Sustainable Products & Packaging

The Centre for Design's Sustainable Products and Packaging Program aims to diminish the ecological impact of products and packaging through:

- Eco Research,

- Eco Consulting,

- Eco Design,

- Training activities

- Development of tools &

- Educational curricula,

- Sustainable products and packaging addresses environmental concern from design to manufacture to end of life phase.

This Program is currently improving two key life cycle management tools: -

1) "Packaging Impact Quick Evaluation Tool (PIQET)": -

PIQET is an independent scientifically based judgment support tool (prototype) for packaging which evaluates ecological impacts of packaging coordination throughout the life cycle.

2) "Rapid Assessment Tool (RAT) ": -

RAT will support product designers, engineers and manufacturers to assimilate ecological issues through the product improvement process.

Both tools will be on-line web-based tools: - PIQET is probable to be launch in mid-2007 and RAT in mid-2008.

Longer-term strategies to diminish the environmental impacts of manufacture and utilization systems are being developed through investigate on sustainable services. This incorporate the business strategies aimed at integrating product manufacturing with support services that optimize product use.

This reflects the need to address 'product systems' through greater attention to Product Stewardship and Producer Responsibility principles, and to take a more integrated and critical approach to sustainable production and consumption. At a more strategic level, the Centre for Design's work on designing environmentally preferable products and packaging is moving beyond Eco-Design towards Sustainable Product Development.