Whole System Design

Praise for Whole System Design:

Speaking recently, I outlined what I thought were the requirements for the engineer of tomorrow. I was quicklycorrected. Todays engineer needs to be engineering with tomorrow already clearly in mind. This book encouragesand leads todays engineer on a journey to meet tomorrows needs. Systems thinking and asking the right questionsopens up far more design options and solutions than we first expect. And some of those solutions bring thebreakthrough improvements that go far beyond the incremental. Like many books, this one seems a little too simpleat first, but I challenge the reader who feels that way to jump to the back and look at the examples. Then go backand read again. There is real power in its simple approach. Engineers are often caught up in looking for theincremental improvement, but I would suggest that our current challenges need more than that. Id encourage allengineers to look at this book. Dip into it at first, then, come back to it. There is an elegance in the approach itadvocates. I had a design lecturer once who commented that I had correctly answered the question, but that I mighthave done better by asking a very different question. I think he would like this book.

Martin Dwyer, Director, Engineering Practice and Continuing Professional Development (CPD), Engineers Australia

Whole System Design is a comprehensive resource to support professional, academic and student engineers incomplex problem-solving around sustainability an area of focus recommended by the 2008 Review of EngineeringEducation in Australia, Engineers for the Future. As the book shows, engineers and designers can make a significantdifference to the current global environmental crisis by reducing environmental impacts in the design phase of awide range of projects.

Associate Professor Roger Hadgraft, Director, Engineering Learning Unit, Melbourne School of Engineering,and President of Australasian Association for Engineering Education, Australia

The Natural Edge Projects Whole System Design book will provide a valuable resource that can contributesignificantly to the technical design curriculum in university courses and professional training. I have used a WholeSystem Design approach, as is described and demonstrated in this book, to improve resource efficiency of productsand industrial processes often by a factor of 2 or better. An exciting consequence of applying a whole system designapproach is the drastically reduced need for end-of-pipe treatment, both in the local area and potentially in thewider air, soil and waterways. This book is the first resource that Ive seen that goes into sufficient detail for the reader to comprehensively grasp the concepts involved in a Whole System Design approach. A great attributeof the book is that it is not simply a set of a stand-alone ideas it provides a strong foundation for embeddingsustainable design into the popular design process already taught to students and professionals in Australia andaround the world. It is evident that a great deal of thought went into ensuring that the ideas in the book could bequickly and easily integrated with current practices, and ensuring that the ideas are universally applicable to allengineering and technical design disciplines. I commend The Natural Edge Project for their efforts and theDepartment of the Environment and Water, Heritage and the Arts for supporting the project.

Adjunct Professor Alan Pears, School of Global Studies, Social Science and Planning, Royal MelbourneInstitute of Technology, Australia

Whole System Design underpins efforts to help get our societies onto sustainable pathways. This book is a much-needed contribution providing, in detail, instructions on how to implement sustainable design for green buildings,more eco-efficient products, ICT systems and fuel-efficient cars, to help us build healthy cities.

Dr Steve Morton, CSIRO Group Executive, Manufacturing, Materials and Minerals, CSIRO, Australia

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Climate change poses a significant challenge but also a great opportunity. Mitigating climate change successfullywill involve transforming our energy systems. As part of this transformation, it is vital that existing technologies anddesigns are re-examined to identify new ways to make them more energy efficient. The Whole System Designapproach presented in this book offers engineers an advanced strategy to enable them to achieve large energyefficiency savings. We urge you to read and absorb the books whole system design framework and then see howwhole system design can be applied to achieve large energy-efficiency savings in the books detailed technical casestudies.

Dr John Wright, Director, CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship, CSIRO, Australia

Whole System Design (WSD) developed by The Natural Edge Project (TNEP) will be an invaluable resource inthe near future for the education of systems engineers on matters of sustainability and design. It provides a seamlesslink between the traditional system engineering design approach and the wider perspective of environmental andsocial effects that future engineers need to consider. The WSD material is lucid and concise but also has sufficienttechnical depth to be useful and challenging for all students in the tertiary sector. In particular, the high impactexamples and case studies clearly illustrate the new systems thinking. I am already integrating the WSD book intothe systems engineering curriculum of the ANU Engineering undergraduate programme and the impact, in termsof sustainability awareness and responsibilities for future engineer practice, is immediate. The TNEP material is,therefore, already changing the perspective and thinking of our future engineers and aligning their design skills toaddress the global environmental challenges.

Dr Paul Compston, Department of Engineering, Australian National University, Australia

We all have a major role to play in reinventing our business model and shaping our future, whether we are engineers,designers, governments, business people or entrepreneurs ... small, simple steps wont cut it to deal with the majorglobal challenges of climate change and environmental degradation we are all facing. There are thousands of casesthat demonstrate that, yes, we can transform these challenges into the foundations of a more sustainable, profitable,and desirable societal model. But where to start? What is the most effective, profitable and desirable way toimplement the change we want to see? Whole System Design provides essential, hands-on guidance to kick-start thisnext industrial revolution. This book moves the reader from thinking hmmm ... this is interesting to Im gonnado this! It reframes the future not as fate, but as choice. A choice each one of us can define, prioritize and execute.

Professor Serge de Gheldere, Founder and Managing Director of Futureproofed and Guest Professor andDirector at Group T University College Leuven, Belgium

The book Whole System Design is a clever feat of engineering that bridges the traditional divide betweentechnological and design thinking. It shows how we can cross the giant chasm between conventional and sustainablesystems in small, easy steps provided we start now. It should be read by all engineers as a matter of urgency.

Professor Janis Birkeland, School of Design, Queensland University of Technology, Australia

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Whole System Design gives a comprehensive introduction to whole system design approach as the basis fortransformative action. Education for Sustainability has to be more than bolt on environmental papers in existingprogrammes, and this is the best example Ive seen of resources to support sustainability as an integrated andtransformative driver.

Associate Professor Samuel Mann, Department of Information Technology, Otago Polytechnic, New Zealand

The Industrial Pumping Systems Chapter is a nice example that illustrates the point well.Emeritus Professor Bruce R. Munson, Department of Aerospace Engineering,

Iowa State University, USA

The Chapter on Domestic Water Systems within Whole System Design developed by TNEP eloquently capturesthe current household water challenge; that is, achieving both fit-for-purpose and efficient water use, to reduce thewater footprint of this sector of the economy. Current data about water consumption, available technology, and costacross the life cycle of the technology illustrate sensible, simple and appropriate design solutions for engineerslooking to understand and implement best-practice water systems engineering. Capital and operating costs areincluded by TNEP through case studies, to confirm that water-efficient design is the only way forward to meetwater needs for households, on a least-cost basis, and a quality appropriate to purpose. In addition, the chapter willenlighten users on the environmental and economic benefits of moving from linear household water use, treatmentand disposal systems, to more enclosed water-use systems, through appropriate and sensible engineering design.

Nick Edgerton, AMP Capital Sustainability Fund, formerly of the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia

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Whole System DesignAn Integrated Approach to Sustainable Engineering

Peter Stasinopoulos, Michael H. Smith, Karlson Charlie Hargroves and Cheryl Desha

publ ishing for a sustainable future

London Sterling, VA

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First published by Earthscan in the UK and USA in 2009

Copyright The Natural Edge Project, 2009

The views and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the collaborating parties:Australian Government; Australian Federal Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts; AustralianFederal Minister for Climate Change and Water; United Nations Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization; and the World Federation of Engineering Organizations. While reasonable efforts have been madeto ensure that the contents of this publication are factually correct, these parties do not accept responsibility forthe accuracy or completeness of the contents, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may beoccasioned directly or indirectly through the use of, or reliance on, the contents of this publication.

All rights reserved

ISBN: 978-1-84407-642-0 hardback978-1-84407-643-7 paperback

Typeset by Domex e-Data, IndiaPrinted and bound in the UK by MPG Books, BodminCover design by Andrew Corbett

For a full list of publications please contact:

EarthscanDunstan House14a St Cross StLondon, EC1N 8XA, UKTel: +44 (0)20 7841 1930Fax: +44 (0)20 7242 1474Email: [email protected]: www.earthscan.co.uk

22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012, USA

Earthscan publishes in association with the International Institute for Environment and Development

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The paper used for this book is FSC-certified.FSC (the Forest Stewardship Council) is aninternational network to promote responsiblemanagement of the worlds forests.

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This book is dedicated to Amory B. Lovins and Alan Pears.

To Amory, for his significant contribution to expanding the solution space

for sustainable design and for taking the time to mentor our team,

and to Alan for sharing with us his enthusiasm, insights and lessons learnt

from a life dedicated to whole system design.

