This thesis aims to discover possibilities of using products that mechanically transform to support environmentally significant behaviour (ESB), a term that refers to intentional behaviour of an individual to change the natural world. The first half of the work explored the potential relationship between mechanical transformation principles and certain ESBs. This exploration found that implementing transformative mechanisms in products enabled spontaneous use of the products in unanticipated situations. For example, a collapsible reusable shopping bag helped users avoid purchasing disposable bags when they went to grocery stores impulsively. The second half studied a variety of organisms to identify transformation patterns in nature. These patterns were summarized in a two-dimensional matrix to facilitate conceptual design of transformable products. In summary, this work showed that mechanical transformation facilitates at least three types of ESB, and also developed a new tool to assist designers in developing conceptual transformable products that can support ESBs.

The present doctoral thesis engages in an internal environment of wooden buildings. Currently, the specialists endeavour to design and realize this type of buildings as low-energy consuming. In an effort, they minimize the thermal losses by reduction of heat transfer coefficient of external walls and reduction or elimination of their air permeability. Not always structural and technical requirements of this kind of buildings are satisfied and also a sanitary and health protection is not fully sustained. Increase in a relative air humidity of internal environment has a negative impact on moisture in wood and heat insulation in the structure. Then the buildings are exposed to the increased risk of mold infestation. This can cause various health problems such as headache, respiratory diseases, general fatigue or impaired concentration. For the purpose of experimental verification of the internal environment, four wooden houses of medium size were observed in 2010 and 2011. The internal temperature and humidity as well as subjective feelings of the household members were monitored there. For the simulation of the real wooden construction, an application BSim was used. Different states as well as stationary and nonstationary physical processes were simulated by the boundary conditions adjustment. Also the criteria for designing and optimization of living comfort of household members were recommended in the thesis.

Hållbarhet värderas allt högre utav konsumenter och allt fler företag satsar på ett utökat hållbarhetsarbete. Detta innebär att företag borde utveckla sitt hållbarhetsarbete för att bli eller fortsätta att vara konkurrenskraftiga. Konsumtionen av livsmedel står för 25 % av hushållens klimatpåverkan. Inom dagligvaruindustrin finns därmed en stor potential för förbättring. För ett utvecklat hållbarhetsarbete krävs innovativa lösningar. Design som process har visat sig kunnabidra med detta. Dock har studier visat på att trots att företag värderar design högt så implementeras det inte i samma utsträckning. Potentialen som design innehar riskerar därmed att gå förlorad av aktörerna på marknaden. Uppsatsen ämnar till att undersöka vilka faktorer som är viktiga för att design skall implementeras för att utveckla hållbara produkter inom dagligvaruindustrin. Studien är en multipel fallstudie med en kvalitativ ansats. Tre intervjuer har genomförts med europeiska företag som verkar på den svenska dagligvaru- och livsmedelsmarknaden. Studien visade på vikten av att företag genomsyras av hållbarhet och har en hög förståelse fördesign. Det är av vikt att såväl design som hållbarhet implementeras i början av produktutvecklingsprocessen som även kallas för Front-End. / Sustainability is increasingly valued by consumers and more companies are expanding the incorporation of sustainability in their work. This means companies should develop the incorporation of sustainability in their work to stay or become competitive on the market. The consuming of groceries accounts for 25 % of the households climate influence. Within the fast moving consumer goods industry there is therefore a potential of improvement. To develop the incorporation of sustainability in a company requires innovative solutions. Design as a process has been able to contribute with exactly this. Although, studies have shown that even though companies value design highly it is not implemented to the same extent. The potential that design possesses is therefore at risk of being lost by the actors of the market. The thesis intends to explore which factors that are important for design to be implemented to develop sustainable products in the fast moving consumer goods industry. The study is a multiple case study with a qualitative approach. Three interviews have beenmade with european companies that are active on the swedish fast moving consumer goodsindustry market. The study showed that it is of importance for a company to be permeated by sustainability andto have a high understanding of design. Furthermore, it is of importance that design as well assustainability is implemented in the beginning of the product development process that is also known as Front-End.

