Module Code - Title:
PD4024
-
DESIGN FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Year Last Offered:
2025/6
Hours Per Week:
Grading Type:
A
Prerequisite Modules:
Rationale and Purpose of the Module:
To familiarise students with issues relating to energy consumption, and the realisation of current exhaustible engineering activities which is essential for a change towards sustainable production.
To present environmental impact assessment and ecological foot-printing of products and processes used in the critical realisation of current unsustainable engineering trends.
To equip students with abilities to perform environmental audits on products and processes.
To outline all relevant legislative requirements relating to environmental aspects of products and processes, which is a key component of an environmental audit.
To provide an understanding and realisation of how sustainable design begins with the concept stages of a product.
Syllabus:
Fossil fuels and global warming. Ecological impact of materials and processes. Land use and environmental impact. Optimisation of the lifetime of products û shifting towards a cradle-to-cradle concept, combined with a Product Lifecycle Analysis (PLCA). Packaging design and analysis. Redesign and reengineering to minimise parts and fasteners. Transport, distribution and reverse logistics. Renewable materials and energy, repair, reuse and recycling. Materials selection for sustainability.
Irish Legislation covering packaging, extended producer responsibility, waste, and EU directives covering, accumulators, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), Energy using Products (EuP). Environmental Management Systems (EMS), product considerations in EMSs, and Environmental Auditing, all as outlined in the ISO 14000 family of environmental standards.Case studies of EMS and Environmental auditing
Learning Outcomes:
Cognitive (Knowledge, Understanding, Application, Analysis, Evaluation, Synthesis)
Explain the impacts of products and processes on the environment
Undertake a series of environmental audits and ecological footprint assessments
Produce a core study report on the environmental sustainability of a selected product.
Affective (Attitudes and Values)
Display an understanding of issues relating to environmental sustainability, EMSs and also as to their application
Psychomotor (Physical Skills)
N/A
How the Module will be Taught and what will be the Learning Experiences of the Students:
Lecture combined with practical sessions to explore the topics.
Research Findings Incorporated in to the Syllabus (If Relevant):
Prime Texts:
RAWORTH, Kate (2017)
Doughnut economics: Seven ways to think like a 21st-century economist
, London: Random House.
LIMA, Manuel, (2023)
"The New Designer: Rejecting Myths, Embracing Change"
, Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press
WALKER, Stuart (2023)
Design for Resilience: Making the Future We Leave Behind
, Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press
TUNSTALL, Dori (2023)
Decolonizing Design
, Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press
CHAPMAN, J (2021)
Meaningful Stuff: Design that lasts
, Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press
DOERR, J (2019)
Speed & Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now
,
eds. CHARTER, M (2018)
Designing for the Circular Economy
, Routledge
FALUDI, J. (2025)
Sustainable design from vision to action
, Routledge
BAKKER, C., den HOLLANDER and van HINTE E (2019)
Products That Last: Product Design for Circular Business Models
, BIS Publishers
HAFFMANS, S., van GELDER, M., van HINTE E and ZJILSTRA, Y., (2018)
Products that Flow: Circular Business Models and Design Strategies for Fast-Moving Consumer Good
, BIS Publishers
PAPANEK, V. (2019)
Design for the Real World (ed.3)
, London, Thames & Hudson.
Other Relevant Texts:
Programme(s) in which this Module is Offered:
Semester(s) Module is Offered:
Module Leader:
muireann.mcmahon@ul.ie