Page 31 - IO1 The environmental sylabus for VET providers_Final

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Terms related with the Module:

eco-design environmentally design for Environment
sustainable design
eco-minded redesigning reusability
greenwashing waste management sustainable practices
sustainability

Summary of the syllabus for the Module:
With the availability of research material and general information on the topic,
we can notice increased awareness on environmental issues, both at
production and customer level, also resulting in more environmentally friendly
products and services on the market and their wiser exploitation by consumers.

Environmentally sustainable design, as part of sustainable and eco-innovation,
focuses not only on the stage of preparing and producing a product or service
but also the changes to it resulting from consumption. With this in mind the use
of materials can be reduced by utilizing them to the maximum, at the same
time saving time, money and human efforts. In many cases products can be
reused and services adapted to provide effective solutions. Therefore,
redesigning products and services, on the one hand is to minimise the use of
materials, but on the other for a better customer experience.

Module 4: Redesigning products and services to minimise the use of materials,
highlights the first stage in the product lifecycle, which is the design, and
especially focusing on eco-design and what it means across various sectors and
considering different actors from the supplier, through the business and to the
customer. Besides that, module 4 focuses on designing techniques and
strategies for reducing impact on the environment with the use of efficient and
as much sustainable as possible resources and processes to meet European
standards.

Looking into the future, making environmentally friendly products for business
and day-to-day activities will be a challenge, but also an opportunity. Eco-
design will create shared values for companies and raise the satisfaction of
customers. Simple designs will be more appreciated with increased awareness
on the impact the product or service has on the environment. However,
increased consumption will also lead to increased environmental effects
interconnected with the need for more careful and meaningful behaviours to
control the entire product (or service) lifecycle. That is why in module 4 we also
focus on the Design for the Environment (DfE) approach and compare
sustainable practices for reducing the use of materials. Next, we look at

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endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot
be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.