Mel CossetteExecutive Director & Principal Investigator

National Resource Center for Materials Technology Education

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This center is sponsored by the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education

Program under Award No. 0093112

Sustainability is the ability to provide for human needs – food, clothing, and shelter while having a minimum impact on the environment. Increasing sustainability involves the restoration of our habitat.

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Sustainability requires a proactive strategic response.

The loss of resources and habitat is relentless and difficult to reverse.

Although ISO 14001 cannot completely solve global sustainability, it can help organizations to use resources more prudently and prevent pollution.

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ISO 9000 is the international quality control standard.

Considered a “sister specification” to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 is an international standard that provides a framework for organizations to develop a systematic approach to prevent pollution and encourages the development of an Environmental Management System (EMS).

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ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Elements:1 Environmental Policy2 Planning

2.1 Environmental aspects2.2 Legal and other requirements2.3 Objectives and targets2.4 Environmental management program(s)

3 Implementation and operation3.1 Structure and responsibility3.2 Training, awareness and competence3.3 Communication3.4 Environmental management system documentation3.5 Document control3.6 Operational control3.7 Emergency preparedness and response

4 Checking and corrective action4.1 Monitoring and measurement4.2 on-conformance and corrective and preventive action4.3 Records4.4 Environmental management system audit

5 Management review

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Look beyond your own locality and immediate future Innovate and be creative Seek engagement from all stakeholders Make sure you know the needs and wants Plan and manage effectively Give sustainability the benefit of the doubt If polluters must pollute...then they must pay as well Adopt a holistic ‘cradle-to-cradle’ approach

(Sustainable Development Education Working Group of the Royal Academy of Engineering)

Explore the ISO 14001 framework in the light of sustainability

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Reference: William McDonough

Cradle to Cradle:Remaking the Way We Make ThingsNorth Point Press, 2002

Reconsider design such that end-of-life “waste” is effective raw materials for the next generation.

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129,031 ISO 14001 certifications globally

8,081 ISO 14001 in US

US is currently 5th in number of certifications - Japan (21,770), China (18,979), Spain (11,205), Italy (9,825) and Korea (5,893).

A fundamental understanding of ISO 14001 and its related issues is needed as well as its benefits and limitations.

ISO 14001 certification provides for the creation of a culture that continually encourages and supports environmental solutions that prevent or minimize pollution.

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It is voluntary. There is still a lot of confusion and misunderstanding around its implementation such as cost and time to certification. It is only a systematic framework. Benchmarks and standards are internally defined. External auditors are not mandatory. Economic benefits are not always immediately apparent and need to be carefully defined. Requires strong leadership and commitment from upper management coordinated with front-line personnel. Requires a significant cultural shift. Environmental cost is born by the community. Does not directly address restoration – sustainability?

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Provide a fundamental understanding of ISO 14001. Consider the importance of materials selection early in

the design process. Sustainable Product Development - is the design and

development of products that have a minimal impact on the environment.

This requires a holistic procedure that analyzes the total product development - Life Cycle Analysis (LCA).

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Life Cycle Analysis is the process of performing an environmental evaluation of a product’s development during each stage of its useful life: Extraction of the raw materials Refining of raw materials Fabrication and packaging the final product Proper reuse, recycling and disposal of the product at the end of its life cycle – Product Take BackProduct Take Back supports the idea of cradle to cradle.

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Product Take Back is the idea that the company that produces the product is responsible for its disposition at the end of its useful life cycle.

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Initial decisions about product features, materials and related processes, effect overall life cycle of product based on raw materials/process used for individual components.

Systematic design reviews can help evaluate the effects of various design decisions on manufacturing costs and the useful service life of individual components.

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Selection criteria – Design Phase Reduce the amount of raw materials Reduce the number of components Reduce product energy requirements Increase the useful life cycle Maximize the use of renewable and recyclable materials Assess and minimize the environmental impact over the entire life cycle of the product

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Traditional Considerations

Market and end-user demands which drive: Design Product Function Structural Requirements Environmental Durability Requirement Aesthetics Individual Component Cost Production Method Cycle Time Final Product Cost

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Sustainability Considerations:

Useful life cycle Overall energy footprint Module design Design for reusability Design for disassembly Separation techniques Ease of reuse and or recycling

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Materials selection will always be a compromise of competing considerations. Therefore it is important to remember some key points: All materials are recyclable; however, some are more difficult than others to recycle. Reuse and recycling of raw materials minimizes energy consumption, pollution, and human injury. Design for disassembly must be an integral design consideration. Material selection must include a complex set of considerations. Proper eco-labeling is helpful.

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There is a vast array of raw materials to choose from and this list keeps growing. It is important to understand that material selection must, beyond functional consideration, be done to minimize the impact on the environment; and wherever possible support, its restoration.Sustainability requires a proactive strategic construct: The loss of resources and habitat is relentless. Along with developed nations, and as third world countries develop, more stress will be placed on the planet.

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NSF National Resource Center for Materials Technology Education

Monroe Hall - Edmonds Community College

Mel CossetteMatEd

Executive Director & Principal Investigatormel.cossette@edcc.edu – 425.640.1376

www.materialseducation.org

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