The Centre for Sustainable Design organises the 17th International Conference “Towards Sustainable Product Design”, this time around the theme
Resource Efficiency, Innovation and Lifestyles
Held on 29th-30th October 2012 at Alanus University in Bonn, Germany
Quick update from Martin Charter – 1 week to go to Sustainable Innovation 2012 – over 110 international delegates booked – more information > also follow on twitter via #SusIn2012
Over 50 presentations including:
Two panels on
Join the debate
Martin
The ‘green economy’ with resource consumption, innovation and behavioural change is central to discussions. Resource productivity and efficiency in production and consumption are moving up the global agenda as increasing raw material costs and emerging concern associated with security of supply of critical metals essential for the production of eco-innovative technologies has increased. Discussions in have shifted towards the practicalities of transitioning to low carbon and resource efficient economies and societies. Materials and water alongside energy and food are now being positioned at the heart of the resource productivity debate. The need to radically change consumption patterns has gained increased visibility and enabling higher levels of demand and supply side innovation will be the linchpin in moving forward. The ‘Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe’ published by the European Commission in September 2011 consistently highlighted the need for accelerated innovation in materials, products, services and technologies as key to enabling smart, sustainable growth. Developing an improved framework to accelerate the flow of good ideas for products, services and technologies through R&D to the market is essential to enable resource efficient, low carbon innovation. New business models will be required that catalyse innovation across and beyond the life cycle. Developing systems to ensure ‘closed (materials) loops’ are receiving increasing attention and various approaches are being developed e.g. ‘cradle to cradle’, Product Service Systems (PSS), re-use and sharing models. ‘Designing out’ waste and designing for ‘closed loops’ will be of growing importance as waste gets more expensive and resources get scarcer. Therefore developing products, services and technologies to enable recycling, remanufacturing, reconditioning, product extension and dematerialisation will become an essential element of innovation.
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