Design and Make Sustainable Products

Are you a designer interested in designing more sustainable products? Is your company looking at green product design? This article explores the various sustainable design principles that have been developed over the years, which designers can adopt and apply in their work.

Designers and manufacturers can design and make sustainable products and packaging that are durable and non-toxic, use less materials and resources during its entire life cycle, and which can be reused, repaired or recycled.

To eliminate the concept of waste means to design things – products, packaging and systems – from the very beginning in the understanding that waste does not exist. – Jonathon Porritt, Capitalism as if the World Matters

Several sustainable design and product principles have been developed over the years and we look at some of them below:

1. Biomimicry
2. Cradle to Cradle
3. Design for the Environment
4. Life Cycle Assessment
5. The Natural Step
6. Other Resources

If you’re a designer or manufacturer, learn and adopt these sustainable principles in your product or packaging. Read more

A*STAR Ups Collaborative R&D in Green Technologies to Spur the Growth of Eco-friendly Industries [Press Releases]

To spur the growth in eco-friendly industries, A*STAR’s research institute, SIMTech, is spearheading a slew of R&D initiatives in green technologies in collaboration with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and National University of Singapore (NUS). Three Joint-Labs with NTU to develop technologies relevant to Remanufacturing are set up and Remanufacturing and Green Packaging Initiatives for industry are rolled out.

SINGAPORE, 16 November 2011: The Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), a research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), is taking on the challenge of green manufacturing by spurring R&D collaborations on remanufacturing technologies with NTU and NUS as well as launching initiatives to grow eco-friendly industries .

Investing in 10 New Projects in Remanufacturing Technologies

2. SIMTech is engaging with NUS and NTU on 10 new projects to jointly develop competitive remanufacturing technologies for Singapore’s manufacturing companies. This is the first such instance of significant investment in remanufacturing projects by the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) of A*STAR. The projects were awarded by SERC in September 2011. Read more

Green Manufacturing Technologies and Products at the Sustainable Manufacturing Centre in Singapore

The Sustainable Manufacturing Centre (SMC) is an industry innovation centre under the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), a research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

SMC was set up to help the manufacturing industry develop and implement innovative sustainable manufacturing technologies that reduce emissions, waste and toxicity. SMC currently offers research and core capabilities in:

• Sustainability assessment tools and techniques
• Carbon measurement and reduction strategies
• Eco-design of sustainable products
• Processing and application of sustainable materials
• Knowledge and technologies for resource efficient manufacturing
• Resource recovery and recycling from manufacturing waste
• Remanufacturing
• Sustainable packaging
• Green supply chain management

If your company is looking for sustainable manufacturing solutions and technologies, or is interested to find out the environmental life cycle impact and carbon footprint of your products, do visit and contact the Sustainable Manufacturing Centre. Read more

Leading Enterprises Consolidate Efforts to Champion Sustainable Manufacturing in Singapore

This is a joint media release by: SPRING Singapore, Singapore Manufacturers’ Federation (SMa), Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) and Singapore Environment Council (SEC).

Launch of Sustainable Manufacturing Programme converges the efforts of SMa, SPRING, SEC and SIMTech to help Singapore manufacturers adopt sustainable manufacturing technologies and processes.

With industrial development rapidly expanding to support our burgeoning global population, SMa envisioned that the development of a conducive environment for the adoption of environmentally-friendly processes is crucial in ensuring sustainability of manufacturing in Singapore.

In pursuant of a clear goal towards sustainable manufacturing, SMa signed separate Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with two prominent partners – SEC and Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), a research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR); leveraging on their fields of expertise and professional skills and technology to identify, develop and promote the adoption of sustainable manufacturing practices among local manufacturers. This MOU ceremony was witnessed by Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Education, Mr S. Iswaran, as well as SPRING Singapore’s Deputy Chief Executive Mr Ted Tan at the Intercontinental Hotel. Read more