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Contents

List of Figures and Tables xi

Forewords by Benjamin S. Blanchard, Barry J. Grear, Tony Marjoram and Ernst Ulrich von Weizscker xv

Acknowledgements xxi

Author Biographies xxiii

1 A Whole System Approach to Sustainable Design 1

2 The fundamentals of Systems Engineering to inform a Whole System Approach 19

3 Enhancing the Systems Engineering process through a Whole System Approach to Sustainable Design 45

4 Elements of applying a Whole System Design Approach (elements 15) 61

5 Elements of applying a Whole System Design Approach (elements 610) 75

6 Worked example 1 Industrial pumping systems 95

7 Worked example 2 Passenger vehicles 109

8 Worked example 3 Electronics and computer systems 123

9 Worked example 4 Temperature control of buildings 139

10 Worked example 5 Domestic water systems 157

Index 175

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List of Figures and Tables

Figures

1.1 Energy use of a typical production system compared with one with zero energy overheads and the ideal process 11

1.2 Comparing The Netherlands economic growth and reduction of environmental impacts 13

1.3 World oil production 152.1 Comparison of the incurred costs and committed costs for each phase of

system development 202.2 The cost of making design changes throughout each phase of system development 212.3 The value of Front End Loading in reducing costs and risks 222.4 The composition of a system 232.5 Application areas for System Engineering 242.6 A system and the many layers of its environment 272.7 Variables, links and feedback loops applied to the issues of urban expansion

and induced traffic 292.8 The collapsing of Atlantic cod stocks off the east coast of

Newfoundland in 1992 312.9 Southern bluefin tuna catch in thousands of tons, 19502006 322.10 The melting of the polar ice cap from (a) 1979 to (b) 2005 332.11 Average annual ground temperature from Fairbanks, illustrating the warming

trend observed across the Arctic that is causing permafrost to melt 342.12 The Great Ocean Conveyor 352.13 Stabilization levels and probability ranges for temperature increases 363.1 Systems engineering technological design activities and interactions by phase 473.2 Hierarchy of design considerations 483.3 Enhancing Systems Engineering through a Whole System Approach to help

achieve sustainability 504.1 A model of the resource and decisions inputs to providing a service 624.2 The range of potential technologies that can be used to provide the

service of clean clothes, and the dependence of each technology on energy resources 624.3 The brick manufacturing process 654.4 Potential (a) mass and (b) cost reductions through subsystem synergies arising

from a low mass primary structure and low drag shell components in passenger vehicles 68

5.1 The energy transmission and losses from raw material to the service of a pumped fluid in a typical industrial pumping system 76

5.2 Subsystem synergies in a photovoltaic system with respect to materials and energy resources 77

5.3 Subsystem synergies in the production system for photovoltaic systems 78

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5.4 Energy use of a typical production system compared with one with zero energy overheads and the ideal process 80

5.5 Opportunities to reduce energy consumption in a dishwasher 815.6 Comparison of task efficiencies of standard, 4-star rated and a highly efficient

hybrid hot-water system (the significance of managing standby losses is shown by two different options for the 4-star model) 83

5.7 Micro hydro village lighting system: Comparison of (a) capital costs and (b) 10-year annual costs per household of various lighting technologies when powered by renewable microhydro technology 85

5.8 The standard decision tree compared to a sustainability design tree 875.9 Using the elastic band analogy to compare forecasting with backcasting 895.10 Backcasting a sustainable passenger vehicle platform 895.11 The Self-Replenishing System (product life extension) 916.1 A typical production plant scenario 976.2 A typical single-pump, single-pipe solution 986.3 A WSD single-pump, single-pipe solution 1016.4 Comparing the effects of Step 1 and Step 2 1047.1 The component optimization strategy of conventional vehicle design 1117.2 The system design strategy of Whole System vehicle design 1117.3 Selecting vehicle components after backcasting from an ideal sustainable vehicle 1127.4 The component optimization strategy of conventional vehicle design 1147.5 The flow of compounding mass reduction in the system design strategy of

Whole System vehicle design 1157.6 Mass comparison between the conventional passenger vehicle and the WSD

vehicle, by subsystem 1178.1 Simple diagram of clientserver system set-up 1248.2 Schematic of a conventional server, including power consumption 1268.3 Energy efficiencies over full load spectrum of various power supplies 1278.4 Schematic of the WSD server, including power consumption 1288.5 Server rack unit with liquid cooling system 1308.6 Comparing the three design solutions 1338.A.1 Power supply architecture incorporating an intermediate DCDC conversion to

achieve high conversion efficiency 1359.1 Design cooling load components for the conventional solution 1459.2 Building feature design sequence for minimizing energy consumption 1469.3 Design cooling load components for the WSD solution 1509.4 Comparing the cooling loads for the two solutions 15210.1 Distribution of Earths water 15810.2 Australian water consumption in 20042005 15810.3 Australian household water consumption in 20042005 15810.4 Components of a conventional onsite wastewater treatment and reuse system 16010.5 Cross-section of a single-compartment septic tank 16110.6 Cross-section of a slow sand filter 16210.7 Cross-section of the Biolytix Deluxe system 165

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10.8 Comparing the capital costs of components 16810.9 Comparing the running costs of components 16910.10 Comparing the total cost of conventional and WSD systems over 20 years 169

Tables

1.1 DfE and business competitive advantage 31.2 Comparison of the best and the worst efficiency motoring systems 51.3 Case studies of a Whole System Approach to Sustainable Design (as outlined

in Chapters 610) 91.4 Sample of the Big Energy Projects (BEP) scheme and Best Practice People and

Processes (BPPP) modules under the Energy Efficiency Best Practice government programme 11

2.1 Kenneth Bouldings classification of systems 382.2 Classification of systems according to Jordans Principles 382.3 Systems archetypes 394.1 Resource management for an optimal system 635.1 Contrasting conventional forecasting and backcasting 886.1 Symbol nomenclature 986.2 Pump power calculated for a spectrum of pipe diameters 1026.3 Summary of system costs for a range of pump types and pipe diameters 1036.4 Comparing the costs of the two solutions 1037.1 Symbol nomenclature 1157.2 Average life of some serviceable components in a conventional passenger vehicle 1187.3 Some environmental impacts of a conventional vehicle and the Hypercar Revolution 1198.1 Power consumption by the major server components 1328.2 Costs and operating performance comparisons between a conventional

server and hyperservers 1328.3 Cost and operating performance comparisons between various a conventional

server and hyperservers with DRA 1339.1 Symbol nomenclature for design cooling load equations 1429.2 Values used to calculate design cooling load, QDES, for the house 1449.3 Breakdown of design cooling load components for the conventional solution 1459.4 Values used to calculate the design cooling load, QDES, for the house 1499.5 Breakdown of design cooling load components for WSD solution 1509.6 Comparing breakdown of the cooling loads for the two solutions 1529.7 Comparing the costs of the two solutions 15310.1 Wastewater treatment actions for each treatment stage 15910.2 Daily water consumption for standard domestic appliances 16010.3 Daily water consumption for water-efficient domestic appliances 16410.4 Comparing the costs and water consumption of standard and water-efficient appliances 16710.5 Comparing the capital and running costs of the water treatment and reuse systems 16810.6 Comparing the total cost of conventional and WSD systems over 20 years 169

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IMany of the systems currently in place are not veryenvironmentally sustainable or cost effective in terms oftheir utilization and the associated costs of operation andsupport. System performance requirements (and thesystems ultimate impact on the operational environment)rarely meet rising customer (i.e. the user) expectationsfor products to be both effective and environmentallybenign. The life-cycle costs of most products andtechnical systems are high. We see symptoms of poordesign all around us, manifested in growing problemssuch as the current environmental crisis. Whenaddressing cause-and-effect relationships, many of theserelated problems stem from the management andtechnical decisions made during the early stages of systemdesign and development. In general, the initialrequirements for a given system were not very welldefined, the system was not addressed in totality (as awhole entity), and a total system life-cycle approach todesign for sustainability was not assumed from thebeginning. All of this occurred at a critical point early inthe system design and development process, and at a timewhen the results of such decisions would have the greatestimpact on the overall effectiveness, efficiency andenvironmental sustainability of systems in theperformance of their intended functions later on.

Given todays environment, there is an ever-increasing need to develop and produce systems thatare robust, reliable and of high quality, supportable,cost-effective and environmentally sustainable from atotal life-cycle perspective, and that will respond to theneeds of the customer/user in a satisfactory manner.Systems in the future must be environmentally friendly,socially compatible and interoperable when interfacingwith other systems in a higher-level hierarchicalstructure. Meeting these challenges in the future willrequire a more comprehensive sustainable designapproach from the start, dealing with whole systems andin the context of their respective overall life cycles.

