Brainstorm preparation (Internal interventions)

• Industrial design engineering
• WO
• Studiejaar 6

Preparation brainstorm Internal sustainability

Hi! 

Hi! First of all, thank you for joining the brainstorm session of 29 April and taking the time to prepare. This slide deck will get you started with some (environmental) sustainability definitions and guidelines for the brainstorm session. It will start with some warming up questions that you can answer by just entering your answers in this deck, the program will save it automatically. The rest of this slide deck will explain the 5 most relevant topics of Life Cycle Thinking and its application on retail focusing on Food & Fashion. During the life cycle steps (slide 8- 17) some space is reserved for sharing your first thoughts/ ideas/ questions. If you don't have any, just continue. The main goal of these slides is to get you prepared for the brainstorm and get the idea generation started! Good luck and have fun :) 

About the brainstorm

During the brainstorm of 29 April we will explore the possibilities to reduce the impact of Nedap Retail's products. This brainstorm will be guided by the principles of Life Cycle Thinking in order to cover as much area of environmental sustainability as possible. The collection of the 10 most sold products will be used to evaluate possible future redesigns. 

A follow-up meeting may be needed in order to cover all the topics. We will decide during the initial brainstorm if this is desirable. 

Gate i45 Grey

Gate i37 Grey (v2)

Antenna FL45N Grey

Antenna FL30N Grey

Lumen iL45

!D Hybrid Gate i45 

!D Hybrid Lumen iL45

!D Top

Lumen iL33 CC

Gate i30 Grey

How would you rate your understanding of environmental sustainability?

1. Low, I do not know yet how to use sustainability
2. Mediocre, I know some definitions and trends
3. High, I know how to asses for sustainability
4. Very high, I know how to asses it and already apply it to my work

What are your associations with environmental sustainability? (type in as many answers as you like)

The 5 topics - case study

To make you familiar with life cycle thinking and applying sustainability on products and their systems, you will follow the most relevant lifecycle steps of: selling a bag of groceries and selling a fashion outfit. So as you can see is not only the direct impact of the product on the environment relevant, but also the processes that are needed in order to make the sales possible. Hence, a life cycle is to be considered from mining the materials to disposing the product. Since some of the supply chain characteristics and challenges of the food and fashion retail are significantly differing, not all guidelines will apply as much to both markets.   

To sell a bag of groceries

To sell an outfit

Life cycle thinking 

In order to cover the relevant topics of sustainability for Nedap Retail's products, the following topics will be elaborated subsequently during the brainstorm session. 

1. Optimization of initial life time

3. Reduction in material usage

4. Optimization of production techniques

5. Optimization of distribution system

7. Optimization of end-of-life system

2. Use of low impact materials

6. Reduction of impact during use

Topics > guidelines > strategies

The previously shown 7 topics will be divided into multiple guidelines. Those guidelines will give direction to create more concrete plans for sustainability per topic. However, those guidelines will still be widely applicable and are not specific for Nedap. This translation step will be made during the brainstorm session. We will transform the general guidelines to Nedap specific strategies. 

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Guideline 1: By maximizing the reliability and durability of the product, the quality of the product will be remained for a longer period of time. This could be done by optimizing the quality of the product but also the processes around the product could be optimized in order to remain the quality. 

1. Optimization of initial life time 

When developing a product or service, the life time is more or less determined by the design choices that are made. The life time of a products is characterized by the moment of when it is sold to the moment it is discarded. When products have a large impact on the environment during their production and disposal phase, it is important to increase its life time in order to spread the impact over more time of functional use. 

Guideline 5: By improving the relation between the product and the user, the product will most likely be treated in a better way. This could for example be realized by offering multiple functionalities with one product. 

Guideline 2: In order to increase the life time of a product, maintenance and repair should be available as easy and effortless as possible. So clearly indicate how to maintain and repair parts/ products and standardize it as much as possible. 

Example strategy

Guideline 3: By designing products in a modular way, functionalities could easily be added while the base does not require replacement. This counts both for technical functionalities such as memory and power but also for aesthetic parts. 

Guideline 4: By making the design insensitive to trends, the products could aesthetically last longer. 

Any first thoughts and/or questions? Leave them here! (if none, continue to the next slide)

fSome general information

Guideline 6: By reducing the weight of the product, impact during AND after production could be minimized. Try to find rigidity in structures rather than over dimensioning the product. 