This thesis describes and demonstrates a method for consolidating, developing, and using green design guidelines for the innovation of greener products. Life cycle analysis (LCA) is one well-accepted tool for quantifying the environmental impacts of a product so designers can identify areas for redesign effort. However, LCA is a retrospective design tool that requires detailed design information that isn’t known until designs are near completion. Alternatively, green design guidelines provide proven techniques for designing greener products. They can be used during the early stages of design, when many decisions fundamental to innovation and environmental impact are made and before LCA is viable. This thesis extends the work already done in green design guidelines, by updating the current knowledge base and introducing a method for extending the set of existing guidelines to encompass new and emerging areas of sustainability. While guidelines have been created from prior experience in design for environment and life cycle analysis, they have not been maintained as a shared and coordinated repertoire of green design solutions. Instead, sets of guidelines are scattered throughout the literature, contain overlaps, operate at different levels of abstraction, and have varying levels of completeness. For example, some areas of green design guidelines, such as design for disassembly, are well established, while other areas of green design guidelines, such as minimizing energy consumption during use, are still being explored. Additionally, while numerous examples of green design guidelines exist, many of the guidelines have no documented validation of their life cycle impacts. The work for this thesis began with the compilation of a dynamic knowledge base of green design guidelines. This set of guidelines is a consolidation and updating of the green design guidelines already available in literature and can be used as a starting poinrt for future improvements and extensions as the field develops. A standard method was then proposed and tested for creating guidelines in currently undeveloped areas of green design, particularly energy consumption during the operation of a product. The method employs reverse engineering techniques and life cycle analysis to identify green requirements and develop corresponding, new green design guidelines. A case study of electric kettles demonstrated the usefulness of the method by yielding four new guidelines and four, corresponding, energy saving re-designs. For this example, the redesigns showed that guidelines can reduce energy consumption, but may incur tradeoffs with other life cycle stages. Calculation of tradeoffs revealed a range of net life cycle impact values that were caused by increased manufacturing demands and variability in consumer use habits. In addition to redesign in the kettle study, the four new guidelines were tested for usefulness in new product design by use of focus groups. Two groups were tasked with designing a new energy efficient toaster concept. Only one group was given the four green design guidelines that were uncovered using the proposed method. The design group using the new green design guidelines produced more viable and practical green features than the design group that did not have the guidelines as a design tool. These preliminary results suggest that the proposed method is useful for creating new guidelines that are beneficial to design teams tackling novel design problems that differ from the original case study. Further work is needed to establish the statistical significance of these results. / text

Interest in environmental issues has increased enormouslyover the last few decades and environmental problems areperceived to be on the increase. Due to the fact that thenumber of products on the market increases enormously, it isevident that we face a great challenge to overcome the problemconcerning our consumer society. An increasing barrage oflegislation accompanied by the public’s awareness of, andconcern for, the environment forcing the industry to respond.Products and their environmental impact have moved to thecentre stage and it is widely believed that designers have akey role in adapting products to a sustainable society. Threekey issues are identified in this development scenario: (a) theimportance of adapting products to a more sustainable society,(b) the specific situation facing the designer, especially inearly design phases, and (c) balancing environmental impactswith functional preferences. Research in this thesis presents a theoretical framework fordescribing environmental issues and the role of the designer inproduct development, as well as functional characteristics ofproducts in the early phases of design. Based on anengineering-design science foundation, theoretical models andconcepts have been developed describing how both functional andenvironmental preferences can be visualised in design forenvironment and product development. Case studies andinterviews have been performed and integrated into a coherenttheoretical model for identifying and evaluating functional andenvironmental preferences within ecodesign approach andreasoning. The overall concept proposed in this thesis is called theeco functional matrix, based on two parts: functional profileand environmental profile. The functional profile represent thefunctional characteristics and environmental profile theenvironmental characteristics respectively of a product in theearly phases of design. One of the objectives behind theconcept is to highlight the importance of balancing functionalrequirements and environmental impacts, presenting both theadvantages and disadvantages of the product. The basic idea isto account for user and societal preferences as well asenvironmental impact when assessing alternative productconcepts at early design stages. Balancing both the functionalrequirements and the negative environmental impacts of productsis the road to sustainable development. <b>KEYWORDS</b>Design for environment, life-cycle design,eco-design, eco-design methods, product environmentalcharacteristics, product functional characteristics, customerbenefit, value analysis, functional profile, environmentalprofile, eco functional matrix, product properties.