From past experience, these objectives can best bemet through proper implementation of the systemsengineering process, or a whole system approach, as

outlined in this book, to the design and development ofsustainable future systems. System requirements mustbe well defined from the beginning. Systems areaddressed in total to include not only the primemission-related elements utilized in accomplishing oneor more mission scenarios, but also the variouselements of the system support infrastructure as well.All aspects of the entire system life cycle are consideredin the day-to-day decision-making process, includingpossible impacts on the various phases of system designand development, construction/production, systemoperation and support, and system retirement andmaterial recycling/disposal. Applicable designcharacteristics such as reliability, maintainability,human factors, environmental sustainability,supportability, environmental compatibility, quality,economic feasibility (from a life-cycle perspective), etc.must be properly integrated within the design process,along with the required electrical, mechanical,structural, and related parameters.

Proper implementation of systems engineeringconstitutes a top-down/bottom-up process, and not just abottom-up design-it-now-and-fix-it-later approach.The principles and concepts of whole systemapproaches to sustainable design outlined in this bookare based on the recommendations and experience ofleading designers and engineers. Success in applying awhole system approach to sustainable design doesrequire a change in thinking and a slightly differentapproach in the design and development of futuresystems.

Implementation of the principles and concepts ofwhole system design can be applied effectively in thedesign and development of any type of system, whetheraddressing communication(s) systems, electrical powerdistribution systems, mining systems, manufacturingsystems, materials handling systems, defense systems,consumer product systems, and the like. In each and allinstances, we are dealing with a top-down, wholesystem and life-cycle approach throughout the initialdesign and development, and subsequent operationand maintenance phases of the life cycle. The properimplementation of a whole system approach, from the

Forewords

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beginning, is essential in meeting the desired goalsstated herein.

Based on a review of the content of this book, Isincerely believe that implementing the conceptspresented will greatly facilitate accomplishing theobjectives defined earlier that is, leading to the designand development, production and installation of futuresystems that are robust, reliable and of high quality,supportable and environmentally sustainable, and willbe highly responsive in meeting the needs of thecustomer/user. Of particular interest is the foundationestablished by the material presented in Chapters 1 to3. Additionally, the systems engineering process, whichis critical in its implementation, is well defined anddescribed in Chapter 3. I feel that following theguidelines presented here will lead to much success inthe future.

Finally, I wish to thank The Natural Edge Projectfor providing me with the opportunity to both reviewand comment on the material presented within thisbook, and also for inviting me to be a participant byincluding this foreword.

Professor Emeritus Benjamin S. BlanchardVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,

Blacksburg, Virginia, USAOctober 2008

II

The priorities for the community of engineeringprofessionals, including engineers, technologists andscientists, must necessarily change over the next fewyears. The rapidly changing world of political,environmental, social and economic challengesdemands that we do change and go forward witheverything we do.

Engineering professionals must cooperate withother professionals in constructively resolvinginternational and national issues for the benefit ofhumanity. Engineering professionals around the worldunderstand that they have a tremendous responsibilityin implementing sustainable development. Manyforecasts indicate there will be an additional 5 billionpeople in the world by the middle of the 21st century.Supporting these people will require more water, wastetreatment systems, food production, energy,transportation systems and manufacturing all ofwhich require engineering professionals to participate

in land planning and to research, study, design,construct and operate new and expanded facilities. Thisfuture built environment must be developed whilesustaining the natural resources of the world andenhancing the quality of life for all people. Top prioritymust be placed on sustainable development because ofits global importance today.

Over the last few years, the world community hasfocused on a number of sustainable development issuesfor which members of the engineering profession can,and must, take a leading role in improvingunderstanding. The following issues are but a few forwhich part of the solution is technological:

Climate change is important for us all and theprojected changes will bring difficulties to allcommunities. The evidence is clear that there willbe increasingly severe weather events leading togreater incidences and severity of natural disasters.Engineering professionals can assist in mitigatingfurther effects of climate change by developingenergy-efficient user products and industrialprocesses, and by enhancing renewable energytechnologies. Engineering professionals can alsoassist communities to be safer, experience fewerdisruptions and lose fewer lives by creating safer,adaptable and resilient buildings and structures.

Energy production has been raised in profilebecause of the cost of fuels, environmental impactsand the development of renewable energy sources.Engineering professionals can assist in reducingdependence on high-cost fuels by developing low-energy products and appliances that can be costeffectively run off renewable energy. Engineeringprofessionals can also assist developing countries insecuring their energy networks by selecting themost appropriate energy sources and by creatingreliable and innovative systems to deliver theenergy where it is needed.

Water scarcity is a high-risk reality in manydeveloped and developing counties. Engineeringprofessionals can assist in providing water securityby developing water-efficient and waterless productsand processes, and by creating integrated, round-putprocesses where water is reused and recycled.

Material waste volumes are increasing in almostevery country and threaten to continue to escalatewith population growth. Engineering professionalscan assist in reducing waste rates by developing

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durable, high-value, low-waste products andprocesses. Engineering professionals can then assistin stabilizing waste through designing products forend of life and by creating integrated, round-putprocesses where the waste of one componentbecomes the food of another. Finally, engineeringprofessionals can assist in reversing waste rates bydeveloping innovative products and processes thatuse and consume existing waste.

Many of our emissions and material wastes are alsotoxic and find their way into the air, soil andwaterways that support humans and all otherorganisms on Earth. Engineering professionals canassist in protecting the integrity of the naturalenvironment human health by developing productsand processes that use clean energy sources, benignmaterials and produce benign emissions and wastes.Engineering professionals can also assist developingcountries to leapfrog the developed worlds last fewdecades of wasteful and toxic practices andtechnologies by selecting the most appropriatesolutions for their transitioning economies.

It is now recognized that engineering professionals needconsiderable support in enhancing the practice ofengineering to address these issues and to promotesustainable development. Education on sustainabledevelopment issues must be given the highest priority.Engineering professionals will be involved inpromoting, planning and implementing developmentin the future and will require the skills to develop andimplement sustainable technologies.

This books contribution to the discussion andtheory about sustainable solutions and Whole SystemDesign is an important step to ensure that engineersintegrate the theory and practice within their regulardesign activity. Taking the broader view and theconsideration of the widest set of factors into design isnow an imperative if the engineering community is todevelop its commitment to sustainability. This book isan important contribution to ensuring that the broadestpossible gains are achieved from the current interest inlife-cycle and ecological costing of products andprojects.

The authors, in producing this introductorytechnical teaching material and these importantexamples, have provided a publication that can, andmust be, widely used in our university and technicaltraining institutions. The way in which the material is

presented makes it a valuable reference handbook. Theexamples highlight the simple application of the theorypresented and make the book suitable for self-learningas well as in classroom or tutorial use.

The team at The Natural Edge Project is to becomplimented on their preparation of such a valuableresource. Everyone working and studying in this fieldof engineering should buy it and use it.

Barry J. Grear AOPresident, World Federation of Engineering

Organizations (WFEO) 20072009Paris, France

October 2008

III

The need for sustainable environmental, social andeconomic development, with specific reference to suchissues as climate change, is one of the major challengeswe face both today and into the future. The importanceof environmental sustainability is underlined as one ofthe eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indeveloping and least-developed countries, and theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)has emphasized the importance of technology inclimate change mitigation and adaptation.

Despite this, the role of engineering andtechnology in sustainable social and economicdevelopment is often overlooked. At the same time,there is a declining interest and enrolment of youngpeople, especially young women, in engineering. Thiswill have a serious impact on capacity in engineering,and our ability to address the challenges of sustainablesocial and economic development, poverty reductionand the other MDGs.

The development and application of knowledge inengineering and technology underpins and drivessustainable social and economic development.Engineering and technology are vital in addressingbasic human needs, poverty reduction and sustainabledevelopment to bridge the knowledge divide andpromote international dialogue and cooperation.

What can we do to promote the publicunderstanding of engineering, and the application ofengineering in these vital contexts? It appears that thedecline of interest and entry of young people intoscience and engineering is due to the fact that thesesubjects are often perceived by young people as nerdy,

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uninteresting and boring; that university courses aredifficult and hard work; that jobs in these areas are notwell paid; and that science and engineering have anegative environmental impact. There is also evidencethat young people turn away from science around theage of ten, that good science education at primary andsecondary levels is vital, and that science teaching canturn young people off as well as on to science. There areclear needs to show that science and engineering areinherently interesting and to promote publicunderstanding and perception, to make education anduniversity courses more interesting, with better salaryscales (although this is already happening throughsupply and demand), and to promote science andengineering as part of the solution, rather than part ofthe problem of sustainable development.

