ABSTRACT
Nowadays, the industry's rapid development has created environmental pollution
problems due to the production of consumer products from waste products. Design for
Environment has been implemented to address this issue. DfE is used to eliminate or reduce
the environmental problems that happened during the manufacture of goods. DfE's functions
include manufacturing the product without less hazardous waste, ensuring that
manufacturers use sustainable products, ensuring that chemical pollution and energy
consumption are lower, using non-hazardous recycling material, designing a product that
can easily disassemble and reassemble, and ensuring that the product produced can be reused
when broken or disposed. This study discusses the issue of the environmental problems and
their counter-back with the Design for Environment process.
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Background
According to Sharma. K, development of technology has improved the lifestyle of
humans and high quality of life archiving. As more advanced technology products are produced
to improve and facilitate human life, this also results in increased human impact on the
environment. In this context, the word "environmental impact" applies to energy use and the
production of waste products from consumer products such as household devices, electronic
applications and automobiles. (Van et al., 2014) Sustainable technology has resulted in efforts
to reduce or mitigate the negative environmental impacts of consumer products.
Based on the study conducted by Lockton, Harrison, & Stanton, 2008, the main objective
of sustainable technology is to improve the performance of consumer products while reducing
the waste generated by the products. In other words, the main concerns of manufacturing
industries are producing products that are environmentally friendly. Despite making a longlasting product, the use of renewable materials and recyclable materials should be taken into
account. Hence, the green design is introduced in Design for Environment (DfE) to help
manufacturers create greener products during the early design phases.
Therefore, it supports the Design of Environmental concept, which is the systematic
analysis of design quality in terms of environmental, health and safety priorities over the entire
product and process life cycle. DFE aims to address the product life-cycle issues early in the
development phase. It is therefore similar to production design (DFM), assembly design (DFA),
and production design (DFP). DFE combines several design-related topics including
disassembly, recovery, recycling, disposal, regulatory compliance, impact on human health and
safety, and minimization of hazardous materials (P. Fitzgerald, William Herrmann & Thornton
H., 2007).
Scope
Shoes rack is selected as the case study in this study. DfE tools like life cycle analysis
(LCA), eco web design and eco indicator were used in this study. LCA is used to identify the
environmental impacts of a product, ranging from product design, extraction of raw materials,
production, use and final disposal. Eco web design is used to compare shoe rack components
from factors like material choice, material usage, delivery, product use, lifespan and end-of-life,
while the eco indicator is used to measure the product's environmental impact.
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter, related information of the assignment summarized. The literature review
includes the introduction to sustainability, life cycle assessment (LCA), type of shock rack and
recycle material.
Sustainable Development
The term sustainability can be defined as “the process of changes in which exploitation
of resources, investment directions, technical progress directions and institutional changes are
in harmony with and provide, currently and in the future, the opportunities to satisfy human
needs and aspirations” (Kadłubek, 2015). Besides that, sustainability well-known define from
Our Common Future, also known as Brundtland Report which defines as "Sustainable
development is a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Sustainability become one of the most
pressing challenge of our century, and has been a main keyword in the global research and
political agenda for decades (D’Amato et al., 2017). There are 17 sustainable development goals
(Wu & Zhi, 2016) and all the goals are to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity
for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda. Each goal has specific targets to be
achieved over 15 years (Wu & Zhi, 2016). As figure 2.1 shows the goals are:
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere.
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable
agriculture.
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning
opportunities for all.
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive
employment and decent work for all.
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and
foster innovation.
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries.
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns 13. Take urgent action to
combat climate change and its impacts. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas
and marine resources for sustainable development.
13. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably
manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt
biodiversity loss.
14. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to
justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
15. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership.
Figure 2.1: Sustainable development goals (Assembly, G. 2015)
Based on Figure 2.2, circle of sustainable development cover all of three important
components which are economy, environment and social community. Each component involves
the specific area and issues that need more attention in order to meet the sustainable
development. Thus, we can say that the sustainability should integrate social, economic and
environmental aspects.
Figure 2.2: Circles of sustainable development
Economy Sustainable Development
For urban economy, Wu & Zhi, (2016) pointed out that the urban sustainability should
have the development of economics towards the direction of effectiveness and innovation with
limited resources. In industry especially in the manufacturing industry, the manufacturing
activities will create waste and contribute to the environmental pollution. Thus, in order to
prevent and minimize this problem, the manufacturing industry should practise Lean
manufacturing principles. These principles provide a strategic way forward for manufacturing
industries while providing critical elements in a sustainable operation (“Sustainable
Manufacturing Manufacturing For Sustainability,” n.d.). Beside lean principles, cleaner
production, as shown in Table 2.1 can provide a sustainable environment in the manufacturing
industry. Cleaner production can be defined as a precautionary company-specific environmental
protection which to minimise waste and emissions and maximise product output by analysing
the flow of materials and energy in production (“Sustainable Manufacturing Manufacturing for
Sustainability,” n.d.).
Environment Sustainable Development
The environment can be sustainable when three of these things are fulfilled (Thwink.org,
2014):
1. For renewable resources, the rate of harvest should not exceed the rate of regeneration
(sustainable yield);
2. For pollution, the rates of waste generation from projects should not exceed the
assimilative capacity of the environment (sustainable waste disposal); and
3. For non-renewable resources, the depletion of the non-renewable resources should
require the comparable development of renewable substitutes for that resource
The renewable resources is a resource can be used repeatedly and replace naturally such
as oxygen, tree, soil, fresh water, solar energy and biomass. Generally, renewable resources
harvesting do not contribute to the environmental pollution and global warming. The renewable
resources offer various of benefits such as reduce defence on fossil fuel that contributes to the
emission of sulphur dioxide, providing possible backup if fossil fuel supply is failing and
