6.   Manufacture Issues

The manufacture of the materials that go into making your product, the supply and transport of those materials (which we look at in Step 8), the assembly of your product—these are all 'outsourced' areas of design that the designer does not often consider or even know about (which you may have discovered in the previous Stage). However as a designer for sustainability you have a responsibility to find out about the Industrial Ecology of your product. This stage comprises a research exercise. The point is to answer as many of the questions listed below as you can, in order to see how and where your product may mitigate against and even reverse production side impacts. These questions may sometimes be difficult to research and answer, however the process of attempting to do so is a learning exercise in itself—you may be surprised at how little people know about the environmental impacts of what they are already caught up in doing. You could compile this information graphically in a process chart, but make sure you indicate 'known' and 'unknown' aspects, rather than erase what you do not know from the picture.

Exercises:

1   Returning to the materials audit list you made in the last stage, try to find out about the materials you do not recognise. In the case of a product that has only one or two materials, add to the list as many of the materials needed for the use of this product as you can (recall secondary products in Stage 2). Answer the following:
2 From what, where and how were these materials sourced?
3 Where and by whom were they manufactured?
4 What are the manufacturing processes for these materials?
5 Is there just one way to make these materials or are there many alternatives and how do they compare?
6 Are any of these materials recycled or otherwise drawn from prior product sources?
7 What kinds of energies are used in manufacture and product assembly (renewable or gas/coal based?) and what are the energy and water efficiency strategies employed, for example, do the manufacturers use cogeneration (the co-production of electricity and thermal energy using a single fuel) processes?
8 What are the machining requirements for the manufacture of this product, for example does it require the development of new tooling?
9 Where and if possible by whom was this product assembled?
10 Do the manufacturers/suppliers/assemblers have Environmental Management Systems in place to organise and monitor such strategies?
11 What do you know about the health risks for those involved in manufacturing these materials (for example particulates, emissions, noise)?
12 Are they sources of acid rain, ozone depleting chemicals, or do they contribute to local air pollution?
13 How does the supplier/manufacturer/assembler relate to their immediate environment, for example how do they manage pollution issues and what happens to material off-cuts?
14 How do they relate to other local ecologies, for example do they utilise local resources?
15 Do they/ are they planning to practice Extended Producer Responsibility? What are the legislative restrictions imposed on the manufacture of this product and what voluntary agreements does its production come under?
16 What kind of product recovery infrastructure do the supplier/manufacturer/assembler have in place (relates to Steps 8, 10)?
17 What kinds of measures would need to be implemented to manufacture this product more sustainably, for example, would it be possible to demand manage any aspect of the supply or manufacture of this product?
18 Can any aspect of this product be remanufactured (remanufacturing is the process of disassembly, component refurbishing and reassembly of products to meet first-use performance standards. It has a strong educational benefits, as manufacturers get to see exactly where and how products become worn in use)?
19 In summary, what do you think are the main environmental impacts associated with putting this product together?
20 How might these impacts have been reduced or reversed in the front-end design process?