The promotion of public understanding andinterest in engineering is facilitated by presentingengineering as part of the problem-solving solution tosustainable development and poverty reduction.University courses can be made more interestingthrough the transformation of curricula and pedagogy,and more activity, project and problem-based learning,just-in-time approaches and hands-on applicationsrather than the more formulaic approaches that turnstudents off. These approaches promote the relevanceof engineering, address contemporary concerns andhelp to link engineering with society in the context ofrelated ethical issues, sustainable development, povertyreduction, and building upon rather than displacinglocal and indigenous knowledge. The growth ofEngineers without Borders and similar groups aroundthe world demonstrates the attractiveness ofparticipating in finding solutions to todays real worldproblems; the young seem to have a common desire todo something to help those in need.

Science and engineering have changed the world,but are professionally conservative and slow to change we need innovative examples of schools, colleges anduniversities around the world that have pioneeredactivity in such areas as problem-based learning. It isalso interesting to look at reform and transformation inother professions such as medicine, where some ofthe leading medical schools have changed to a patient-based approach. If the medics can do this when thereis no enrolment pressure, then so can engineers.Engineers practice just-in-time techniques in industry;why not in education?

Transformation in engineering education needs torespond to rapid change in knowledge production andapplication, emphasizing a cognitive problem-solvingapproach, synthesis, awareness, ethics, socialresponsibility, experience and practice within nationaland global contexts. We need to learn how to learn andto emphasize the importance of lifelong and distancelearning, continuous professional development,adaptability, flexibility, inter-disciplinarity and multiplecareer paths.

Such transformation of engineering andengineering education is essential if engineering is tocatch and surf the seventh wave of technologicalrevolution relating to knowledge for sustainabledevelopment, climate change mitigation andadaptation, and new modes of learning. This followsthe sixth wave of new modes of knowledge generation,dissemination and application, and knowledge andinformation societies and economies in such areas asinformation and communications technology (ICT),biotechnology, nanotechnology, new materials,robotics and systems technology, characterized bycross-fertilization and fusion, innovation, the growth ofnew disciplines and the decline of old disciplines,where new knowledge requires new modes of learning.The fifth wave of technological revolution is based onelectronics and computers, the fourth wave on oil,automobiles and mass production, the third wave onsteel, heavy engineering and electrification, the secondwave on steam power, railways and mechanization, andthe first wave on the technological and industrialrevolution, and the development of iron and waterpower.

The main applications challenges relate to howengineering and technology may most effectively bedeveloped, applied and innovated to reduce poverty,promote sustainable development and address climatechange mitigation and adaptation. It is apparent thatthese challenges are linked to a possible solution manyyoung people and student engineers are keen to addressinternational issues, especially poverty reduction andsustainable development. This is reflected, asmentioned above, by the interest of young people in Engineers without Borders groups around the world and the United Nations Educational, Scientificand Cultural Organization (UNESCO)DaimlerMondialogo Engineering Award. To promoteengineering and attract young people, we need to

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emphasize these issues in teaching curricula andpractice.

In the context of the need for transformation inengineering education to include sustainabledevelopment and wider social and ethical issues, thework of the Engineering Sustainable SolutionsProgramme of The Natural Edge Project, and thispublication on Whole System Design: An IntegratedApproach to Sustainable Engineering, could not be moretimely and relevant. It is also important because whilethe need for whole/holistic and integrated systemsapproaches in engineering have been recognized andspoken about for some time, there is still a need toshare information on what this means in practice, andto share pedagogical approaches and curriculadeveloped in this context. This is particularlyimportant for universities and colleges in developingcountries, who face serious constraints regardinghuman, financial and institutional resources to developsuch curricula and learning/teaching methods. It is alsotimely in view of the United Nations Decade ofEducation for Sustainable Development, 20052014,for which UNESCO is the lead agency.

Engineering is about systems, and so it should betaught. Engineers understand systems, and Nature isthe very epitome of a whole system so it is surprisingthat engineers have not been more interested in holisticand whole systems approaches in the past. Engineering,however, derives from the 17th-, 18th- and 19th-century knowledge models and modern science ofGalileo, Descartes and Bacon, based on reductionismand the objectification and control of Nature. So therediscovery of holistic thinking is perhaps notsurprising and, indeed, overdue, prompted, forexample, by the renewed interest in biomimetics thatlinks engineering and technology with natural lifestructures and systems. This marks a belated return tothe biomimetics of Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th and16th centuries, although this rediscovery has beenfacilitated by the development of computer science andtechnology and new materials one wonders whatLeonardo would have done with computer aideddesign (CAD)/computer aided manufacturing (CAM)and carbon fibre!

This publication is supported by the Departmentof the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts ofthe Australian government, Engineers Australia andEarthscan, and we look forward to further support of

such initiatives, especially now that Australia has signedthe Kyoto Protocol. UNESCO supported theproduction of earlier material on engineering andsustainable development by The Natural Edge Project,and is very happy to be associated with this innovativeinitiative. I would like to congratulate PeterStasinopoulos, Michael Smith, Charlie Hargroves andCheryl Desha on their pioneering activity, and look tocontinued cooperation with The Natural Edge Projecton this area of increasing importance.

Dr Tony MarjoramSenior Programme Specialist,

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Paris, FranceOctober 2008

IV

This is the challenge :

Around 9 billion people will be living on this Earth inthe middle of this century. They will all want to conducta decent life. They will want a certain minimumstandard of material wealth, requiring food, water,shelter and the basic services now taken for granted inour advanced civilizations. However, resources arelimited, our climate is vulnerable and changing, and therestorative capacities of ecosystems are declining rapidly.Let us look, for example, at the restrictions related toclimate. Consider that greenhouse gas emissions willroughly double by mid century if we continue withbusiness as usual. However, stabilizing our climaterequires at least halving greenhouse gas emissions. Inaddition, many analysts now tell us that we have butprecious few decades to do so.

What are some potential solutions ?

Renewable energy technologies such as wind and solarpower currently provide a small quantity of our totalenergy requirements and will likely take many years toexpand sufficiently. Renewable fuels such as biofuelsrequire large areas of land for crops, and compete withand drive up the price of grain staples. Biofuels are alsoexpensive, even in the European Union where they aremore cost competitive since many other technologiesrequire the purchase of permits to emit carbon dioxide.

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Nuclear energy is more ecologically controversial, moreeconomically costly and more socially disruptive thanbiofuels, and the insurance industry refuses to cover thefull range of risks. Integrated gasification combinedcycle (IGCC) systems combined with carbon captureand storage (CCS) so far look like an expensive dream.

So arent there any options that meet our energyrequirements without emitting excessive greenhouse gases ?

The answer may lie in a more radical approach. Whynot reinvent technological progress and develop theappropriate changes of behaviour? Imagine a 10kgbucket of water. How much electricity would you needto lift the bucket from sea level to the top of MountEverest? It may come as a surprise that you would needonly one quarter of a kilowatt hour (kWh). Meaningthat a kilowatt hour is an amazing powerhouse! Butwhat do we do with one quarter of a kilowatt hour? Wepower a single 75W incandescent lamp for 3.3 hours. Isubmit that we can realize far more economic and socialbenefits than we currently do with each kilowatt hourof energy and, indeed, each kilogram of material andwater, each kilometre of transport and each squaremetre of the Earths surface.

A fivefold increase in resource productivity, Isuggest, will make our ecological and social challengesmanageable that is, a fivefold increase in energyproductivity, materials productivity, water productivity,transport productivity and land productivity. Richcountries could stabilize their wealth while reducingtheir energy and resource consumption by 80 per cent.Poor countries would be encouraged to grow fivefoldwhile stabilizing their demand on resources. In order toachieve these significant improvements, we will requirea paradigm shift in productivity. Labour productivityhas risen 20-fold since 1850, and now we also requireresource productivity to rise. It is important to notehere that productivity is more than efficiency.Efficiency is measured in the closed box of a distinctfunction, such as the kilometres that a car can drive on1 litre of fuel. Productivity, on the other hand, ismeasured in a broader perspective of the solution, such

as the equivalent transport services that other mobilitymodes provide per input of a specified resource.

There are, of course, some low hanging fruits, suchas efficient lighting, hybrid cars, energy efficientbuildings, water purification and waste recycling:combined, they might take care of a factor of two inresource productivity. Achieving a factor of five (80 percent) increase in resource productivity calls upon ourcreativity and ability to innovate as we search for new ways of redesigning technologies, processes,infrastructure and systems. Focusing only on optimizationat the component level of a system will not deliver theresource productivity needed optimization at thesystem level is critical. Systemic improvements goconsiderably further than isolated componentimprovements. Synergies between components andcascades of resource use are abundantly available buthave to be identified and properly designed in order todeliver the resource productivity needed.

