Hello there.

My name is Mrs. Dhami.

Thank you for joining me for your Design & Technology lesson today.

Now, the big question for today is, how can we as designers and other designers reduce the amount of environmental impact that the products we design have on our world? Well, we'll explore this together, so get your hard hats on, let's get cracking.

Our outcome for today is that we should be able to identify how the design of products can impact the environment in terms of energy.

Our keywords today are circular economy, life cycle assessment, carbon emissions, and obsolete.

Now, I'll go through circular economy and life cycle assessment as we go through the slides.

However, let's recap about carbon emissions and obsolete.

So, carbon emissions are the volume of carbon produced contributing to global warming.

And then obsolete is a product that is no longer used or useful.

We have two learning cycles in our lesson today.

We're gonna start off by defining circular economy and life cycle assessment, and then we will go on to design for circular economy.

So, let's start off with defining.

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

Starting with the raw materials, moving on to design, then manufacture and materials processing, distribution, product in use, and disposal.

Now, this is often described as a linear process with a starting point being cradle and an ending point being grave.

Global sustainable development, as defined by the United Nations, aims to meet present needs of our world without compromising future generations.

So thinking about our children, their children, their children to come.

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

This encouraged designers to move away from the linear product cycle that we saw on the last slide to a different approach called circular economy.

Designers are attempting to move away from the linear approach defined as cradle to grave, and we see that in the linear diagram, and designers are moving towards a circular approach defined as cradle to cradle or circular economy.

And you can see that in the bottom right-hand corner.

We're gonna look at this in a little bit more detail and a bit closer up on our next slide.

Let's take a closer look at circular economy.

So we've seen the linear product life cycle, where we go from cradle to grave, whereas this now is the circular economy.

We start with raw materials, exactly the same as before.

We move to design, but we also include redesign this time.

We have manufacture and materials processing, distribution, and product in use, the same as the linear product life cycle.

But this is where it changes.

We have the introduction of repair and maintenance, and recycling.

And then we change disposal to waste.

And you will notice that that yellow arrow is a lot smaller than all of the other sections, all of the other arrows.

And it's no longer called disposal, it's called waste.

That is because of the introduction of repair and maintenance, and recycling, because the whole product does not go to the dump any more.

Therefore, it reduces the environmental impact.

This therefore reduces waste by ensuring the whole product is not disposed or the product does not become obsolete.

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

We talked about linear being cradle to grave, whereas we talk about circular economy being cradle to cradle, with all of that being kept in circulation.

Time for our first check-in.

Which title fits in the dark green segment? Is it A, product in use, B, waste, C, disposal, or D, recycling? Have a little think.

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

Well done if you managed to get recycling.

It certainly is.

Well done.

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

So how do we carry out life cycle assessment? We can assess the following at each stage, sources of energy, amount of energy required, and the amount of carbon emissions.

Life cycle assessment considers a product's impact on the environment at, something, stage of a product's life cycle.

Have a think.

What would that missing word be? Have a chat to your partner.

Come back to me when you are ready.

Well done if you got the word every.

Life cycle assessment considers a product's impact on the environment at every stage of a product's life cycle.

Let's zoom in now to the raw materials stage of circular economy.

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

For example, processing iron ore into steel and processing crude oil into polymers.

Let's take a look at iron into steel in a bit more detail.

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

So to start with, in the blast furnace, the iron ore is heated in a blast furnace to separate the iron from the ore.

The raw iron is not useful enough, so carbon and other impurities are removed in another furnace using further energy, further heat.

Then to improve the steel, other metals or materials, such as chromium in stainless steel, are mixed in another furnace.

So that's things like turning ferrous metals into non-ferrous metals by adding different metals or different materials, so stainless steel will not rust due to the chromium added into it.

As we've just seen, turning iron into steel uses a lot of energy due to the high temperatures needed.

Fill in the gaps with the following words, mixed, heated, and impurities.

Have a good read.

Come back to me when you have placed your three answers.

Okay, well done if you got 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 other metals or materials, such as chromium in stainless steel, are mixed in another furnace.

Well done.

Once life cycle assessment has assessed every single stage of the circular economy, design decisions then need to be made to reduce that environmental impact.