<p>Interest in environmental issues has increased enormouslyover the last few decades and environmental problems areperceived to be on the increase. Due to the fact that thenumber of products on the market increases enormously, it isevident that we face a great challenge to overcome the problemconcerning our consumer society. An increasing barrage oflegislation accompanied by the public’s awareness of, andconcern for, the environment forcing the industry to respond.Products and their environmental impact have moved to thecentre stage and it is widely believed that designers have akey role in adapting products to a sustainable society. Threekey issues are identified in this development scenario: (a) theimportance of adapting products to a more sustainable society,(b) the specific situation facing the designer, especially inearly design phases, and (c) balancing environmental impactswith functional preferences.</p><p>Research in this thesis presents a theoretical framework fordescribing environmental issues and the role of the designer inproduct development, as well as functional characteristics ofproducts in the early phases of design. Based on anengineering-design science foundation, theoretical models andconcepts have been developed describing how both functional andenvironmental preferences can be visualised in design forenvironment and product development. Case studies andinterviews have been performed and integrated into a coherenttheoretical model for identifying and evaluating functional andenvironmental preferences within ecodesign approach andreasoning.</p><p>The overall concept proposed in this thesis is called theeco functional matrix, based on two parts: functional profileand environmental profile. The functional profile represent thefunctional characteristics and environmental profile theenvironmental characteristics respectively of a product in theearly phases of design. One of the objectives behind theconcept is to highlight the importance of balancing functionalrequirements and environmental impacts, presenting both theadvantages and disadvantages of the product. The basic idea isto account for user and societal preferences as well asenvironmental impact when assessing alternative productconcepts at early design stages. Balancing both the functionalrequirements and the negative environmental impacts of productsis the road to sustainable development.</p><p><b>KEYWORDS</b>Design for environment, life-cycle design,eco-design, eco-design methods, product environmentalcharacteristics, product functional characteristics, customerbenefit, value analysis, functional profile, environmentalprofile, eco functional matrix, product properties.</p>

<p>The main aim of this thesis is to develop and test industry-specific, applied work procedures and tools for environmental and emerging sustainability work in the graphic arts industry. This includes methods to quantify, follow-up, evaluate, manage, improve and communicate the environmental performance of activities in the graphic arts supply chain and printed products.</p><p>In order to achieve the aims of the thesis, a selection of work areas were chosen as the basis for developing the industry-specific work procedures and tools. The selected work areas are the following: environmental management (being a part of sustainability management), environmental and sustainability strategies, environmental indicators and design for environment (DfE).</p><p>The research presented in this thesis was based on survey research methods, case studies and multi-company studies. Within the framework of these methods, quantitative and qualitative techniques for data gathering were used. The companies included in the studies were selected according to their willingness, interest and motivation to participate and develop their environmental or sustainability work.</p><p>The most significant results of the research presented in this thesis regarding the selected work areas are the following:</p><p>• An evaluation of early certified environmental management systems (EMSs) in Sweden identified four areas as priorities in making the EMSs more efficient. Two of them, viz. improvement in the follow-up of environmental work, and the linking of EMSs to product design, were developed for the graphic arts industry. The remaining two areas were clarifying the identification process and assessment of environmental aspects, and streamlining and co-ordinating different management systems.</p><p>• An established and successfully tested working method for formulating and realising corporate sustainability strategies in the graphic arts industry.</p><p>• Industry-specific environmental indicator models for the graphic arts industry with defined methods for standardised inventorying and calculations. These models have been tested, used and approved of by the industry itself.</p><p>• Collected and compiled data for the developed environmental indicator models. Data have been collected from quite a large number of companies (10-20 companies for each of the printing techniques covered, i.e. coldset offset, heatset offset and gravure) over a period of several years.</p><p>• The use of the industry-specific environmental indicator models was developed and illustrated.</p><p>• A described and recommended work procedure for DfE in graphic arts companies including industry-specific tools for applying DfE to printed products, in the form of a manual and a checklist. The checklist was designed so that it can serve as a simple tool for the environmental assessment of printed products. The tools were tested by graphic arts companies.</p>

Energy plays a significant role in a country’s development. Usage of an improved stove that produces biochar could help to reduce the pressure of deforestation, amend soil productivity, and provide cleaner technology for cooking. In Kwale, a county located on the south coast of Kenya, firewood is still used as the primary cooking fuel followed by charcoal. This research aims to investigate the improvements for a Top-litUpDraft (TLUD) biochar-producing gasifier stove, which the users aspired through co-designing. Transformative mixed methods were used as the research design to empower the users’ involvement in the biochar and smallholder farmers in Kenya – improved use efficiency of farm-level organic resources in relation to energy, crops and soil project. Triangulation was used to process the collected data through structured user observations, a focus group discussion, and a semi-structured interview. Between two stakeholders, TLUDgasifier stove users and the manufacturer, there was a difference of opinion for the main priority. Ease of use was the main concern for the users while the manufacturer put forward energy efficiency. Further, the users desired for an increase in the stove’s dimension as its capacity to produce biochar would increase.