To this end, the team from The Natural EdgeProject, led by Charlie Hargroves, offers this book tothose wishing to use design to deliver the types ofimprovements I call for above by taking an integratedapproach to sustainable engineering. I was thrilled andimpressed reading this volume, which features anintegrated approach towards resource productivity and,ultimately, sustainability both at a small and large scale.Each chapter in this book is self-explanatory and self-sufficient, making for easy reading and teaching; buttaken as a whole, it is a wonderful contribution toengineering design, as you would expect from a bookwith this title. Good luck readers, students and teachers!

Professor Ernst Ulrich von WeizsckerCo-recipient of the 2008 DBU German Environmental Award

Lead author of Factor Four (1995)Lead author of Factor Five (2009)

Former Chairman, Bundestag Environment CommitteeFormer President of the Wuppertal Institute for Climate,

Environment and EnergyEmmendingen, Germany

October 2008

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The Natural Edge Project (TNEP) would like to thankthe following individuals and groups for making thedevelopment of this publication possible. Firstly, aspecial thank you must go to the authors families.Peter would like to thank his family and friends fortheir love and support, especially his family Bill,Georgina, George, Steven and Olivia, and partnerJacquelina. Mike would like to thank his wife SarahChapman for her love, support and for sharing alifelong passion for sustainable engineering. Charliewould like to thank his wife, Stacey, for her patienceand love. Cheryl would like to thank her family fortheir love and support of her commitment to make adifference. The authors would also like to thankFatima Pinto for her tireless efforts in managing theTNEP office.

TNEP Secretariat Charlie, Michael, Cheryl,Peter, Stacey Hargroves and Fatima Pinto would liketo thank the Australian Federal Department of theEnvironment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWR)for funding the development of the publication as partof the 2005/06 and 2006/07 Education forSustainability Grants Program.

A special thank you must go to Amory Lovins as hewas the inspiration for this publication, in particularthe starting point for the development of themethodology, and the unique format of the casestudies. During our trip to Rocky Mountain Institutein 2004, we asked Amory what a team of youngengineers could do to make a difference to ourprofession and he responded simply that we shouldcontribute to the non-violent overthrow of badengineering, and the many conversations that followedinspired our team to develop this book.

Thank you to Paul Compston and Benjamin S.Blanchard for taking the time to mentor our team onSystems Design and Systems Engineering. Additionalthanks must go to Paul for trialing the books materialin his Systems Design course at The AustralianNational University. A special thank you goes to Alan

Pears for taking the time to share with us his personalexperiences and lessons learnt from whole systemdesign projects to inform the development of themethodology on which this book is based.

The Secretariat would also like to thank BarryGrear AO, Benjamin S. Blanchard, Ernst Ulrich vonWeizscker, and Tony Marjoram for taking the time tomentor our team and contribute forewords for thispublication. We would like to thank the followingindividuals for taking the time to provide peer reviewand mentoring for this publication:

Al Blake, Royal Melbourne Institute of TechnologyAlan Pears, Royal Melbourne Institute of TechnologyAngus Simpson, University of AdelaideBenjamin S. Blanchard, Virginia Polytechnic Instituteand State UniversityBolle Borkowsky, CDIF GroupBruce R. Munson, Iowa State UniversityChandrakant Patel, Hewlett-PackardColin Kestel, University of AdelaideDylan Lu, University of SydneyJanis Birkeland, Queensland University of TechnologyKazem Abhary, University of South Australia Lee Luong, University of South Australia Mehdi Toophanpour Rami, University of AdelaideNick Edgerton, AMP Capital Sustainability Fund(formerly of the University of Technology SydneyInstitute of Sustainable Futures)Paul Compston, The Australian National UniversityPhilip Bangerter, HatchRobert Mierisch, Hydro Tasmania ConsultingVeronica Soebarto, University of AdelaideWim Dekkers, Queensland University of Technology

The work was copy-edited by TNEP ProfessionalEditor Stacey Hargroves.

Work on original graphics and enhancements toexisting graphics has been carried out by Mr PeterStasinopoulos, Mrs Renee Stephens and Earthscan.

Acknowledgements

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Peter Stasinopoulos is the Technical Director of TheNatural Edge Project. He is a graduate of the Universityof Adelaide, holding a Bachelor of MechatronicEngineering with First Class Honours and a Bachelorof Mathematical and Computer Science, and iscurrently completing a PhD in Systems Design underDr Paul Compston and Dr Barry Newell at TheAustralian National University. Since starting withTNEP in 2005, Peter has worked on a variety ofprojects across TNEPs Education and IndustryConsultation portfolios.

Michael Smith is a co-founder and the Research Directorof The Natural Edge Project. Michael is also a co-authorand co-editor of The Natural Advantage of Nations(Earthscan 2005) and co-author of Cents and Sustainability(Earthscan 2009). Michael is a graduate of the Universityof Melbourne, holding a Bachelor of Science with a doublemajor in Chemistry and Mathematics with Honours andhas submitted his PhD thesis entitled Advancing andResolving the Great Sustainability Debates under ProfessorSteve Dovers and Professor Michael Collins at TheAustralian National University.

Author Biographies

The Natural Edge Project (TNEP) is an independent sustainability think-tank based in Australia, which operatesas a partnership for education, research and policy development on innovation for sustainable development. TNEPsmission is to contribute to and succinctly communicate leading research, case studies, tools, policy and strategies forachieving sustainable development across government, business and civil society. The team of early careerprofessionals receives mentoring and support from a wide range of experts and leading organizations, in Australiaand internationally. Since forming in 2002, TNEP have developed a number of internationally renowned books onsustainable development, which include contributions from colleagues Alan AtKisson, Amory Lovins, Ernst vonWeizscker, Gro Brundtland, Jeffery Sachs, Jim McNeill, Leo Jensen, R. K. Pachauri and William McDonough.

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Karlson Charlie Hargroves is a co-founder and theExecutive Director of The Natural Edge Project.Charlie is also a co-author and co-editor of The NaturalAdvantage of Nations (Earthscan 2005) and co-authorof Cents and Sustainability (Earthscan 2009). Charliegraduated from the University of Adelaide, holding aBachelor of Civil and Structural Engineering and iscurrently completing a PhD in Sustainable IndustryPolicy under Professor Peter Newman at CurtinUniversity. Prior to co-founding TNEP in 2002,Charlie worked as a design engineer for two years. Charlie spent 12 months on secondment as theCEO of Natural Capitalism Inc, Colorado, andrepresents the team as an Associate Member of theClub of Rome.

Cheryl Desha is the Education Director of The NaturalEdge Project and a lecturer in the School ofEngineering at Griffith University. She is a co-author ofThe Natural Advantage of Nations (Earthscan 2005).Cheryl is a graduate of Griffith University, holding aBachelor of Environmental Engineering with FirstClass Honours and receiving a University Medal andEnvironmental Engineering Medal. She is currentlycompleting a PhD in Education for SustainableDevelopment under Professor David Thiel at GriffithUniversity. Prior to joining TNEP in 2003, Cherylworked for an international consulting engineeringfirm for four years. In 2005, she was selected as theEngineers Australia Young Professional Engineer of theYear.

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Educational aim

Chapter 1 explains the importance and relevance of aWhole System Approach to Sustainable Design inaddressing the pressing environmental challenges of the21st century. It introduces the main concepts of aWhole System Approach to Sustainable Design andhow it complements design for environment anddesign for sustainability strategies. It also introducesthe need to innovate efficient holistic solutions toreduce our negative impact on the environment andreduce our dependence on fossil fuels. An outline isgiven of the numerous benefits that Whole SystemDesign brings to business and the nation. These includehow Whole System Design can help to achievesustainable development by enabling the decoupling ofeconomic growth from environmental pressure. Thechapter concludes with a summary of the main conceptsof Whole System Design that can be used to deliversuch solutions. In this book the terms Whole SystemDesign, a Whole System Approach to SustainableDesign, a Whole System Approach to Design andSustainable Design are used interchangeably.

Why does design matter?As Amory Lovins et al wrote in Natural Capitalism:1

By the time the design for most human artefacts iscompleted but before they have actually been built, about8090 per cent of their life-cycle economic and ecologicalcosts have already been made inevitable. In a typicalbuilding, efficiency expert Joseph Romm explains,Although up-front building and design costs may

represent only a fraction of the buildings life-cycle costs,when just one per cent of a projects up-front costs arespent, up to 70 per cent of its life-cycle costs may alreadybe committed. When seven per cent of project costs arespent, up to 85 per cent of life-cycle costs have beencommitted. That first one per cent is critical because, asthe design adage has it, all the really important mistakesare made on the first day.