So, my question is, what design decisions could be made to reduce the environmental impact at the raw materials stage of the product's life cycle? So let's look at this a little bit more closely.

We have identified that high temperatures are needed or required to heat, melt, and mix the raw material, producing high volumes of carbon emissions.

So a design decision to reduce this environmental impact could be to use recycled materials.

The next thing we identified was non-renewable sources of energy, often used, producing high volumes of carbon emissions.

So a design decision could be made to use renewable sources of energy, which would therefore reduce the environmental impact.

Let's zoom into the distribution stage of circular economy.

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

Therefore, locating manufacture close to the location of sales can reduce the amount of carbon emissions produced.

Let's carry on zooming in at distribution.

Have you ever opened a parcel to find the smallest of products inside the largest of boxes? This quite regularly happens to me.

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.

To sum that up, if that small product could be fitted into a much smaller box, you could fit a lot more of those boxes in one lorry in comparison to lots of boxes at the size of that picture.

What design decisions could be made to reduce the environmental impact at this stage, the distribution stage, of the product's life cycle? So we've identified types of vehicles used.

Instead, the design decision could be to use hybrids or electric vehicles.

Life cycle assessment identified that the location of manufacturer in comparison to place of sale can create a lot of carbon emissions.

The design decision being locating the manufacturing unit in the country or county of sale.

And then the volume of products to be transported, like that one in the big cardboard box.

The design decision could be to flat-pack products so that they have to be assembled at home to reduce the size of the packaging needed and enable more to be transported in one go than in huge, large packages.

Onto task A already.

Part one, I would like you to define circular economy.

Part two, I would like you to define life cycle assessment.

Part three, the diagram on the bottom right shows the stages of circular economy.

Match the following methods of reducing environmental impact to the correct stages on the diagram.

So you're gonna point them out to the right section.

So we have use of hybrid vehicles, use of recycled materials, flat-pack products, and D, heating and mixing of materials.

Good luck, have a go, come back to me when you're ready.

Well done with that, folks.

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

Number two, life cycle assessment is where the environmental impact is assessed at every single stage of the product's life cycle.

Part three, hopefully for A, the use of hybrid vehicles, you probably matched that to distribution.

Part B, you might have done use of recycled materials to match raw materials or design/redesign, or both.

Part C, flat-pack products, again, you might have matched that to the design or redesign, and then also to distribution.

And then part D, the heating or mixing of materials, you probably matched to raw materials.

Well done if you got those right.

Life cycle assessment is a process of evaluating the impact of a product on the environment throughout its life cycle.

So for part four, this product on the right is made from steel, a stainless steel sink.

Explain how the material is sourced and processed and its impact on the environment.

And then lastly, number five, transporting products uses energy.

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

Good luck.

Come back to me when you're ready.

Your answers could include, for part four, turning iron into steel uses a lot of energy because the process involves heating and mixing materials at extremely high temperatures.

Now, you'll remember that flow chart that we had our CFU with.

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

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

And then lastly, other metals or materials, such as chromium in stainless steel, are mixed in another furnace.

At each of these stages, extremely high temperatures are being used.

Part five, the stainless steel sink and taps again.

So 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 all your efforts on that.

Onto our second learning cycle for today.

We are onto design for circular economy.

So let's carry on.

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

Let's look at this a bit more closely.

At the raw materials stage, designers have the choice of which materials they choose to make their product from, be that biopolymers that are biodegradable.

At the distribution stage, designers have the ability to be able to design the product at the start to be flat-packed, or that can be assembled, or that it can be stacked.

This will really, really reduce the amount of carbon emissions at that stage.

Product in use.

Again, at the design stage, the designers could make sure that the product uses energy sources, such as rechargeable batteries, so that the product does not need to be thrown away.

At the repair and maintenance stage, designers have the impact to encourage products to be repaired, perhaps by making sure there are always parts, spare parts, that can be used and replaced rather than, again, having to buy the whole product again and that product going to the dump.

And lastly, enabling products to be dismantled for recycling or encouraging products to be passed on.

And we'll look at a few examples of that in a few slides' time.

Quick check, the missing stage of the circular economy has an influence on many of the other stages.

The missing stage is called the, something, stage.

Have a little think.

Perhaps tell me.

