Adapting to the Carbon Economy: A Product Design

Abstract

Climate change is one of the world's most pressing issues facing humankind. The changes in the Earth's atmosphere result in dangerous and frequent weather events, impacting human lives negatively. Alongside other factors, greenhouse gases are the main contributors to global warming. Recently, studies have shown great interest in mitigating the climate change predicament by undertaking different approaches. Thus, companies and organizations started shifting to a more sustainable environment to cope with the crisis. Adopting a low-carbon economy is vital to ensure sustainable development. Although there are numerous ways to minimize or reduce carbon dioxide consumption, there is a lack of literature regarding low-carbon product designs in the UAE. This research concentrates on alleviating bottled water's carbon footprint through its GHG emissions evaluation and proposing a solution accordingly. It considers the different aspects of the bottle's lifecycle stages. The research result shows that the petroleum-based plastic packaging of the bottles dominates the overall emissions. The finding also suggests that bio-plastic packaging is a better alternative to bottled water packaging.

Date of Award	Jul 2022
Original language	American English