1A Whole System Approach to Sustainable Design

Required reading

Environment Australia (2001) ProductInnovation: The Green Advantage: An Introductionto Design for Environment for Australian Business,Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra,pp110, www.environment.gov.au/settlements/industry/finance/publications/producer.html,accessed 5 January 2007

Pears, A. (2004) Energy efficiency Itspotential: Some perspectives and experiences,background paper for International EnergyAgency Energy Efficiency Workshop, Paris,April 2004, pp113

Porter, M. and van der Linde, C. (1995)Green and competitive: Ending the stalemate,Harvard Business Review, September/October,Boston, MA, pp121134

Rocky Mountain Institute (1997)Tunnelling through the cost barrier, RMINewsletter, Summer 1997, pp14, www.rmi.org/images/other/Newsletter/NLRMIsum97.pdf,accessed 5 January 2007

Chapter 1.qxd 12/1/2008 5:13 PM Page 1

Infrastructure, buildings, cars and many appliances allhave long design lives, in most cases from 20 to 50years. The size and duration of infrastructure andbuilding developments, for instance, demand that theyshould now be much more critically evaluated forefficiency and function than ever before. AustralianAmbassador to the United Nations Robert Hill, talkingabout the new Australian Parliament House, sums upthe loss of opportunities from a failure to incorporateenvironmental considerations into design:2

Across Lake Burley Griffin is one of Australias mostfamous houses Parliament House. Built at considerablecost to the Australian taxpayer, it was officially opened in1988. Since 1989, efforts have been made to reduceenergy consumption in Parliament House, resulting in a41 per cent reduction in energy use with the flow-on effectof reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than20,000 tonnes annually. This has also brought about asaving of more than AU$2 million a year in running costs.But the new wave of environmental thinking would haveus question why these measures werent incorporated inthe design of the building in the first place and what otheropportunities for energy-saving design features weremissed? Its a simple example of how the environment isstill considered an add-on option as opposed to beingcentral to the way we do business.

Currently considerable opportunities are being missedat the design phase of projects to significantly reducenegative environmental impacts. There is a great deal ofopportunity here for business and government toreduce process costs, and achieve greater competitiveadvantage through sustainable engineering designs. AsRobert Hill also stated:3

Building construction and motor vehicles are two high-profile industry sectors where producers are utilizingDesign for Environment (DfE) principles in their productdevelopment processes, thereby strategically reducing theenvironmental impact of a product or service over itsentire life-cycle, from manufacture to disposal.Companies that are incorporating DfE are at the forefrontof innovative business management in Australia. As thelink between business success and environmentalprotection becomes clearer, visionary companies have theopportunity to improve business practices, to be morecompetitive in a global economy and to increase theirlongevity.

The Department of the Environment and Heritage haspublished an introduction to DfE for Australianbusinesses, Product Innovation: The Green Advantage,4

which highlights the benefits of pursuing a DfEapproach. This is backed up by numerous studies. DfEprovides a new way for business to cost-effectivelyachieve greater efficiencies and competitiveness fromproduct redesign. Harvard Business School ProfessorMichael Porter, author of The Competitive Advantage ofNations, and Claas van der Linde highlight a range ofways that DfE at the early stages of development of aproject can both reduce costs and help the environmentin their 1995 paper Green and Competitive.5

Some of businesses most significant costs arecapital and inputs such as construction materials, rawmaterials, energy, water and transportation. It istherefore in businesses best interests to minimize thesecosts, and hence the amounts of raw materials andother inputs they need to create their product orprovide their service. Business produces either usefulproducts and services or waste, better described asunsaleable production, because the company pays toproduce it. How does it assist a business to have plantequipment and labour tied up in generating waste?Table 1.1 below lists the numerous ways companies canprofitably reduce waste. Addressing such opportunitiestherefore gives businesses numerous options to reducecosts and create new product differentiation.

A DfE approach to reducing environmentalimpacts is one of the best approaches business andgovernment can take to find win-win opportunities toboth reduce costs and help the environment. The DfEapproach is reminiscent of the total quality movementin business in the 1980s, where many were sceptical atthe beginning that re-examining current business andengineering practices would make a difference. Manydoubted that win-win opportunities could be found.Today, on the other hand, it is assumed that such win-win opportunities exist if business takes a total qualityapproach. The Department of the Environment andHeritage publication Product Innovation: The GreenAdvantage showed that many companies are findingwin-win ways to reduce costs and improve productdifferentiation through a DfE approach. Expanding onthis concept, companies and government programmesare finding that if a Whole System Design approach istaken, then the cost savings and environmentalimprovements can be in the order of Factor 410(7590 per cent).

2 WHOLE SYSTEM DESIGN


A WHOLE SYSTEM APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE DESIGN 3

This book discusses a Whole System Approach toSustainable Design. It is important here to discuss themeaning of the term Sustainable Design in thiscontext, where the focus is primarily on technicalengineered systems. Sustainable Design refers to thedesign and development of systems that, throughouttheir lifecycle:

Consume natural resources (energy, materials andwater) within the capacity for them to beregenerated (thus favouring renewable resources),and preferably replace or reuse natural resources;

Do not release hazardous or polluting substancesinto the biosphere beyond its assimilative capacity(thus zero release of hazardous persistent and/orbio-accumulative substances), and preferably arebenign and restorative;

Avoid contributing to irreversible adverse impactson ecosystems (including services and biodiversity),biogeochemical cycles and hydrological cycles, andpreferably protect and enrich ecosystems,biogeochemical cycles and hydrological cycles;

Provide useful and socially accepted services longterm, and enrich communities and business byproviding multiple benefits; and

Are cost effective and have a reasonable rate ofreturn on total life-cycle investment, andpreferably are immediately profitable.

Currently, not all systems will reflect the abovedescription of a sustainable system. However, almost all

systems can be improved towards this end. A numberof leading Sustainable Design experts BillMcDonough,7 Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins8, HunterLovins,9 Karl-Henrik Robert,10 Paul Anastas,11

Friedrich Schmidt-Bleek,12 and Sim Van der Ryn13 have developed guides to Sustainable Design that are inaccord with the criteria outlined above. There are alsomany other important criteria in developing systemsthat are sustainable throughout their life-cycle in thetraditional sense in other words, their services arereliable, maintainable, supportable, available andproducible.14

A Whole System Approachexplained

In the past engineers have failed to see these largepotential energy and resource savings, because they havebeen encouraged to optimize only parts of the system be it a pumping system, a car or a building. Engineers

Table 1.1 DfE and business competitive advantage

DfE can Improve Processes and Reduce Costs: DfE Provides Benefits to Reduce Costs and CreateProduct Differentiation:

Greater resource productivity of inputs, energy, water and Higher quality, more consistent products;raw materials to reduce costs; Lower product costs (e.g. from material substitution, new

Material savings from better design; improved plant efficiencies etc); Increases in process yields and less downtime through Lower packaging costs;

designing out waste and designing the plant and process More efficient resource use by products;to minimize maintenance and parts; Safer products;

Better design to ensure that by-products and waste can Lower net costs to customers of product disposal;be converted into valuable products; Higher product resale and scrap value; and

Reduced material storage and handling costs through Products that meet new consumer demands forjust in time management; environmental benefits.

Improved OH&S; and Improvements in the quality of product or service.

Source: Adapted from Porter and van der Linde (1995), p1266

A Whole System Approach is a processthrough which the interconnections betweensub-systems and systems are activelyconsidered, and solutions are sought thataddress multiple problems via one and thesame solution.


have been encouraged to find efficiency improvements inpart of a plant or a building, but rarely encouraged to seekto re-optimize the whole system. Incremental productrefinement has been traditionally undertaken by isolatingone component of the technology and optimizing theperformance or efficiency of that one component.Though this method has its merits with the traditionalform of manufacturing and management of engineeringsolutions, it prevents engineers from achieving significantenergy and resource efficiency savings. Over the last 20years, engineers using a Whole System Approach todesign has enabled designers to achieve Factor 420(7595 per cent) efficiency improvements, which inmany cases has opened up new more costeffective waysto reduce our load on the environment. This is because inthe past many engineered systems did not take intoaccount the multiple benefits that can be achieved byconsidering the whole system.

