A global revolution is in full swing, and the Sustainable Brands Conference is where sustainability, brand and innovation leaders gather to learn, share and strategize to shape the future. SB'12 was the largest gathering to date, a kinetic convergence of innovators from more than 150 companies from around the world finding new ways to create monumental disruption in traditional models of commerce and consumption.

1. REDUCING IMPACT AND ELIMINATING
WASTE AT THE DESIGN PHASE
Mathieu Turpault, Bresslergroup
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3. About the speakers
Mathieu Turpault / Director of Design and Partner
18 years of product development experience. Mathieu is passionate
about sustainable design and leads Bresslergroup’s designers
accord and other sustainability initiatives. Mathieu is a firm believer
that designers have the ability and responsibility to influence and
direct change — and that their unique set of problem-solving skills
positions them to be better change agents than most.
Seth Galewyrick / Senior Mechanical Engineer
Seth has broad practical knowledge of how products are
designed, manufactured, used and, through Life Cycle
Analysis training, is knowledgeable on end of product life
activities and issues. His projects have earned numerous
patents and awards. Seth has a BS in Engineering Mechanics
and Astronautics from the University of Wisconsin.
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4. What we do
• Bresslergroup
• 40 years of research driven product development experience
• Consumer, commercial and medical markets for global brands
• International and multi-cultural staff, over 100 international awards
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5. Our objective today
• How LCA tools and thinking can help drive product development decisions
• Contrast screening LCA with In-depth LCA tools
• Growing a sustainable design expertise, the lessons we learned
à SMALL SYSTEMATIC STEPS = INCREMENTALISM
à SYSTEMATIC X ALL PROJECTS X PRODUCTION VOLUMES = LARGE IMPACT
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6. Presentation outline
① Market dynamic, greener products, a shared objective
② General trends in product development
③ Screening vs. in-depth LCA
④ How and when to use these tools
⑤ The notion of incrementalism – our process
⑥ 2-case studies
⑦ Takeaways
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7. Greener products, a shared objective
“Nearly 60 percent of the 3,000 businesses
surveyed said they are increasing their
investment in sustainability.”
Results of the second-annual Sustainability & Innovation Survey
of global corporate leaders by MIT’s Sloan Management Review
and Boston Consulting Group
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8. Greener products, a shared objective
Results of the second-annual Sustainability & Innovation Survey
of global corporate leaders by MIT’s Sloan Management Review
and Boston Consulting Group
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9. General trends in product development
• High global pressure to develop more sustainable products
• Pressure to develop products faster
• Low appetite to invest significantly
• Development teams don’t know how to get started
à FOCUS ON COST SAVING AND TANGIBLE BENEFITS
à SYSTEMATIC APPROACH, SMALL INCREMENTAL STEPS
à DESIGNERS CAN AND SHOULD LEAD
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10. Life Cycle Analysis
• Manufacturing (Raw Material Extraction, Processing, Component Assembly And Final Assembly)
• Transportation (Materials, Components And Final Products)
• Use (Energy Consumption, Disposables, Emissions and Other Impacts Of Use)
• End of Life (Disposal, Reuse And Recycling)
RAW MATERIAL
EXTRACTION Air Emissions
Materials
Water Emissions
END OF LIFE MANUFACTURING
Solid & Hazardous Waste
Energy
USE
TRANSPORTATIO
N Releases to Soil
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11. Traditional / In-depth LCA
• Academic field for 30-40 years
• Requires a product to be in production for data collection
• Data gathering can be expensive and time consuming
• Powerful tools such as Sima Pro and Gabi
• Great for purchasing decisions, marketing etc… Not as useful for design
Design Process
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12. Screening LCA
• Collected data from thousands of full scale LCAs is available
• Screening LCA doesn’t have the same resolution or accuracy
• Hours instead of months – get feedback early and often
• Help guide decisions in real time
• Easy to learn and apply quickly (5 to 10 projects)
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13. Why consider using these tools
• Screening LCA puts the power in the hands of the designer / engineer
• Acquire & grow a sustainable design expertise
• Great learning and educational platforms (individual & organization level)
Screening
LCA
In-­‐depth
LCA
Easier to get started and gives Provides more complete and
feedback during the design phase accurate results for external
when needed most communication
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14. The notion of Incrementalism
• Behavioral change is most effective but most difficult
• Small systematic improvements are easy to implement
• Focus on tangible cost saving as a benefit to generate buy-in
à MAKE SMALL IMPROVEMENTS MUST-HAVES AND BIGGER CHANGES NICE-TO-HAVES
