Anyone involved in sustainable design should be aware of some basic standards and directives
There have been no sustainable design standards so far, and the nearest thing has been the ISO 14001 standard for environmental management. However, ISO has developed ISO 14062, focused on product design and development. It is currently developing a standard – which will be for guidance rather than certification – in corporate social responsibility.
AccountAbility has a standard (AA1000) which is intended to provide the basis for improving the sustainability performance of organisations. They are applicable to organisations in any sector, including the public sector, of any size and in any region.
SA8000 is a standard devised by Social Accountability International, which provides guidance on key labour rights.
In more depth
Read more about
SA8000 on Social Accountability International's website
Legislation is still one of the principal drivers for more sustainable design. The UK's Climate Change Levy is an umbrella law with widespread effects. But there are also industry-specific regulations, such as the EU's End of Life Vehicle Directive. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is a good place to keep abreast of changes to key legislation.
In more depthVisit DEFRA's website for further information about the
Climate Change Levy Keep up to date with climate change legislation on the
DTI website
This will make car manufacturers responsible (from 2007) for the recycling and disposal of vehicles at the end of their life. Vehicle manufacturers in Europe have also agreed to voluntarily increase fuel efficiency by 25% by 2008.
WEEE came into force October 2004 and embodies the principle of producer responsibility – meaning that discarded equipment can come back to haunt you at the end of its life. This is likely to trigger design changes towards product life extension and upgradeability. The 1.5 million odd Pcs that end up in landfill each year will have to be dealt with by the manufacturers - there is a government target for 70% recycling of computers.
RoHS aims to phase out six key hazardous substances and affects any products launched to the market on or after 1 July 2006. They are: lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, PBBs and PBDEs.
This directive is intended to reduce both the quantity and toxicity of packaging by encouraging a range of sustainable design approaches, including reuse, recycling and alternative materials.
This directive covers all types of batteries (unlike previous proposals).
EuP will require the design of such products to consider a whole range of life cycle elements, including energy efficiency.
REACH is an EU procedure that has identified 30,000 chemical substances, only about 10% of which have been studied in any detail. The EU estimates that the cost to industry of abiding by REACH regulations will be €2.6-5.2 billion over 11 years. Yet the EU also anticipates savings in terms of healthcare costs of as much as €50 billion over the next 30 years.
The Landfill Directive took effect during 2004. It aims to reduce both mass and hazards – all wastes must be pre-treated before reaching landfill, and there is an emphasis on recovery or recycling. In the UK it means that domestic and hazardous wastes can no longer be dumped together and the number of landfills that can take hazardous waste has dropped from 277 to eight. Landfill prices for hazardous waste such as contaminated soil is showing rises of 300-400%.
The Energy Efficiency in Buildings Directive came into force in January 2006. There are hopes that this directive may drive sustainable architecture, given that carbon emissions from buildings can be reduced by as much as 22% through energy efficiency improvements.