Teaching sustainability: does style matter?

New product development review article aims to consolidate the principles and current literature on design for sustainability to seek the field’s future direction. In this point of view, the design for sustainability methods can be established under the idea of sustainability in dimensions of ecology, economy and social pillars. Design for sustainability concept is implemented in concurrent engineering, including concept, embodiment and detail design processes. Integrating sustainability in engineering designs is crucial to producing greener products, system innovation, and services aligned with current market demand. Currently, many concurrent engineering studies related to natural fibre-reinforced polymer composites associated with sustainability enhance the application of design for sustainability techniques by professional designers. However, the current literature is scarce in bridging the design for sustainability concept with concurrent engineering during the design development stage, and these areas should be further developed. Several other future research directions, such as the need for aligning with principles and applications, along with exploring the relationships between the design for sustainability techniques and views of sustainability, are presented in this review paper.

Sustainability in Engineering Design

From the abstract of the whole treatise preceeding Part 1 of this paper (J. Eng. Des., 2000, vol. 11, no. 4, 377‐397) we recall that a stratification for the context of engineering design science was constructed, consisting of 5 levels, viz. general epistemology, engineering design epistemology, engineering design science, engineering design methodics and engineering design practice. The levels of general epistemology and of engineering design epistemology were briefly discussed, and a start was made in discussing the level of engineering design science proper, which would subsequently address I: The action subject of engineering design , II: The action object of engineering design, III: The action process of engineering design, and IV: Engineering design ontology. Part 1 ended with the discussion of 'The action subject of engineering design', so consequently Part 2 starts with discussing 'The action object of engineering design'. The next item, 'The engineering design process' is discussed from two aspects, viz. 'Engineering design phenomenology' and 'Engineering design methodology'. This item, 'The engineering design process' clearly forms the kernel of the paper. After two short paragraphs on 'Engineering design ontology' (belonging to engineering design science) and 'Engineering design methodics' (the tool kit of the engineering designer, but as such not belonging to engineering design science), the paper ends with a logical analysis of the relation between engineering design science and natural science, for which the metaphor of a Siamese Twin clearly presents itself.

Introduction: The teaching process plays a crucial role in the training of professionals. Traditional classroom-based teaching methods, while foundational, often struggle to effectively motivate students. The integration of interactive learning experiences, such as visuo-haptic simulators, presents an opportunity to enhance both student engagement and comprehension. Methods: In this study, three simulators were developed to explore the impact of visuo-haptic simulations on engineering students' engagement and their perceptions of learning basic physics concepts. The study used an adapted end-user computing satisfaction questionnaire to assess students' experiences and perceptions of the simulators' usability and its utility in learning. Results: Feedback from participants suggests a positive reception towards the use of visuo-haptic simulators, highlighting their usefulness in improving the understanding of complex physics principles. Discussion: Results suggest that incorporating visuo-haptic simulations into educational contexts may offer significant benefits, particularly in STEM courses, where traditional methods may be limited. The positive responses from participants underscore the potential of computer simulations to innovate pedagogical strategies. Future research will focus on assessing the effectiveness of these simulators in enhancing students' learning and understanding of these concepts in higher-education physics courses.

Finding sustainable solutions to worldwide problems has become a critical challenge for engineers. The use of natural resources and the generation of materials no degradable should be controlled when sustainable solutions are pursued. As a result, the notion of reusing materials and products for longer periods is gaining momentum in the design for sustainability, and the circular economy is becoming the new paradigm to be implemented for that purpose. In contrast to the traditional linear economy that is focused on making, using and disposing of products, the circular economy is focused on remanufacturing, reusing and recycling products and materials to extend their life. However, the circular economy is not formally introduced in the academia and futures engineers are not getting prepared to incorporate it into the design for sustainability. The aim of this work is to propose a pedagogical approach to introduce the concept of circular economy in engineering design. A case study is presented to compare the design of a product based on the linear economy model (manufacture, use, waste) and the redesign of the product using the circular economy model (remanufacture, reuse, recycle). The comparison will be attained using sustainability performance indicators considered from early design stages. The contrast between the original design based on the linear economy and the re-design using the circular economy allows illustrating the benefits of the circular economy model to enhance the sustainability performance of a product. Additionally, the proposed approach promotes students’ awareness of the impacts of decisions made during the design stage on sustainability including material consumption, energy, emissions, and costs among others. It is expected that the proposed method influences students' engineering design processes regarding sustainability in product design inspired by the feel, think, do. In the long term, it is expected that the technique will be mastered easily by the engineers working on the area of product design who will have sufficient background on the topics of sustainability and circular economy; thus, this practice can be replicated in the professional industrial field. An example is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach.

