by: Environmental Leader, 2012-10-25 14:23:56 UTC General Motors is sharing details about how it has turned more than half of its manufacturing plants into landfill-free facilities and which best practices helped the automaker turned its own waste byproducts into a $1 billion-a-year revenue generator. GM released a downloadable blueprint “The Business Case for Zero Waste” in an effort to help companies [...]
by: Environmental Leader, 2012-10-25 14:32:14 UTC Putting a speed limit on cargo ships as they sail near ports and coastlines could cut their GHG emissions by up to 70 percent, according to scientists writing in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. More than 100,000 ships carry 90 percent of the world’s cargo, David R. Cocker III and colleagues write in the [...]
by: mocoloco, 2012-10-23 17:48:05 UTC
Cleo de Brabander asked some seniors how food was preserved before the advent of the refrigerator and then created objects to preserve both food, and the method.
We’ve all heard about buildings powered by solar or wind energy, but an algae-powered building? Splitterwerk Architects have designed just such a structure, dubbed BIQ, which will be the very first of its kind. Covered with a bio-adaptive façade of microalgae, the distinctive building has been designed for the International Building Exhibition in Hamburg, and is slated for completion next year.
by: Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine, 2012-10-23 20:06:10 UTC
A traditional Chinese medicine cabinet features numerous deep drawers, all of the same dimensions. It's a piece of furniture that has remained unchanged for centuries thanks to the form being perfectly suited to its function. By applying some mathematical magic to the core design of the Chinese medicine cabinet, design studio Utopia has created Fibonacci Cabinet... Continue Reading Fibonacci Cabinet brings order to the world of home furnishings
by: Environmental Leader, 2012-10-24 14:39:34 UTC Waitrose has achieved its target of sending zero food waste to landfill two months ahead of schedule. Originally, the supermarket chain had said all 280 of its UK branches would recycle or donate food waste that is unfit for consumption by the end of 2012; it has done so this week, according to the company. [...]
by: Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit, 2012-10-22 09:14:27 UTC
Walmart decided to add sustainability performance to its buyers’ performance evaluation to ensure they will take sustainability into account in their decision-making process, but can incentives be an effective tool when it comes to working with the supply chain?
We can video conference from two cell phones on opposite sides of the planet, but we still haven’t figured out the interface for our own living rooms. There are solutions on the market, sure, and the Nest is pretty interesting if you’re only worried about temperature. But we simply haven’t seen the brilliantly simple iPod or Facebook of home automation; no gadget or cloud service has commandeered our home lives yet. Expense is certainly one reason. But the other? It could very well be a lack of inspiring design.
Music playback controls--the rings pulsate with the beat.
Serenity is a different sort of home automation concept by Artefact. It’s an e-ink tablet that can accompany you through the house, changing its function by proximity (someone’s in the living room) or user action (somebody turns on music). This convenience is certainly important--but honestly, it’s nothing you couldn’t replace with an iPad today. What makes Serenity so appealing is its interface, a UI "with a heart."
Whether that middle-America-approved tagline appeals to you or not, the Serenity OS is gorgeous. Sterile home-automation functions become a series of relaxed infographics. Every piece of data you see is touchable and relevant to the tablet’s current location.
“The visual experience presents status data, menus, and controls as art and/or elements that are visually pleasing to look at and ask to be displayed and enjoyed rather than hidden,” Artefact writes. “Controls are kept minimal to connect with the architecture and please the eye. Context is provided by both descriptive menu systems and the device’s location within the home.”
A wireless thermostat that’s vaguely reminiscent of Nike Fuel.
Serenity OS’s flexibility is especially noticeable in the topic of energy consumption. Placed in the kitchen, leaves on a picture of a plant can wilt away to signify energy use. Or instead, Serenity can display a top-down view of the appliances sucking down the most power, with each appliance rendered as a circle with its diameter relative to its consumption.
In either case, Serenity’s home automation doubles as a piece of data art, offering a welcome alternative to a future that could otherwise be full of ugly icons, buttons, and checkboxes elbowing for space next to the kids’ more attractive finger-paint creations on the refrigerator.
Ikea has long been recognized for its adoption of sustainable practices, from investment in renewable energy to their participation in the American Forestsplant-a-tree program, and today the company has unveiled what might be its most ambitious initiative to date. The Swedish furniture manufacturer has stated that it plans to not only transition to 100% renewable energy sources by 2020, but it will also plant more trees than it uses in production. IKEA also aims to limit sales to energy-efficient products like LED bulbs, refrigerators and induction stoves.
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-10-30 17:15:46 UTC
In Germany alone, every year 1.9 million tons of milk cannot be used for consumption. Due to process steps that are not up to par with the stringent ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-10-28 08:43:19 UTC
From the graduate exhibition of the Design Academy Eindhoven, in the Netherlands and part of the annual Dutch Design Week. One of my favorite sustainable ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-10-25 14:47:14 UTC
Created from sustainably sourced softwood, Accoya® matches or exceeds the durability, stability and beauty of the very best tropical hardwoods.
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by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-10-24 15:18:49 UTC
Taking a shower is in the western world not done once a week anymore like our grandparents did, in most cases it is at least once a day now. And 6 ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-10-23 14:05:48 UTC
The Centre for Sustainable Design organises the 17th International Conference "Towards Sustainable Product Design", this time around the theme
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by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-10-21 17:01:36 UTC
The dutch MateriaalPrijs winner 2012 announced at the Dutch design week.
Imagine if every object worked as a solar cell?
In this collection everyday ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-10-21 16:57:14 UTC
The USDA, US Department of Agriculture, is pushing forward with its bio-based procurement program. But is bio-based preferable over a technological ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-10-19 17:37:31 UTC
This product changes the user into a co-designer. It comes in a flat pack and can be changed into any shape, again and again. The shade can take whatever ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-10-16 12:19:01 UTC
Any bike is a sustainable way of transport but the Footloose, this fun looking foldable hybrid bike might be able to get people out of their cars and ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-10-15 16:17:29 UTC
Nissan LEAF was launched on December 3, 2010 in Japan, and is the world's first mass-marketed and affordable EV. Nissan LEAF delivers a unique driving ...
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