à MULTIPLY BY ALL PROJECTS AND ALL PRODUCTION VOLUMES
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15. How and when to use these tools
• Define & Declare
• Benchmark – LCA
• Ideations – Bigger increments
• Iterations – LCA
• Optimization – Smaller increments
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16. Incrementalism l Define & Declare
• Define & Declare
• Benchmark – LCA
• Ideations – Bigger increments
• Iterations – LCA
• Optimization – Smaller increments
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17. Case study l “design a better mousetrap”
• Objective: redesign a very successful mouse trap for manufacturing in the US
• Improve cost structure and maintain margins
• Design for assembly
• Design for cost and optimization
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18. Case study l Define & Declare / Benchmarking
• Define the system to be exclusively the trap and nothing else
• Focus on incremental improvements
• Part reduction and material specification
• Packaging
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19. Case study l Define & Declare
• Maintain existing product market recognition
• Design a more “Feminine killing machine”
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20. Case study l Optimization – smaller increments
• Explore plastic environmental impacts
• Iterate and refine
• Screening LCA along the way
3000.0
2000.0
1000.0
von Mises
(psi)
1.0
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21. Case study l Sustainable packaging design
• Improve on earlier packaging solution (Wal-Mart scorecard)
• Design for assembly and cost
• Eliminate plastic all together from packaging
• Environmental impact reduction
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22. Case study l final solution
• Focused on material optimization and cost reduction
• Design for assembly and lower labor cost
• Transparent sustainable design process
à NO FUSS
à LOWER COST AND REDUCED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
= “A BETTER MOUSE TRAP”
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23. Case study l The shipping reel problem
• Shipping reels come in many shapes and sizes
• Cost prohibitive to return them
• A durable/collapsible reel makes both business and environmental sense
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24. Case study l The concept
• Both environmental and financial benefit require a closed loop system
• If our collapsible reel gets thrown away early it’s worse than a wood reel
• Design must be “worth it” to all these users to succeed
Bresslergroup Evolution Wire
Design Reel Wire User
Reels Manufacturer
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25. Case study l Concept Life Cycle Analysis
• Existing product vs. conceptual design
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26. Case study l Big Increments (ideation)
• Material (use less material, use partially or fully recycled materials)
• Use (increase durability to increase number of shipping cycles)
• End of life (manufacturer’s take back and recycling of cores)
TRANSPORTATION
END OF LIFE
MANUFACTURING
Reduction Reel
All Plastic
47 Lbs. Virgin Resin
Landfill
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27. Case study l Big Increments (ideation)
• Competitive products
• Much lower weight limits
• Are plastic flanges really a good idea?
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28. Case study l Big Increments (ideation)
• Stiffness comparison
• All wood
• All plastic
• Wood flanges & plastic core
• Refine conceptual Design
Wood Flanges Plastic Flanges Wood Flanges
and Core and Core and Plastic Core
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29. Case study l Life Cycle Analysis
Existing product vs. refined conceptual Design
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30. Case study l Smaller Increments (optimization)
Prototype ready design
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31. Case study l Smaller Increments (optimization)
Full scale prototypes – user testing
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32. Case study l Smaller Increments (optimization)
Additional load cases
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33. Case study l Smaller Increments (optimization)
Rib placement / stress distributing
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34. Case study l Life Cycle Analysis
Optimized plastic design
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35. Case study l Final Solution
Final knock down shipping reel
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36. Case study l final solution
Reduced assembly time, cost, material and carbon footprint
www.evolutionreels.com
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37. Case study l production
Production data enables deeper LCA
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38. Take aways
• Developing a sustainable design expertise can feel daunting, but…
• It is easy & inexpensive to incorporate LCA thinking into your design process
• And gradually grow this expertise
• We have done and so can you
à SMALL SYSTEMATIC STEPS = INCREMENTALISM
à SYSTEMATIC X ALL PROJECTS X PRODUCTION VOLUMES = LARGE IMPACT
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39. Thank you
Please contact us for a personal online presentation
mturpault@bresslergroup.com
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