2. Reduction in material usage

It makes sense that using less materials reduces the impact on the environment. However, how do you assure that you do not have to give in on functionality and business? The use of materials does not only covers the use during production of the product but also covers transport and the moment of sales. 

Guideline 7: Try to minimize the (transport) volume of the products to optimize shipments and thereby minimize the impact of transportation on the product. Look for small, foldable, and/ or suitable for nesting solutions in order to find efficiency in shipments.  

Example strategy

1. Help the fashion retailer to minimize their safety stocks 
2. Help the fashion retailer to reduce their paper tags & bags usage
3. Help the food retailer reduce its amount of plastic by climate control

fSome general information

Guideline 8: By avoiding toxic and ozone depleting materials (such as lead, chlorine, aerosols) less impact will be made on the earth. Also non-ferrous metals like copper, zinc, brass and chromium should be avoided due to their harmful emissions during production. 

3. Use of low impact materials

Besides the amount of material that is used, are the origin and the characteristics of the material of interest considering the environmental impact. 

Guideline 9:The use of exhaustible materials (such as metal and plastic)  should be minimized. Hence, use as much renewable materials (wood, bioplastics),  as possible. 

Guideline 11: Use recycled materials as much as possible to both increase the market demand for recycled materials and in order to reduce the impact of the raw materials. When recycled materials do not meet the requirements of aesthetics or functionality, try to still use them wherever it is possible. 

Example strategy

1. Help the fashion retailer to minimize their safety stocks 
2. Help the fashion retailer to reduce their paper tags & bags usage
3. Help the food retailer reduce its amount of plastic by climate control

Guideline 10: Avoid energy intensive materials such as aluminum in products with a short life-time. The less energy products contain, the less energy waste will occur at disposal. 

Guideline 12: Make sure that as much products and parts as possible are recyclable. Do so by using just one type of material per demountable part. If this is not possible or desirable, make use of materials which can be separated easily during recycling (e.g. metal & plastic). Try to avoid stickers and laminates at all times. These will negatively affect the recycling process. 

Any first thoughts and/or questions on this topic? Leave them here! (if none, continue to the next slide)

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Guideline 13: Try to find production techniques that are clean and are as efficient as possible with the resources.  Think about bending i/o welding in order to save energy and emissions or use powder coating instead of spray painting to waste less paint. 

4. Optimization of production techniques

Concerning the production of products two rules of thumb could be followed: produce as clean and efficient as possible. The cleaner the processes, the less and cleaner emissions enter the atmosphere. By improving production steps for efficiency, a lot of waste and chemical treatments could be avoided. This both reduces the amount of materials needed and lowers the emissions. Since Nedap is outsourcing their production, it is important to look into the processes of their producers and aim for minimization of environmental impact. 

Guideline 14: Try to combine constituent functions in one component so fewer processes are needed. Also try to use materials that do not require additional surface treatment in order to decrease the amount of steps. 

Example strategy

1. Help the fashion & food retailer with gathering insights in their footprint for the period between production and sales

Guideline 15: Minimize the amount of energy that is needed in for production. Use energy efficient machines and make use of clean energy sources such as wind, water and solar energy. When fossil fuels are needed, try to find a type with low impact caused by emissions (low-Sulphur coal or natural gas).

Guideline 16: Minimize the amount of waste during production. Design the product in such a way that the processes do not need to cut away lots of material. Recycle the scraps as much as possible and make sure that the quality requirements are met to avoid rejects.

Any first thoughts and/or questions on this topic? Leave them here! (if none, continue to the next slide)

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Guideline 9: The use of less/ cleaner/ reusable packaging will reduce the impact of  the materials needed in order to transport the products safely. 

5. Optimization of distribution system

After the production will the products be distributed over various locations. This could either be directly to the store or most of times first to some kind of distribution center/ warehouse. Besides the obvious impact of the fuel needed for transport are there various points of interest. 

Guideline 10: By optimizing the logistics, a lot of impact could be minimized. Avoiding unnecessary long distance transport and non- space- efficient shipments would be a good start.  Standardizing the shipments and make bulk orders would make the logistics more efficient and therefore reduce the impact. 

Guideline 11: Transportation should be as clean and energy efficient as possible in order to reduce the impact of the product. Where transport by plain should be avoided where possible, is transporting by train or container ship preferable over transport by lorry. When considering food transport should the climate control be optimized in order to remain the quality of the products without wasting lots of energy. 

