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Sustainability in Design Education: Introduction of Life Cycle Assessment
Published:
19 November 2013
by MDPI
in The 3rd World Sustainability Forum
session Environmental Sustainability
Abstract: The activity of industrial design is adding tools focused on sustainability to contribute to traditional design methodology. One such tool is the life cycle assessment (LCA) which are several software alternatives and different methods of analysis. The life cycle assessment plays a very important role to understand the best alternatives of selecting of materials and processes in a product. Confronting with consumer activity, with an estimated useful life of the product increasingly short, reflect on the selection of materials and processes appropriate to each project through the LCA provides a powerful tool to support the project, making it essential when talking about sustainability. In this manuscript intend to reflect on the material selection in product life cycle, exploring an analysis tool life cycle in two types of products with low technological complexity, "squeeze bottle" and "lamp". Through exercises in disciplines of sustainability in design courses show up different analyzes for the same type of product, reflecting on the choice of materials and processes these. It was used for the analysis of life cycle of assessment the software CES EduPack with Eco Audit Tool. Students become stimulated to study more stiffness the correct selection of materials in the design phase, covering all stages of the life cycle of these products, which allowed students to visualize more clearly the necessity to have a systemic view of the entire life cycle of this product. The results show the complexity and importance of proper selection of materials and processes for sustainability.
Keywords: Sustainability, Life Cycle Assessment; Sustainable consumption; Education.