PurposeThe pressure of globalization has raised social concerns related to the protection of the environment, forced companies to use sustainability as a strategic weapon to fulfill the legal obligations and achieve overall competitiveness. It is reported that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are globally responsible for approximately 70 percent of the industrial pollution, justifying urgent attention to the operations of these businesses. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of sustainability orientation (SO) and supply chain (SC) integration implemented by SMEs on their sustainable procurement (SP) and design. Moreover, this study examines how SMEs’ SP and design affect their environmental and cost performance (CP).Design/methodology/approachThe authors develop a comprehensive model to test the relationships among SC, SC integration, SP, sustainable design (SD), environmental performance (EP) and CP at the SMEs level. The authors investigate the relationships of the mentoned factors by a data set that is collected from 358 Indian manufacturing SMEs.FindingsThe results indicate that in the SMEs’ context: SO positively influences both SP and SD; external integration positively affects SP; internal integration positively affects SD; SP positively influences EP and has not impact on CP; and SD positively influences both EP and CP.Originality/valueThis study provides a broad view of the relation between driving factors that may direct SMEs toward a better sustainability performance and offers practical managerial insights into these important business entities.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to ascertain whether or not there are differences between college students in Alabama and Hawaii based on three questions: are students concerned about the present/future? What do students know about sustainability? Who is responsible for sustainability?Design/methodology/approachTwo approaches were used to address these questions. First, a summary of sustainability efforts at universities in Alabama and Hawaii is provided. Second, a random sample of 406 undergraduate students at two universities in Alabama (n=258) and at a community college in Hawaii (n=148) were surveyed.FindingsThe data indicate that sustainable programs and practices are being implemented on a number of college campuses in Alabama and in Hawaii. Students surveyed in both states are concerned about wasteful consumption and pollution. Respondents' were similar in their self‐assessed knowledge about sustainability. Respondents were also similar in their views about who is responsible for sustainability. However, a consistently larger proportion of Hawaii respondents expressed concern for and willingness to participate in sustainable practices. So, there seems to be little or no “knowledge gap” when it comes to campus sustainability, but there does seem to be a “commitment gap.” Possible reasons for this are discussed.Originality/valueSince the 1980s, many universities in the USA have elected to incorporate sustainability practices into campus development and day‐to‐day operations. They are now emerging as environmental leaders and innovators. An understanding of students' perceptions of sustainability may give insight into whether or not and how they are likely to engage in sustainable practices.

This study examines the role of indoor environmental quality in sustainable interior design and its impact on individual's behavior in residential environments. The research problem is that interior designers are unaware of the need of implementing sustainable design into interior environments, which can have a determined impact on individuals' behavior and reduce the efficiency and performance of residential environments. The main objective of this study is to figure out how sustainable interior design might impact individuals' behavior in residential environments. The importance of the research comes in providing the public with information about the importance of employing sustainable design in the interior design of residential environments to raise the performance, efficiency, and services of these buildings through improving individuals' behavior in it. Research objectives focuses on providing tips, instructions, and mechanisms that can be applied during the design process, which may improve the quality of the internal environments in residential buildings. The research follows the descriptive analytical approach in collecting information through questionnaires, personal interviews, and field visits. Researchers used statistical analysis and analytical tables to analyze the information. Findings confirm that: (1) sustainable interior design plays a positive role in influencing the levels of behavior of individuals, which in turn enhances their positive behavior during daily activities within residential environments, (2) the elements of sustainable interior design have an important role in improving the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of the interior environment in residential buildings, Finally (3) sustainable interior design has an active role in raising the performance, efficiency and services of residential environments.

Over time, the individual's ability to understand ads has evolved, their ability to interact with it also developed, and awareness increased in dealing with advertisements, so that the study of recipient needs became an imperative before proceeding to develop an advertising idea. Hence the importance of studying the recipient's passion and desires through the emotion al engineering ,which is based primarily on gathering the recipient’s emotional needs and setting models to predict how emotional needs relate to , by integrating it with the concept of sustainability and sustainable design in digital advertising so that it can achieve the desired goal of advertising, as the research aims to infer the importance of sustainability in the design of digital advertising and the impact of emotional engineering on it through trying to answer the question, how can emotional engineering be used to sustain the design of digital advertising. The research follows the descriptive analytical approach through analyzing models from digital ads then emphasizing the importance of the role of emotional engineering in digital advertising design. It also shows the possibility of incorporating the emotional needs of customers in the design of digital advertising that meets the satisfaction of the recipient’s desires to achieve the concept of sustainability, that the correct study of impressions and mental images to be achieved for the product or service advertised before publishing the digital advertisement by identifying the emotions to be raised, to be more effective the achievement of the goal of advertising .

