AWARDS
ECODESIGN AND THE IDEA
Ecologically friendly designs are favored in most product design
competitions. The IDEA competition requires entrants to supply
documentation about the ecological performance of products. Below we
describe two exciting ecodesign developments in the IDEA competition
that were spurred on by the IDSA EPA Partnership. For further
information about other design competitions that feature ecodesign,
refer to "Green Design Competitions" under "Selected Links".
Guidelines for addressing ecological benefit in the IDEA competition
Every product impacts the natural environment. Decisions made during the
design phase determine the level and type of impact a product will have.
In recognition of this, the IDEA award judging process is placing
increasing emphasis on consideration of environmental impact as a vital
aspect of a successful design solution.
IDEA jurors will be given direction to deduct points from entries that
do not fulfill the ecodesign criteria, and to give points to entries that
show design consideration of environmental impact. Extra points will be
given to those entries that are the most innovative and successful in
improving environmental impact.
Whether you have made a small improvement or engineered a radical
change, it is important to explain your level of consideration and what
you have accomplished in your entry. To aid you in understanding what
the jurors will be looking for, we provide Do's & Don'ts, and a
checklist of things to consider when answering this question. The
checklist starts with smaller steps and builds to larger changes.
Important Do's & Don'ts
| DO | Include environmental impact research to
describe your consideration of environmental impact in more depth,
detailing what you learned, what lead you to make design improvements,
what options you considered, and what improvements you made. |
| DO | Discuss designer initiatives to improve product impact in the
design phase and their results. Describe them even if small steps,
especially if they will lead to greater improvements and/or awareness in
the company in the future. |
| DO | List the materials used in the product in detail (ie: what type of
plastic - ABS, poly propylene, what percentage of recycled content, what
type of flame retardants or other additives, if present). |
| DO | Show 'Before' and 'After' stories to highlight improvements if the
product is a redesign. |
| DO | Describe how energy efficient this product is compared to
competitors (if it consumes energy). |
| DO | Include images highlighting environmental aspects of the design
(such as design for disassembly, reduced scrap waste in the factory,
etc.) to make your point clear to the jurors. |
| DON'T | Specify that materials (especially plastics) are recyclable
without calling out what type of plastic they are! |
| DON'T | Claim recycled content without specifying the percentage of
recycled content in each of the predominate types of material in the
product. |
| DON'T | Claim the technology of the product as a design contribution
(ie: energy efficiency) unless you can demonstrate the designer's
involvement. However, do explain how the designer was critical in
building awareness to facilitate technology improvements, and in
improving acceptance of a new, better technology or product approach, if
applicable. |
IDEA Ecodesign Check List
LEVEL 1: ECODESIGN OPPORTUNITIES
| ¤ | Reduce the amount of material in the product, and material wasted
during production |
| ¤ | Use the minimum number of material types to reduce separation time
during recycling |
| ¤ | Use recycled materials, refurbished components, and specify renewable,
recyclable and/or less toxic materials |
| ¤ | Design disposable products to minimize material content and for recycling |
| ¤ | Design for fast, easy (economical) disassembly of products, including
separation of major components and dissimilar materials prior to recycling |
| ¤ | Eliminate and find alternatives for toxic materials (chemical
content), toxic components (electronics, etc.), treatments and processes
(chrome plating, lead solder) |
| ¤ | Design so that unavoidable toxic components (batteries, electronics)
are easily removed prior to disposal /recycling |
| ¤ | Reduce the energy consumption of the product (engage development team
in reducing energy use) |
| ¤ | Reduce the shipping weight and size of products to reduce energy
consumption during transportation, and use packaging materials from
sources local to production site. |
| ¤ | Eliminate or reduce packaging and collateral materials or accessories
(manuals, inserts) |
| ¤ | Use efficient transportation methods (trains and ships are better than
trucks which are better than airplanes) |
LEVEL 2: PERFORM A COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
| ¤ | Explore all of the
ecological impacts of all the components in the product over its entire
life cycle, include extraction of materials from nature, conversion of
materials into products, product use, disposal or recycling and
transport between these phases |
| ¤ | Determine all areas of
ecological impact from the lifecycle of the product, including global
warming, acid rain, smog, habitat damage, human toxicity, water
pollution, cancer causing potential, ozone layer depletion and resource
depletion |
| ¤ | Conduct a life cycle
impact assessment (LCA) using Okala impact factors or Eco-indicators to
determine which parts of (and inputs to) the product create the largest
ecological impacts and develop alternative designs |
LEVEL 3: NEW PRODUCT USE MODELS
| ¤ | Design for reuse, not disposal after single use |
| ¤ | Design the product for 'take back' systems that enable product
upgrading/refurbishing/recycling |
| ¤ | Design product for use in delivering a service - a leasing or shared
use system |
| ¤ | Design for product life extension - improve durability, ease of
repair, upgrade, eliminate causes of product failure or obsolescence |
IDEA Ecodesign Category
The Ecodesign category was added to the IDSA /
BusinessWeek IDEA
awards program to better recognize and promote efforts being made in
the design field in 2006. The new Ecodesign category informs designers
and product developers by presenting successful eco-design examples.
Judges are selected for the Ecodesign
category that have specialized knowledge of ecodesign practices. The
designs selected by the jurors of the Ecodesign category are carefully
considered - awards will be given only to entries that meet the highest
design standards. Information about submissions to the Ecodesign
category is available on the
IDEA site.