Perhaps tell the person next to you.

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

Okay, well done if you managed to get it is the design or redesign stage.

Fabulous.

Let's have a little look in a bit more detail at all of those things we've just identified.

So, have you ever picked an Easter egg off a shelf and thought, "Wow, this one is absolutely huge! I'm gonna get loads of chocolate in here." Then you've opened it up, and you've been so disappointed at how big or the size or the amount of chocolate that you got in comparison to the packaging.

I certainly have, and I'm a big chocolate lover.

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

Designers have the opportunity to reduce the amount of materials or packaging required in a product and produce a little less disappointment in chocolate lovers like myself.

Right, let's zoom into the raw materials stage of circular economy.

How long does it take for a PET bottle to degrade? Just like that picture on the left.

Lots of us have drank from a bottle like that before.

Sometimes it'll end up in the bin, sometimes it will end up in the recycling.

But how long would that take to degrade if it was just left on the ground? Would it be 1 year, 4 years, 45 years, or 450 years? Have a think.

Perhaps have a vote.

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

Well done to those people who guessed 450 years.

Wow, what a long time! Wow.

So, designers have a really important role in deciding what materials to use for their designs.

Alternative materials such as biopolymers, such as PLA, biodegrade and are excellent alternatives to synthetic polymers such as PET.

Designers have got that choice at the design stage.

Let's zoom into the distribution stage.

Now, have a little look at this office chair.

If I needed to package that office chair up to distribute it, it would take one box if it was whole.

Now imagine if that chair was able to be taken apart and put into a box instead, like a flat-pack, so you'd self-assemble it at home.

Look how many more you would be able to fit into that same box.

That just says it all, doesn't it? So, therefore, reducing the size and weight of products means that more can fit onto a ship or to a lorry, reducing the amount of transportation and consequently the amount of carbon emissions.

This can be achieved by using lightweight materials and B, designing products just like that office chair to be flat-pack, self-assembly, or stacked.

What a difference designers can make.

Let's now zoom into the product in use section of the circular economy.

So, if you have a little look at the two pictures in the middle of your screen, you will see that the one on the left is like a little speaker.

And the back is where you access the batteries to change them, it's like a little button battery, in case the battery runs out.

Now, the first book that I bought which was exactly the same as this one did not have that place for the battery to be changed.

So soon as the book, as soon as the sound, sorry, stopped because the battery stopped working, (sighs) I, in the end, I threw that book away because my kids just loved the sounds that came out of it.

I then rebought it, and this is what it looked like.

It meant that I could change the battery.

So, as I've put here, many electronic books now feature accessible, replaceable button batteries, ensuring the product does not become obsolete.

Now, the picture on the right, well, the GIF, sorry, should I say, is a little nightlight.

Now, this is a little nightlight in my hallway.

It attaches to the wall with a magnet, so it's really easy to remove.

You can see me taking it straight off there.

It means that as soon as it runs out, I can recharge that.

So designing products to have or use rechargeable batteries reduces the need for disposable one, which reduces, or sorry, minimises chemical waste and battery disposal, which is fantastic for the environment.

But again, that needs to be decided in the design stage of the product.

Designing a product such as a nightlight with a charging port enables, A, minimal chemical waste, B, product use or life to be extended, C, accessible batteries to be changed, D, the product to become obsolete.

Have a little think.

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

Okay, well done if you got A and B, designing a product such as the nightlight with a charging port enables minimal chemical waste, no batteries to throw away, and of course, the product use and life is extended.

Well done.

Let's zoom into the project in use stage of the circular economy.

So, here is a baby seat that my kids had when they were younger.

And you can see it has got a play attachment attached on top.

So I could sit them in, and they could have a lovely little play with that toy, keep them entertained.

Now, you could also remove that play attachment so that the children could eat in there or do some colouring in or a bit of drawing while they were sat still in the same product.

Then you could also remove the tray so that they could easily play with something more like a teddy, so they've got more control, more movement to be able to move their arms and legs.

And then next, you could remove that big, green, well, it's like a greeny-gray part.

That's the insert that enables smaller babies to fit into it.

So when they grow, you can take that part out, yet they can still fit into the chair.