providing the capacity of natural energy from natural resources. The management of the wastes
in industries can reduce the environment pollution. The use of renewable energy avoids the
consumption of depletable resources such as fossil fuels (Haanstra et al.,2017).
The industries should not generate waste more than the assimilative capacity of the
environment in order to manage the waste disposal. There are many type of waste generated in
the industry. Solid waste (SW) is the material that no longer has any value to a person or an
industry but if the waste are not manage successfully, they will contribute the impact to humans
and environment (Biraja, 2010).Thus, proper education of public especially in industries area
should be taking into serious issues to minimize the community problem regarding the waste
management.
Social Community Sustainable Development
In order to meet the goals of sustainable development the urban social sustainability is
expected to develop the cable communication and information dissemination that are
accessibility (Wu & Zhi, 2016). Besides that, Wu & Zhi (2016) stated that the sustainable city
should also be a living city, getting different environments accustomed to the needs of diverse
lifestyles besides provide employment as well as training chances, averting social. In Malaysia,
especially in the agricultural area, the government had put an effort for good practices in
agriculture by establishing a Malaysia (Shobri et al., 2016). The community is expose to the
better practise in order to achieve the sustainable development of the social among them. Shobri
(2016) stated that, by improving the Malaysia standards in Good Agriculture Practices can give
guidance to the farmer in sustainable agriculture practices, meanwhile at the same time help to
assist farmers in understanding a boarder definition of sustainability farming practices. Besides,
to achieve the sustainable development of the social, the community need the non-formal
educational to gives them a better understanding and keep sustainable development continues
growing (Nasibulina, 2015).
Life cycle assessment (LCA)
In order to fully understand the environmental impact, it is often necessary to consider
the entire life cycle of a product or process. LCA is a tool for enhancing process and system
environmental performance and is often applied in sustainability work. The benefit of LCA is
decreasing environmental destruction, in part by increasing resources conservation and
efficiency. Besides that, LCA can prevent pollution and use in green design effort. According
to Rosen (2006), there are 4 steps of a life cycle assessment which are scope and goal definition,
life-cycle inventory analysis, impact assessment and interpretation. LCA has access to
design/selection strategies for products, materials, processes, reuse, recycling and final disposal.
EcoDesign
A research conducted by Karlsson & Luttropp, 2006, EcoDesign is a concept that
integrates multifaceted aspects of design and environmental considerations to reducing adverse
environmental impacts throughout a product’s life cycle” (Navajas, 2017). The aim of
EcoDesign is to find sustainable solutions that fulfil human requirements and they want. The
word of “Eco” concern living environment and to housekeeping (Natural). While EcoDesign
likes as economy and ecology (Reine Karlsson and Conrad Luttropp, 2006).
Figure 2. 3: Linguistic map of ‘‘EcoDesign’’.( Reine Karlsson a, Conrad Luttropp)
Design for Environment (DFE)
Design for Environment (DFE) is a concept and a set of tools that help industry improve
the environmental performance of a product across its entire life cycle. Design strategies that
improve environmental performance include the selection of low impact materials ensuring the
use of ‘clean’ production technologies, optimizing distribution systems, enhancing use phase
attributes, and ensuring the product has minimal impact on the environmental once it has
reached the end of its use (Luzadis et al. 2009). Some organization are now also exploring
Design for Sustainability which incorporates not only environmental considerations but also a
range of other sustainability pactices associated with a product system, from the sustainability
of the materials, to labour practice, to total costs. One key to successful DFE initiatives, whether
initiated by industry or government, is to align DFE with internal and external business, market
and regulatory drivers (Luzadis et al. 2009). Figure 3.0 shows the strategy wheel of DFE.
Principles and Approaches of Design for Environment
DFE principles and approaches have been developed to guide designers in creating
product concepts and layouts when lack of time and detailed information prohibit a full life
cycle assessment (LCA) (Telenko et.al, 2008). DFE principles often reflect lessons learned from
LCA that pinpoint flaws or potential improvements in candidate designs for improved
environmental impact. The principles and approaches of DFE also promote consistency and
systematization between design process, facilitate communication of new discoveries, and
provide an important set of environmental solutions to complement or replace unavailable LCA
data (Telenko et al., 2008). LCA, Design for Environment (DfE), Product Service Systems
(PSS) & Integrated Product Policy (IPP) are all responses to the identified need for a paradigm
shift in our approach to achieving sustainable development each builds on the concept of life
cycle thinking. he principles of DFE consist of:
i) Ensure sustainability of resources
This principle aims to address resource depletion by encouraging reuse of resources within
the techno sphere, such as materials and components, and renewability of consuming resources,
such as energy.
ii) Ensure healthy inputs and outputs
Healthy inputs and outputs are those that do no cause environmental degradation or
adversely affect human health. This principle requires elimination of hazardous substances and
pollutants as well as the conversion of waste to useful materials for products and ecosystem.
iii) Ensure minimal use of resources in production and transportation phases
This principle encourages the designer to think about how product attributes affect the
efficiencies of seemingly unrelated processes.
iv) Ensure minimal use of resources during use
This principle motivates the product’s design to be efficient in its consumption of energy
and material and its interactions with the user during the usage stage of its life cycle.
v) Ensure appropriate durability of the product and components
Expanding the product life by avoiding extra transportation and processing steps, as well as
postponing waste, recycling, and remanufacturing steps. This aspect can be addressed in two
important strategies: durability for long life, coupled with the ability to update the product to
current best practices.
vi) Enable disassembly, separation, and purification
Recycling, remanufacturing, reuse, repair, and upgrading can be facilitated by incorporating
these features for disassembly, separation, and purification.
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Process Tree
Process tree is a schematics diagram that represent the overview of product’s life cycle.
Process tree help to think ahead in which situation, activities and process that the new product
will turn up. This tool includes some sub processes like fabrication, assembly, packaging,
disposal, etc that essential for later stage of product development. The outcome of the Process
Tree is a structured overview of the main process and important sub process that product faced.
3.2 Life Cycle Analysis
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is a method used to assess the environmental impact of a
product associated with all the stage from extraction and processing of material. Manufacture,
distribution, use and disposal. According to Sajid et al. (2016), LCA is a commonly accepted
method for quantifying environmental impacts of a product, from the procurement of materials
through the return of materials to the environment or processing plant. The Figure 3.1 shows
the illustration of the LCA.
Figure 3. 1: Illustration of the LCA
According to Gierej (2017) LCA provides a very wide perspective that includes various
life cycle phases, like:

Acquisition of resources (metal ores, crude oil, coal extraction processes, etc.),

Raw materials production, from which the final product is being made (production
processes of metals, alloys, plastic, ceramic, etc.),

Raw materials, materials and semi-products transport (influence of transport means on
the environment),

Final product manufacturing processes (direct environmental impact of the product
manufacturer),

Packaging production,

Product distribution (supplying the product to wholesaler's, chain stores and customers
environmental impact of transport),

Phase of product usage (materials needed, energy consumption),

Waste disposal – getting rid of the product, packaging and materials after being used
(environment impact of disposal methods such as re-use, recycling, landfill processes,
waste incineration, etc.)
3.3 Eco Design Web
Eco Design Web is one of the qualitative methods of analysing products against some
important aspect such as material usage, product use, optimal life, etc. The purpose of eco design
web is to rate an existing product or design and identify problem areas for your design ideas.
The activity is aimed to indicate areas of the product that can be redesigned to improve its
environmental sustainability. The Eco-design web is useful when assessing an existing product
for redesign, assessing design ideas and helping to improve ideas and products. Figure 3.2 shows
the eco web colour handout.
Figure 3. 1: Eco web colour handout
3.4 Standard Eco Indicator
Standard Eco Indicator is a quantitative method that used numbers to express the total
environmental load of a product or process. With the standard eco indicator any designer or
product manager can analyse the environmental loads of products over the life cycle. Generally,
the standard eco-indicator available for the following items:
1. Production of materials
In determining the indicator for the production of materials all the processes are included
from the extraction of the raw materials up to and including the last production stage, resulting
in bulk material. Transport processes along this route are also included up to the final process
in the production chain. Which process that is, can be derived from the explanation in the Ecoindicator list. For plastic, for example, all the processes are included from extraction of the oil
up to and including the production of the granules: for sheet steel all the processes are included
from extraction of the ore and coke up to and including the rolling process. The production of
capital goods (machines, buildings and such like) is not included.
2. Production processes
The Eco-indicators for treatment processes relate to the emissions from the process itself
and emissions from the energy generation processes that are necessary. Here too, capital goods,
like machines and dies, are not included.
3. Transport
Transport processes include the impact of emissions caused by the extraction and
production of fuel and the generation of energy from fuel during transport. The unit is the
transport of one tonne (1000 kg) goods over km (1tkm). A different unit is used for bulk road
transport.
4. Energy
The energy indicators refer to the extraction and production of fuels and to energy
conversion and electricity generation.
5. Waste processing and recycling
Not all products are disposed of in the same manner Therefore, when using indicators
careful consideration must be given to which waste processing method is the most appropriate.
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