To facilitate collaborative design in vocational education institutions, we have conducted a project to establish a nationwide PDM platform for four different schools spread all over the country. The particular aim of a follow up project introduced in this paper is to sensitize the participating students to sustainable design and lifecycle assessment (LCA) and provide them with hands-on tools through the PDM platform to accomplish these tasks. As a collaborative case study project, a cordless drill driver was chosen to be re-designed with respect to Ecodesign aspects. Since LCA is truly a holistic task, we focused on the ecological aspects of material and production stage. Distribution, usage and end-of-life stages were left out as well as economic and social aspects. The drill driver was divided into housing, drill chuck, gear and power unit. Each component was assigned to one of the schools and had to be designed with respect to reduced environmental impacts. Since different CAD systems are used the decision to provide the needed tools and environmental information within the PDM platform rather than CAD environment was easy. Some of the PDM systems on the market do also provide lifecycle analysis modules but it is rather a black box approach than a transparent data and reporting source. Because LCA heavily relies on the method itself and the way analysis is conducted we decided to develop our own tools. Therefore, a new, adapted interface was developed using open source business intelligence software called Pentaho to facilitate on the fly reporting and analytics of the work in progress by the users. Furthermore, the Ecoinvent database was connected to the PDM system to provide required information on carbon footprint and cumulated energy demand. The paper discusses strength and weaknesses of tools and methods with respect to the introduced case study and gives an outlook on ontology representation for the data model for better analysis capabilities.

Food waste is an arguably increasing problem in society, with consumers being responsible for as much as half of all combined food waste. The problem needs to be tackled from all angles, but there is no all encompassing solution for all situations. One context consumers find themselves in is the kitchen at their place of work, where the shared nature of the refrigerator creates situations and problems not found in the home environment. It is for these shared kitchens that this study is focused on providing a physical solution based on The Behavioural Change Wheel (BCW), book providing methods and tools for designing with the goal of behavioural change. The intention of this study was to develop, test and later evaluate a prototype on its behavioural change capacity and potential, using the tools presented in the BCW. The developed prototype took form as an RFID activated labelling system, providing users with the current date and their name on a label to be adhered on the articles they place in the shared refrigerator. After the testing period, an online questionnaire was sent out and was answered by fourteen out of seventeen participants. The two week testing period and subsequent questionnaire provided no conclusive answers regarding detected behavioural change capacity, but the potential is considered high based on participants qualitative comments and attitudes, and their quantitative usage. No measurements of change in food waste is conducted, but the target behavioural changes would provide a positive development resulting in less food waste in the workplace kitchen, if not only a more orderly refrigerator. / Matavfall är ett påtagligt ökande problem i samhället, där konsumenter ansvarar för så mycket som hälften av allt kombinerat matavfall. Problemet bör hanteras från alla möjliga håll, men det finns ingen allmän lösning för alla situationer. Ett sammanhang som konsumenterna befinner sig i är köket på deras arbetsplats, där kylskåpets gemensamma natur skapar situationer och problem som inte återfinns i hemmiljön. Det är för dessa delade kök som denna studie riktar sig på att tillhandahålla en fysisk lösning baserad på The Behavioural Change Wheel (BCW). Den innehåller metoder och verktyg för att designa med beteendeförändring som mål. Syftet med denna studie var att utveckla, testa och senare utvärdera en prototyp angående dess beteendeförändringsförmåga och potential, med hjälp av de verktyg som presenteras i BCW. Den färdigställda prototypen tog form som ett RFID-aktiverat etikettsystem, som gav användarna det aktuella datumet och deras namn på en etikett som ska sättas på artiklarna som de placerar i det delade kylskåpet. Efter testperioden skickades ett frågeformulär ut och fjorton av sjutton deltagare svarade. En testperiod på två veckor och efterföljande frågeformulär gav inga avgörande svar angående påvisad beteendeförändringsförmåga, men potentialen anses vara hög baserad på deltagarnas kvalitativa kommentarer och attityder, och deras kvantitativa användning. Inga mätningar kring mängd matavfall utfördes, men målbeteendeförändringarna skulle ge en positiv utveckling som resulterar i mindre matavfall i arbetsplatsens kök, om inte bara ett mer ordnat kylskåp. / Smart storage solutions in the fridge of the future to reduce food waste