For example, as the Rocky Mountain Institutepoints out, most energy-using technologies are designedin three ways that are intended to produce an optimizeddesign but actually produce suboptimal solutions:

1 Components are optimized in isolation from othercomponents (thus pessimizing the systems ofwhich they are a part).

2 Optimization typically considers single rather thanmultiple benefits.

3 The optimal sequence of design steps is not usuallyconsidered.15

Hence the Whole System Approach is now recognizedas an important approach to enable the achievement ofSustainable Design. To illustrate this, consider the workof Interface Ltd engineer Jan Schilham in designing anindustrial pumping system for a factory in Shanghai in1997, as made famous largely by Amory Lovins andprofiled in Natural Capitalism:16

One of its industrial processes required 14 pumps. Inoptimizing the design, the top Western specialist firmsized the pump motors to total 95 horsepower. But byapplying methods learned from Singaporean efficiencyexpert Eng Lock Lee (and focusing on reducing waste inthe form of friction), Jan Schilham cut the designspumping power to only seven horsepower a 92 per centor 12-fold energy saving while reducing its capital costand improving its performance in every respect.

Schilham did this in two simple ways. First, he revisitedpipe width. The friction in pipes decreases rapidly(nearly to the fifth power) as the diameter increases. Hefound that the existing pipe arrangement wasnt takingadvantage of this mathematical relationship, and so hedesigned the system to use short, fat pipes instead oflong, thin ones. Second, he adjusted the system tominimize bends in pipes (to further reduce friction).This Whole System Approach created a 12-foldreduction in the energy required to pump the fluidsthrough the pipe system, resulting in the big reductionin motor size, and subsequent energy and cost savings.Why is this significant? As Amory Lovins writes:

Pumping is the biggest use of the motors, and motors use3/5 of all the electricity, so saving one unit of friction inthe pipe save 10 units of fuel. Because of the large amountof losses of electricity in its transmission from the powerplant to the end use, saving one unit of energy in thepump/pipe system saves upwards of ten units of fuel at thepower plant.17

A Whole System Approach to Sustainable Design allowsmultiple benefits to be achieved in the design of air-handling equipment, clean-rooms, lighting, drivepowersystems, chillers, insulation, heat-exchanging and othertechnical systems in a wide range of sizes, programmesand climates. Such designs commonly yield energysavings of 5090 per cent. However, only a tiny fractionof design professionals routinely apply a Whole SystemApproach to Sustainable Design. Most design projectsdeal with only some elements of an energy/materials-consuming system and do not take into account thewhole system. This is the main reason why they fail tocapture the full savings potential. A Whole SystemApproach to Sustainable Design is increasingly being seenas the key strategy to achieving cost-effective ways toreduce negative environmental impacts.

This was one of the main conclusions of the five-year Australian Federal Government Energy EfficiencyBest Practice (EEBP) programme run by theDepartment of Industry, Tourism and Resources(DITR).18 The team involved found that through awhole-of-system approach they could achieve 3060per cent energy efficiency gains across a wide range ofindustries, from bakeries to supermarkets, mines,breweries, wineries and dairies, to name but a few. Theprogramme explicitly recommends that project teams



take a whole-of-system approach to understanding thecomplex challenges and identifying energy-efficiencyopportunities.19 The programme considered a numberof industry applications, including motor systems thatare used in almost every industry. It found that electricmotors are used to provide motive power for a vastrange of end uses, with crushers, grinders, mixers, fans,pumps, material conveyors, air-compressors andrefrigeration compressors together accounting for 81per cent of industrial motive power. The programmepointed out that with a whole-of-system approach tooptimizing industrial motor-driven applications,coupled with best practice motor management,electricity savings of 3060 per cent can be realized.

For example, consider an electric motor driving apump that circulates a liquid around an industrialsite.20 This system comprises:

An electric motor (sizing and efficiency rating); Motor controls (switching, speed or torque

control); Motor drive system (belts, gearboxes, etc); Pump; Pipework; and Demand for the fluid (or in many cases the heat or

coolth it carries).

The efficiencies of these elements interact in complexways. However, consider a simplistic situation, wherethe overall efficiency of the motor is improved by 10 percent (by a combination of appropriate sizing andselection of a high-efficiency model). The efficiencies ofthese elements interact in complex ways. However,consider a simplistic situation of a motor system with sixcomponents in series. If the efficiency of everycomponent is improved by 10 per cent (by acombination of appropriate sizing and selection of ahigh-efficiency model), then the overall level of energyuse is 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 = 0.53. That is47 per cent savings are achieved. This is why taking theWhole System Approach to Design is yielding over 50per cent improvements previously ignored in resourceproductivity, with corresponding reductions in negativeenvironmental impacts. If the most efficient componentis chosen for each part of a motor system (even if the difference in efficiency is not significant for theindividual components), the overall efficiency of thewhole system is about 7 times greater (see Table 1.2).

Whole System Design a rediscoveryof good Victorian engineering

During the 20th century, engineering became moreand more specialized as scientific and technologicalknowledge increased exponentially, so much so thatnow in the 21st century engineers are no longer trainedacross fields of engineering as they were before and thusno longer keep up with the latest breakthroughs inevery field. As a result, opportunities are often missedto optimize the whole system, as the engineer onlyknows their field in detail and has little interaction withother designers on the project.

A classic example of this is industrial pressurizedfiltration, which is responsible for over one-third of all theenergy used in filtration globally. For the last 80 yearsmost have assumed that these industrial pressurized filtershad been designed optimally. However, closer inspectionby Professors White, Bogar, Healy and Scales at theUniversity of Melbourne revealed that they had in factnot yet been optimized. The design had been developed80 years ago by a mechanical engineer who had designeda system which, when given very concentratedsuspensions to filter, simply pushed harder rather thanadjusting the chemistry of the suspension to make iteasier to push through, as the research team from theUniversity of Melbourne have now done. In this case theengineer did not have the training in chemistry, orconsult a chemist, to see possibilities to improve thedesign of the whole system. This clearly demonstrates thebenefit of engineers working together across disciplines toexamine and optimize engineering systems by poolingtheir collective knowledge. Most engineering firms havethis capacity.


Table 1.2 Comparison of the best and the worstefficiency motoring systems

System Component Best Efficiency Worst Efficiency

Electrical wiring 0.98 0.9Motor 0.92 0.75Drive (e.g. gearbox or belt) 1.0 0.7Pump 0.85 0.4Pipes 0.9 0.5Process demand Can vary enormously but assumed

constant for this example.Overall efficiency of system 0.69 0.095

Source: Pears, A. (2004)21


Another factor in why components of theengineering project are optimized in isolation ratherthan as part of a system is because today largeengineering projects are highly complex. Hence theengineer managing the project inevitably has to breakup the project into components which are then workedon by individual engineers and designers. Thereforeoften when undertaking the components of suchprojects, the individual engineer is not responsible forthe whole project and has little choice but to focus onoptimizing smaller components of the system, andhence missing those opportunities achievable onlythrough a Whole System Approach to design. But thiscan be avoided and significant time and money can besaved if extra time is taken at the planning stage of theprocess to consider Whole System Design opportunitiesand unleash the creativity of the designers throughmultidisciplinary design processes such as designcharrettes.

Engineers thrive on challenges, and the recentlydeveloped field of engineering called SystemsEngineering has evolved to address the need oncomplex engineering projects for an engineer to ensurethat all the parts of the project relate and fit. A systemsengineer needs to use a Whole System Approach todesign and communicate the opportunities effectivelyto the other engineers involved with developingcomponents of an engineering project. Best practice inSystems Engineering still performs reductionistanalyses of engineering challenges, but without losingsight of how one component of the system interactswith and affects all other components of the system orthe systems behaviour and characteristics as a whole. Asengineers seek to collaborate across the different fieldsof engineering once more, any Whole SystemApproach to design involving multidisciplinaryengineering teams becomes a rediscovery of the richheritage of Victorian engineering.

Engineering has a rich tradition of valuing andpractising a Whole System Approach to design andoptimization. The first industrial revolution, as weknow it today, would not have been possible if engineerJames Watt had not practised a Whole SystemApproach to design optimization to achieve majorresource productivity gains on the steam engine in1769. The first industrial revolution was only possiblebecause of the significant improvement in theconversion efficiency of the steam engine22 thusachieved.23 Watt realized that the machine was

extremely inefficient. Though the jet of watercondensed the steam in the cylinder very quickly, it hadthe undesirable effect of cooling the cylinder down,resulting in premature condensation on the next stroke.In effect the cylinder had to perform two contradictoryfunctions at once: it had to be boiling hot in order toprevent the steam from condensing too early but alsohad to be cold in order to condense the steam at justthe right time.