So, some baby seats are designed to have multiple functions, just like this, such as play and eating, but with removable inserts to allow products to grow with the user and extend their product life or use.

The longer a product can be used, the more sustainable it is and the less chance it has of being sent to the rubbish tip, so therefore, the less chance it has of impacting on the environment.

Let's zoom into the recycling/repair and maintenance sections of the circular economy.

So Kibu is a design company that design headphones which can be built by children, easily disassembled, and repaired by children too.

You can see all the separate parts in the picture on the right.

With every part being replaceable, it reduces the need to throw away products.

As we know with small children, things can get broken, so things do need repairing.

As long as each part is there to be replaced and can easily be bought, then that extends the product life cycle of that product, which is what Kibu aim to do.

Zoom in again into the recycling stage.

Now, this is a picture of the inside of my daughter's coat.

You can see it says, "Name, name, name." That wasn't a misprint.

Basically, it says underneath those three names, "Please pass me on when you are done." This was specifically designed at the design stage by the designer to encourage users to pass on clothes rather than throw them away.

What a lovely thing to do.

Now, the circular economy and life cycle assessment encourage both designers and users to place greater value on sustainability and shift away from previous thinking of a throw-away society.

That's a society in which many products were designed for one-off use, whereas now we're designing them to be reused and to extend that product life cycle.

Now, you may have come across the six Rs in your design and technology education over the past years.

Now, design decisions within circular economy can often be generated through consideration of the six Rs.

So we're gonna relate that to this today as well.

So, first six R is reuse.

Design decisions can be designing parts that could be reused or products that grow with the user, just like that baby chair.

Recycle, designing parts to be easily dismantled for recycling.

Repair, designing accessible compartments for batteries or recharging and easy-to-fix, replaceable parts, just like Kibu.

Reduce, designing products with reduced packaging, such as flat-pack or stackable, or the Easter eggs, and manufacturing products in the country that they are to be sold.

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

And lastly, rethinking, designing using environmentally friendly plastics, such as Biopol.

For example, PLA, polylactic acid.

Lots of 3D printers are using PLA now, a great biodegradable polymer.

Quick check then.

Which of these is not one of the six Rs? Reduce, recycle, repair, repeat.

Have a think.

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

Well done if you worked out repeat.

Repeat is not one of the six Rs.

Well done.

Onto task B.

The diagram on the right shows circular economy.

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

We have, A, adjustable height chair, B, plug-in rechargeable controllers, C, compostable plastic bags, and D, self-assembly furniture.

Have a go.

Good luck.

Come back to me when you're done.

Welcome back.

So for part one, you could have, for A, the adjustable height chair, you could have attached that to the product in use section, where it extends the use of the product by allowing it to be used as the user gets bigger.

Part B, the plug-in rechargeable controllers, you might have matched that to the repair and maintenance and product in use section because reducing the impact of batteries being thrown away really does help to reduce the environmental impact.

Part C, compostable plastic bags, you might have matched that to the waste section because, of course, they are biodegradable and they have little impact on the environment.

And lastly, you might have matched self-assembly furniture to distribution.

Reducing the packaging size enables more to be transported in a given method of transport, just like that office chair, and with more of the office chair fitting in one box when it is dismantled.

Well done.

Cots are products for babies to sleep in.

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

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

And the image shows the cot.

Cot sides can be removed to make into a cot bed.

So, for question two, I would like you to identify which section of circular economy this product being able to convert into another product would fit into.

And then part three, explain the positive environmental impact of turning a cot into a bed.

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

Good luck.

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

Answers could include, for part two, the cot bed, well, the cot turning into the cot bed is extending the product in use section of circular economy.

Part three, turning a cot into a bed extends the use of the product, ensuring that it is not thrown away.

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

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

Part four, the packaging can be minimised in the transportation section with collapsible and foldable products as more products are likely to fit into 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 reduces the carbon emissions produced.

Well done with all of your efforts, and I hope you got some of those answers correct.

This brings us to the end of our lesson today.

Let's summarise what we have found out.

Circular economy refers to products and materials being kept in circulation so that they do not become waste.

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

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

Transportation can create 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.

It's an important role to have and to be.

Well done with all of your hard work today.

I hope to see you at another lesson soon.

Take good care.

Bye bye bye.