Whole Systems & Life-Cycle Thinking

for Sustainable Design

Whole Systems & Life-Cycle Thinking

for Sustainable Design

SustainabilityWorkshop

autodesk.com/sustainabilityworkshop

Lifecycle Thinking is a way of thinking about all of the stages involved in a product’s life: raw materials extraction, manufacture, transport, use, and disposal. Lifecycle Assessment is a way of quantifying the environmental impacts that occur at each stage.

Whole Systems Thinking is a way of thinking about the related social, environmental, and technical systems that a product is a part of. For example, how is the product used, who manufactures it, what other products are used with it?

(1) Define the problem

by looking at

the whole system

•What parts and sub-systems make up the product?

•How do those parts connect?

•When & why does the user use it?

•What other things are always used with it?

•How are the product, the user, and other components of the system connected?

•What kinds of environmental impacts occur where?

(2) Prioritize objectives

by assessing

life-cycle impacts

(3) Brainstorm solutions

by looking at

the whole system

Factor Ten Design Principles

Principle 1. Collaborate across disciplines Principle 2. Develop multiple design iterationsPrinciple 3. Define shared and aggressive goalsPrinciple 4. Adjust incentivesPrinciple 5. Define the service provided Principle 6. Establish the theoretical minimum end-usePrinciple 7. Identify and communicate all possible benefitsPrinciple 8. Start with a clean sheet Principle 9. Use real data Principle 10. Start downstream Principle 11. Design for radical simplicityPrinciple 12. Tunnel through the cost barrier Principle 13. Base design on oscillating demandPrinciple 14. Functionally integrate components Principle 15. Include feedback in the designPrinciple 16. Address Systemic Causes

(4) Use metrics

to evaluate and choose

solutions

(5) Repeat