Watt redesigned the engine by adding a separatecondenser, allowing him to keep one cylinder hot byjacketing it in water supplied by the boiler. Thiscylinder ensured that the water was turned into steamand then another condenser was kept at the righttemperature to ensure the steam would condense at justthe right time. The result was an immensely morepowerful machine than the Newcomen steam engine,the original steam engine.

Watts initial successful Whole System Design wasfollowed by further remarkable improvements of hisown making. The most important of these was the sun-and-planet gearing system, which translated theengines reciprocating motion into rotary motion. Insimple terms, the new machine could be used to driveother machines. Watt alone had used a whole systemoptimization of the design to turn a steam pump into amachine that had vastly improved resourceproductivity and applicability.

The need for sustainable WholeSystem Design

Whole System Design provides ways to both improveconversion efficiency and resource productivity andreduce costs. James Watt showed this over 200 yearsago. But in the 21st century it needs to go further. Weneed to seek to be restorative of the planet rather thandestructive, and thus Whole System Design needs todesign for sustainability.24 In other words we need aWhole System Approach to Sustainable Design. In thecontext of the loss of natural capital and the loss ofresilience of many of the worlds ecosystems,development must be redesigned not to simply harm theenvironment less, but rather to be truly restorative ofnature and ecosystems, and society and communities.This involves the complete reversal of the negativeimpacts of existing patterns of land use anddevelopment, improving human and environmentalhealth, and increasing natural capital (increasing



renewable resources, biodiversity, ecosystem servicesand natural habitat).

To achieve sustainability, we must transform ourdesign and construction processes well beyond whatmany today see as best practice, which merely aims toreduce adverse impacts relative to conventionaldevelopment in an end-of-pipe manner. Many of whatare currently regarded as ecological design goals,concepts, methods and tools are not adequately gearedtowards the systems design thinking and creativityrequired to meet this challenge. An entirely new formof design for development is required, of which aWhole System Approach to Sustainable Design, asoutlined in this book, provides many of the keys:

To use an analogy; in the healthcare fields we have moved(conceptually) from (a) alleviating symptoms to (b) curingillness, (c) preventing disease and (d) improving health.Development control is still largely at the first stage mitigating impacts (in other words alleviating symptoms).Restorative Whole System Approaches to SustainableDesign instead seek to reverse impacts, eliminateexternalities and increase natural capital by supporting thebiophysical functions provided for by nature to restore thehealth of the soil, air, water, biota and ecosystems.25

Taking a Whole System Approach to SustainableDesign is not simply about reducing harm, but aboutrestoring the environment. It is also about not justensuring that future generations can meet their needs.A Whole System Approach to Sustainable Design isabout designing systems which create a greater arrayof choices and options for future generations.

One of the leading proponents of SustainableDesign, Bill McDonough tells the following story toillustrate the benefits of a restorative perspective todesign. This case study is given in full to give a senseof the potential of design for sustainability:26

In 1993, we helped to conceive and create a compostableupholstery fabric, a biological nutrient. We were initiallyasked by Design Tex to create an aesthetically uniquefabric that was also ecologically intelligent, although theclient did not quite know at that point what this would(tangibly) mean. The challenge helped to clarify, both forus and for the company we were working with, thedifference between superficial responses such as recyclingand reduction and the more significant changes requiredby the Next Industrial Revolution (and Whole System

Design). For example, when the company first sought tomeet our desire for an environmentally safe fabric, itpresented what it thought was a wholesome option:cotton, which is natural, combined with PET(polyethylene terephthalate) fibres from recycled beveragebottles. Since the proposed hybrid could be described withtwo important eco-buzzwords, natural and recycled, itappeared to be environmentally ideal. The materials werereadily available, markettested, durable and cheap. Butwhen the project team looked carefully at what themanifestations of such a hybrid might be in the long run,we discovered some disturbing facts. When a person sits inan office chair and shifts around, the fabric beneath himor her abrades; tiny particles of it are inhaled or swallowedby the user and other people nearby. PET was notdesigned to be inhaled. Furthermore, PET would preventthe proposed hybrid from going back into the soil safely,and the cotton would prevent it from re-entering anindustrial cycle. The hybrid would still add junk tolandfills, and it might also be dangerous.

The team decided to design a fabric so safe that one couldliterally eat it. The European textile mill chosen toproduce the fabric was quite clean environmentally, andyet it had an interesting problem: although the millsdirector had been diligent about reducing levels ofdangerous emissions, government regulators had recentlydefined the trimmings of his fabric as hazardous waste. Wesought a different end for our trimmings: mulch for thelocal garden club. When removed from the frame after thechairs useful life and tossed onto the ground to minglewith sun, water and hungry micro-organisms, both thefabric and its trimmings would decompose naturally. Theteam decided on a mixture of safe, pesticide-free plant andanimal fibres for the fabric (ramie and wool) and beganworking on perhaps the most difficult aspect: the finishes,dyes and other processing chemicals. If the fabric was togo back into the soil safely, it had to be free of mutagens,carcinogens, heavy metals, endocrine disrupters, persistenttoxic substances and bio-accumulative substances.

Sixty chemical companies were approached about joiningthe project, and all declined, uncomfortable with the ideaof exposing their chemistry to the kind of scrutinynecessary. Finally one European company, Ciba-Geigy,agreed to join. With that companys help the project teamconsidered more than 8000 chemicals used in the textileindustry and eliminated 7962. The fabric in fact, anentire line of fabrics was created using only 38



chemicals. The resulting fabric has garnered gold medalsand design awards and has proved to be tremendouslysuccessful in the marketplace. The non-toxic fabric,Climatex(R)Lifecycle(TM), is so safe that its trimmings canindeed be used as mulch by local garden clubs.

The director of the mill told a surprising story after thefabrics were in production. When regulators came by to testthe effluent, they thought their instruments were broken.After testing the influent as well, they realized that theequipment was fine the water coming out of the factorywas as clean as the water going in. The manufacturingprocess itself was filtering the water. The new design notonly bypassed the traditional three-R responses toenvironmental problems, but also eliminated the need forregulation.

Benefits to business of a WholeSystem Approach to SustainableDesign

Product improvements and increasedcompetitive advantage

A Whole System Approach to Sustainable Design canhelp designers to help businesses develop new businessopportunities through developing greener products.Such an approach prompts the designer to re-examineexisting systems to design totally new ways to meetpeoples needs, design completely new products, orsimply redesign and significantly improve old products.These new product improvements can create newbusiness opportunities, markets and new competitiveadvantages for a company.

This is being understood by major companies. Forinstance in May 2005, General Electric (GE), one ofthe worlds biggest companies, with revenues ofUS$152 billion in 2004, announced Ecomagination,a major new business driver expected to doublerevenues from greener products to US$20 billion by2010. This initiative will see GE double its research anddevelopment in eco-friendly technologies to US$1.5billion by 2010, and improve energy efficiency by 30per cent by 2012. In May 2006, the company reportedrevenues of US$10.1 billion from its energy-efficientand environmentally advanced products and services,up from US$6.2 billion in 2004, with orders nearlydoubling to US$17 billion.

Examples of how a Whole System Approach canlead to big advances are now very common:

Whole System Design improvements mean thatrefrigerators today use significantly less energy thanthose built in the early 1980s. In Australia theaverage refrigerator being purchased is 50 per centmore efficient than the ones bought in the early1980s. But a Whole System Approach to SustainableDesign motivates the designer to see if this could stillbe improved. As Chapter 5 will show, the latestinnovations in materials science from Europe meanthat there are now better insulating materialsavailable that will allow the next generation ofrefrigerators to be still more energy efficient.

A Whole System Approach to Sustainable Designinvolves setting a high stretch goal of seeking todesign a system as sustainably and cost effectively aspossible. The laptop computer is a classic casestudy, because it shows what happens when yougive engineers a stretch goal. In this case the stretchgoal was that computer companies needed laptopsto be 80 per cent more efficient than desktopcomputers so that the computer could run off abattery. With this stretch goal the engineersdelivered a solution through Whole System Design.

The built environment is another major area wheremany are now taking a Whole System Approach toSustainable Design. In Melbourne, Australia, the60L Green Building demonstrated what is possiblethrough retrofitting old buildings with a WholeSystem Design Approach. This commercialbuilding now uses over 65 per cent less energy andover 90 per cent less water than a conventionalcommercial building. It features many innovations,using the latest in stylish office amenitiescompletely made from recycled materials.

Whole System Approaches to Design also can helpmetal processing and industrial processes.Developed in Australia, Ausmelt was a totally newsmelting process for base metals that increased thecapacity of metal produce

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Whole System Design