EcoDesign Learning Factory

The future of design is circular. Do you want to be part of it and become an ecodesign practitioner?

 

 

  • What is the Learning Factory EcoDesign?

    WHAT IS THE LEARNING FACTORY ECODESIGN?

    The Learning Factory Ecodesign is a practical, creative and interdisciplinary two-day training. During the training you will learn how to develop a circular system and circular business model for a product by following a user-centric ecodesign process. You will use effective ecodesign methods and practices to develop a meaningful product for users, while minimizing its environmental footprint.

    What do we offer?

    WHAT DO WE OFFER?

    Training for individuals
    We offer the training for individual participants twice a year. Please refer to the tab “UPCOMING” for further information about dates and prices.

    Training for institutions / companies
    In case you are interested in a training within your company, your organization, your association or other interest groups, feel free to contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we can discuss the content and conditions. We offer the training in English or German.

    Whom is it for?

    WHOM IS IT FOR?

    The Learning Factory EcoDesign targets working product designers and developers, engineers, teachers, design lecturers, start-ups, SMEs, business model developers – in general, actors who are interested in learning how to adopt ecodesign practices and profit from the opportunities arising around the circular economy.

    Benefits

    WHAT ARE YOUR BENEFITS?

    Your benefit as individual participant
    • Extend your own qualification
    • Introduction into ecodesign and Circular Economy
    • New tools & methods developed by ecodesign experts
    • Creative, innovative and fun learning approach
    • Methods are easy to apply in your daily work
    • Learn with and from others (interdisciplinary approach)
    • Connect to other experts

    Your benefits as a company or institution
    • Stay competitive – profit from the chances of the Circular Economy
    • Use ecodesign as innovation driver – you will be a forerunner
    • Strengthen your image of a sustainable business
    • Optimize processes, products and services and thus save costs
    • Strengthen the cooperation across departments

    who are we I

    WHO ARE WE?

    Dr. Max Marwede
    Dr. Max Marwede is Research Fellow at the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration (Fraunhofer IZM) and holds a Postdoc position in the Junior Research Group „Obsolescence as a challenge for sustainability – causes and alternatives“ at the Technical University Berlin. As a Postdoc he develops an eco-innovation process for long-living products. As part of the department “Environmental and Reliability Engineering” of the Fraunhofer IZM and as a freelancer he supports companies in designing sustainable products and consults German and European public authorities on future ecodesign requirements. He has experience with technology roadmapping, interdisciplinary stakeholder cooperation and project management in industry-oriented research projects in various technology fields (automation technologies, renewable energies and electronics). Part of his work is to facilitate and moderate eco-innovation processes and train engineers and designers how to develop sustainable products.

    who are we II

    Tapani Jokinen
    Tapani Jokinen is Design Consultant, Strategic- & Ecodesign contractor in Fraunhofer IZM and owner of TJ-Design, creative consultancy that fuses strategic innovation and design with sustainability and ethical business to drive positive impact in global level. Furthermore, he is Chief Design Officer at Circular Devices, Finnish startup behind Sustainable Puzzlephone. Tapani is one of the Author of Ecodesign Learning Factory program where he teaching and facilitate training modules, innovation workshops and lecturing about circular design in seminars and conferences. Learning Factory methods and principles are featured in Sustainability Guide - online web tool.

    He has over 25 years extensive design experience in various capacities and global locations. Prior to Design Consultancy and Puzzlephone, he was Head of the Design Portfolio and Strategy at Microsoft/ Nokia. Tapani´s designs has sold over 400M all over the globe including iconic Nokia 3310. With great success comes greater responsibility that is why he talks Design and thinks Business with sustainability in mind. Tapani has unique skills to apply Design and lifecycle thinking to accelerate MPH´s Minimum Harmful Products and Services and drive sustainability led innovation in practice, which answer to the growing global demand for more sustainable products and helping companies in transition from linear to circular economy.

  • sprint1

    ECODESIGN SPRINT METHOD



    During the training, the participants will go through an Ecodesign Sprint. The Ecodesign Sprint is a process that marries the best of user-centered innovation and design thinking with sustainable design practices - divided into the five distinct phases Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver and Validate. We have adapted the Design Sprint methodology and integrated ecodesign practices and lifecycle thinking. Design thinking was developed by IDEO and Stanford’s design school and utilized by Google Ventures Design Sprint Methods.