The undergraduate civil engineering department has for years introduced students to the economic, environmental, and social aspects of sustainability. Within courses and through freshman and senior design projects students learned sustainable design. Students mastered the ability to recognize and discuss sustainable design but were unable to demonstrate the principles of sustainable design. In 2011, a more structured strategy to teaching sustainable design was adopted. In year one, an introduction to sustainable design principles was added to the Freshman Design course. The objective was to increase students' awareness of sustainable design. Assessment confirmed an increase in student awareness and understanding of sustainable design concepts. In the following year, Sustainable Civil Engineering Design was added as a required sophomore level course. The course objectives are to introduce the science behind the environmental constraints imposed by sustainable engineering, to utilize life cycle analysis as a design tool, and to incorporate a systems approach to design when identifying various sustainable development techniques. Future efforts will focus on integration of more sub-discipline specific sustainability concepts into junior engineering courses and to have students demonstrate the principles of sustainable design in the Senior Design course.

A new methodology for evaluating sustainable product design performance with two-stage network data envelopment analysis

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) has traditionally been used to measure the performance of production systems in terms of efficiency in converting inputs into outputs. In this paper, we present a novel use of the two-stage network DEA to evaluate the sustainable product design performances. While sustainable product design has been considered as one of the most important practices for achieving sustainability, one challenge faced by decision makers in both the private and public sectors is how to deal with the difficult technical trade-offs between traditional and environmental attributes which require new design concepts and engineering specifications. To deal with this challenge, we conceptualize “design efficiency” as a key measurement of design performance in terms of how well multiple product specifications and attributes are combined in a product design that leads to lower environmental impacts or better environmental performances. A two-stage network DEA model is developed for sustainable design performance evaluation with an “industrial design module” and a “bio design module.” To demonstrate the applications of our DEA-based methodology, we use data of key engineering specifications, product attributes, and emissions performances in the vehicle emissions testing database published by the U.S. EPA to evaluate the sustainable design performances of different automobile manufacturers. Our test results show that sustainable design does not need to mean compromise between traditional and environmental attributes. Through addressing the interrelatedness of subsystems in product design, a firm can find the most efficient way to combine product specifications and attributes which leads to lower environmental impacts or better environmental performances. We also demonstrate how two-stage network DEA can be used to develop a analytical framework for evaluating sustainable design performances as well as to identify the most eco-efficient way to achieve better environmental performances through product design.

Unlocking new opportunities in the industry 4.0 era, exploring the critical impact of digital technology on sustainable performance and the mediating role of GSCM practices

Green design is designing and developing an approach that focuses on human health and minimises environmental impacts. In line with the rapid development and growth of the construction industry in Malaysia, green building design has become familiar, especially in high-rise buildings in city areas with many citizens. However, the hot and humid weather is a limitation of green designs for high-rise buildings due to the tropical location of Malaysia. Green design remains in the early phase of the science and approach underlying the green building concepts. Numerous concerns persist, and obstacles must be addressed before the industry can achieve substantial advancement in the implementation of efficient green design programs. Malaysia faces innumerable issues regarding the environmental and economic performance of green buildings. A considerable volume of critiques regarding the actual environmental performance of buildings that have received green building certifications for new construction. The execution is deficient due to inadequate knowledge among stakeholders, consultants, and contractors. This study aims to determine the performance of the green designs for high-rise buildings in hot and humid weather. The research also covered establishing a criterion for green design in high-rise buildings under hot and humid weather. However, the last objective of this research is to propose alternatives for improving green design practice for high-rise buildings in hot and humid weather. In addition, the study aims to determine the efficiency, sustainability and security of green designs that can be used in high-rise buildings to transform Malaysia’s construction industry into a more sustainable and environmentally friendly sector. It will ultimately create healthier and more productive spaces by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving air quality and saving natural resources.

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Process towards the Sustainable Design and Construction of Computer, Communication, Network Engineering, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Systems