Example strategy

1. Help the fashion and food retailer with transforming their single use secundairy packaging to reusable ones
2. Help the food retailer with climate control during transport and distribution 
3. Help the food and fashion retailer with optimizing the efficiency of their transport

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Guideline 9: The use of less/ cleaner/ reusable packaging will reduce the impact of  the materials needed in order to transport the products safely. 

4. Optimization of distribution system

After the production will the products be distributed over various locations. This could either be directly to the store or most of times first to some kind of distribution center/ warehouse. Besides the obvious impact of the fuel needed for transport are there various points of interest. 

Guideline 10: By optimizing the logistics, a lot of impact could be minimized. Avoiding unnecessary long distance transport and non- space- efficient shipments would be a good start.  Standardizing the shipments and make bulk orders would make the logistics more efficient and therefore reduce the impact. 

Guideline 11: Transportation should be as clean and energy efficient as possible in order to reduce the impact of the product. Where transport by plain should be avoided where possible, is transporting by train or container ship preferable over transport by lorry. When considering food transport should the climate control be optimized in order to remain the quality of the products without wasting lots of energy. 

Example strategy

1. Help the fashion and food retailer with transforming their single use secundairy packaging to reusable ones
2. Help the food retailer with climate control during transport and distribution 
3. Help the food and fashion retailer with optimizing the efficiency of their transport

Any first thoughts and/or questions on this topic? Leave them here! (if none, continue to the next slide)

Any first thoughts and/or questions on this topic? Leave them here! (if none, continue to the next slide)

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Guideline 9: The use of less/ cleaner/ reusable packaging will reduce the impact of  the materials needed in order to transport the products safely. 

4. Optimization of distribution system

After the production will the products be distributed over various locations. This could either be directly to the store or most of times first to some kind of distribution center/ warehouse. Besides the obvious impact of the fuel needed for transport are there various points of interest. 

Guideline 10: By optimizing the logistics, a lot of impact could be minimized. Avoiding unnecessary long distance transport and non- space- efficient shipments would be a good start.  Standardizing the shipments and make bulk orders would make the logistics more efficient and therefore reduce the impact. 

Guideline 11: Transportation should be as clean and energy efficient as possible in order to reduce the impact of the product. Where transport by plain should be avoided where possible, is transporting by train or container ship preferable over transport by lorry. When considering food transport should the climate control be optimized in order to remain the quality of the products without wasting lots of energy. 

Example strategy

1. Help the fashion and food retailer with transforming their single use secundairy packaging to reusable ones
2. Help the food retailer with climate control during transport and distribution 
3. Help the food and fashion retailer with optimizing the efficiency of their transport

Any first thoughts and/or questions on this topic? Leave them here! (if none, continue to the next slide)

f

Guideline 13: provide possibilities to reuse the product after its first life time. Make sure that the functionalities and aesthetics are assured after its first life and make sure the quality can be guaranteed for a long period of time. 

Guideline 15: When a product could no longer be reused or remanufactured, rightfully recycling the materials could still reduce the environmental impact. 

5. Optimization of end-of-life system

A product could be optimized for sustainability during the design process but if the disposal of the product is neglected a lot of those good intentions will not come true. The real question is, is the product done when his life time is finished, or could the product be used again? Or could some parts be used again? Most of times, a lot of environmental impact could be avoided when a product is not disposed after its first life time but used elsewhere or with a new purpose. This is especially useful when the product have a high impact during mining and production since these steps could potentially be skipped for the next product. 

Guideline 14:When it is not possible to reuse the product, make sure that the product or its parts could be remanufactured. The parts or subassemblies of the products should be easy to dismantle in order to make the remanufacturing as resource efficient as possible.

Guideline 12: By allowing reversed logistics, hence retrieving the product after its life time, the disposal could be managed way more efficiently. Reversed logistics allow for redistribution, remanufacturing or rightly disposing the product. This results in more control over the disposal process and prevent from disposing still good products and materials.  

Example strategy

1. Help the fashion retailer with organizing reversed logistics
2. Help the food retailer (suppliers) with retrieving their reusable packaging

Any first thoughts and/or questions on this topic? Leave them here! (if none, continue to the next slide)

Any other questions/ remarks?

Program brainstorm

1. Introduction (5min)
2. Warming up exercise (10min)
3. Brainstorm session to create strategies per topic guided by the guidelines (50 min) 
4. Discus fit for Nedap (20min)

Thanks for preparing, see you at the brainstorm!

!! One more question at the next slide!! 

How would you like to attend the brainstorm?

1. @Groenlo
2. Digitally
3. @Tribes