Research project
Safe-by-Design Circular Products
How can an effective ‘Safe and Circular by Design’ method be developed for practical application in a designer’s context, particularly for the initial stages of product design, incorporating Safe-by-design strategies, LCA/LCT, risk assessment and ethics?
- Duration
- 2023 - 2027
- Contact
- Nina van Dulmen
- Funding
-
NWO Towards a practical Safe-by-Design approach for chemical products and processes
- Partners
- TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering – Design for Sustainability
- TU Delft Technology, Policy and Management - Ethics and Philosophy of Technology
- RIVM, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment
- PBL, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency
- Accenture
- Spark
- Circo
- Erasmus MC
- Philips Domestic Appliances
- Philips Healthcare
- NPK
Short abstract
The objective of the project ‘Safe-by-Design Circular Products’ is to develop, test and implement a method that enables the design of safe products that fit into a circular economy, based on an assessment of risks of exposure, environmental and social impacts, and a conscious evaluation of ethical consequences.
Project description
1. Scientific relevance
The ‘Safe and Circular by Design’ method will be a major step forward in circular product design, which currently takes a rather oversimplified view on the use of materials (e.g., ignoring the presence of additives in plastics) and end-of-life processes (e.g., ignoring issues such as legacy additives and regrettable substitutions). Also, the social impacts and ethical dilemmas that may occur when dealing with hazardous substances and substances of concern have never been systematically addressed in a practical design method. The Safe and Circular by Design method will push the frontiers of the field of circular design and help create infinitely circular products.
2. Material & Methods
The multidisciplinary project encompasses approaching the development of the method from three perspectives: assessment, product design, and ethics. A wide variety of materials and methods are used, investigated, and developed, ranging from quantitative sustainability assessment methods like Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), to Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), and the field of Value Sensitive Design (VSD).
3. Why Leiden University?
The Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) contributes to the Safe-by-Design Circular Products project from the assessment perspective with its expertise in (ex-ante) LCA, Social LCA, Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA), Risk Assessment (RA) and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). As part of this project, CML contributes to the developing and refinement of such assessment in the initial stages of product design, and how these can be practically applied in a product designer’s context.
4. Societal relevance
The negative effects on human and ecosystem health caused by the production, use and end-of-life of many products and the materials used in them, pose a serious societal problem. The Safe-by-Design Circular Products project holds a significant societal relevance in the contribution towards the design and development of safe and sustainable circular products, for the improvement of health and safety of people and ecosystems.
Research question
The overarching research question of the project is: How can a Safe and Circular by Design method be developed, that supports product designers and engineers with the development of products that fit in a circular economy and that are safe in the short and long term?