    If you want to learn more about the ecodesign tools and methods used during the sprint, go check out the Sustainability Guide. There you have access to a lot of beneficial topics regarding ecodesign.

    sprint2

    1.Introduction
    Ecodesign basics and craft a challenge to provide focus to the rest of the sprint.
    2.Discover
    Understand the needs and challenges.
    3.Define
    Define the problem: Translating research insights into opportunities for Design.
    4.Develop
    Ideate: Generate ideas for solutions for the problem.
    5.Deliver
    Prototype it in the Circular Lifecycle Canvas by looking at the whole system. Build the solution.
    6.Validate
    Track learnings and validate it. Build the Circular Business Model.

    factory1

    THE "FACTORY"



    Since the training is called Learning Factory EcoDesign, there will be also a tour to our on-site small scale “factory” – the so called Start-a-Factory. This is a modularly structured development and manufacturing laboratory for startups and SMEs. The tour should help participants to understand ecologic impacts during the manufacturing phase. The idea is to link the theoretical ideas, gathered during the training, with practical insights.

    When carrying out the workshop at other facilities then Fraunhofer IZM, the factory tour will be adapted.

  • what happened so far

    WHAT HAPPENED SO FAR?

    The training was developed within the EU-project EcoDesign Circle by ecodesign experts from Fraunhofer IZM and Circular Devices during 2016 and 2017 commissioned by the German Environment Agency.
    In 2017 two test runs took place at the Fraunhofer IZM in Berlin. At the first one, we invited students for a one-day Ecodesign Sprint where we successfully tested new tools and methods for generating environmentally friendly innovations. The second pilot training, with a duration of two days, took place in October 2017 with professionals. There we gathered more in depth feedback of the participants, to improve the training furthermore. The teams created impressive results by prototyping circular systems by using a circular lifecycle canvas. Based on this they developed circular business models to maximize the business impact and customer value of their systems. Allready four workshops took place in 2018, with one located in Lithuania. All these workshops helped to further improve the Learning Factory EcoDesign.

    If you're interested in a workshop, please refer to the tab “UPCOMING” for further information or contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

    Opinions from the test run, June 2017

    OPINIONS

    How did you liked the workshop?

    »... really loved the tools like interviewing, individual brainstorming etc. ...

    »... It was really good insight into design process. Also looking at business model / environmental impact etc. was good because it is so important to look at different angles ...

    »... Really needed it to start a project. Awesome insights ...

    »... The training gave some good guidelines but also showed how complex the process is. The topic was totally new to me so it was quite overwhelming ...

    »... The final sprints were very interesting because they made me aware of all the aspects that should be considered when doing Ecodesign ...

    Opinions 2
    What did you learn?

    » ... understanding the whole creative process all the way to the final business model ...

    » ... A lot about Circular Economy, team work, developing ideas together ...

    »... Key learning for me is: An ecological idea which improves sustainability needs also to have a business plan ...

    LF 4.0

    ... At the end of September 2020, I took part in the EcoDesign Learning Factory 4.0 training pilot exploring service development according to the principles of circular economy. The two-day Learning Factory workshop, implemented in the virtual environment, included Finnish and Estonian companies and operators. The workshop was led from Berlin by consulting company Fjord’s service designers and Fraunhofer IZM’s circular economy specialists ... EcoDesign Learning Factory 4.0 is a simple and effective way of generating service ideas. Its strength lies in combining a comprehensive understanding of the area to be developed with letting loose in a creative way ...

    Read more

  • next training

    Please visit our webpage for further offers!

    Other trainings

    Training for institutions / companies
    In case you are interested in a training within your company, your organization, your association or other interest groups, feel free to contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we can discuss the content and conditions. We offer the training in English or German.

  • Contact
    Get in touch with us!

    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

    Max Marwede, PhD
    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
    +49 (0)30 46403 7989

    Tapani Jokinen
    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

    Christian Clemm
    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
    +49 (0)30 46403-7983

    Check out also:

    Learning Factory EcoDesign web presence at Fraunhofer IZM and our new webpage

    The Sustainability Guide, developed in cooperation with SVID (Swedish Industrial Design Foundation)
  • CircularDesign.Tools

    CircularDesign.Tools

    Our toolkit for circular design workshops

    • CIRCULARDESIGN.TOOLS

      Discover tools that helps you innovate circular solutions for your product or service.

    • MURAL BOARD

      Materials for a digital workshop version of the Ecodesign Learning Factory.

    Summary

    Final Summary Report

    Approach, Concept, Experiences and Conclusions.