging. This allows them to improve ‘resource productivity’ which means producing more products and services with fewer materials and less pollution and waste.
Re-Design
It may not always be essential for a business to go through an entire lifecycle analysis of an existing product or piece of packaging to achieve results. Simply asking the design or manufacturing team to suggest three new areas of focus during a re-design could start to have a substantial impact, both with regards to cost savings and environmental benefits.
Pack-In Tool
Packaging contributes significantly to the environmental impact of a product and measuring this effectively can be difficult. To support businesses, Envirowise has launched an online packaging indicator tool called Pack-In, available at www.envirowise.gov.uk/pack-in which simplifies the environmental analysis of packaging. It allows designers to assess their current design and also compare different packaging options using a number of pre-defined environmental parameters.
The tool builds an environmental profile of your packaging system utilising information from the types and amounts of materials currently being used or which are intended for use, information on where the materials come from and how they are transported to your facility and data on volume of product and packaging. The tool then presents the results in both graphical and tabular formats based on six parameters: recycled content, recyclability, product/pack ratio, volumetric efficiency, embodied carbon and transport.
Adapting to Increasing Regulations
Adopting these cleaner design principles can also help companies towards compliance with legislation. Under the EU Packaging Directive, introduced in 2005, guidelines have been specified with regards to the environmental performance of packaging. The Directive encourages designers to create packaging with a limit on weight and volume required, as well as incorporating a design and using materials which permit re-use and recovery. Following a systematic approach to eco-design can help companies identify more efficient design and production techniques which can in turn help them adapt to increasing regulation.
Design Box Forum
Envirowise has also recently launched a new online eco-design forum, DesignBox, for companies interested in discussing everything from compliance to opportunities for cost savings. As well as a discussion forum, where users can share best practice and ask Envirowise experts for tips and advice, the forum hosts monthly sessions with keynote speakers from the world of design. During this session, forum members are able to submit questions live via an instant-messaging style interface. Highlights from the latest session on 4 February 2010 will be available on www.envirowise.gov.uk/designbox
Sustainability experts Envirowise offer a range of practical guidance on eco-design free of charge, including a confidential advice line, good-practice guides and Pack-in – the packaging indicator tool. More information can be found by visiting www.envirowise.gov.uk/ecodesign or by calling the Envirowise Advice Line on 0800 585794.
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