Яковенко С.А.

Problem Identification Approaches in Sustainable Design

Sergei Ikovenko, GEN3Partners, USA


Sustainable Design is the systematic application of environmental considerations to product design at all stages of a product’s life cycle. These stages include resource extraction, manufacturing, shipping/transport, useful life, and end of life (from cradle to grave or cradle to cradle). The ultimate goal of Sustainable Product Design is to create systems that enable us to produce and consume goods and services without compromising our future. To achieve it requires a redesign of goods and services so that they are eco-efficient and/or eco-effective.
The article focuses on problem identification approaches in Sustainable Design. The intimate parts of Sustainable Design – Design for Recycling, Design for Re-Use, Design for Re-Manufacturing constitute a number of rules and specification requirements that can be presented in a function format. Juxtaposing function models of the system at different life stages with the function requirements of the Sustainable Design identifies so called ECO-contradictions that can be approached with TRIZ tools.