We are nearing the time of the year, which in large parts of the world triggers hectic activity. Preparations for festivities, travel plans, but also working on reducing the year-end workload that makes office desks bend. And then of course: shopping for gifts. Handing over a gift, and by the way in expectation of a counter-gift, was the precursor of barter deals in ancient times. But in contrast to barter deals, which attempt to exchange goods of equal value, gift giving and receiving does not at all require reciprocity in value. In other words, everyone can give as they can and what they happen to have. But still, in the original concept of giving in early societies, people gave presents that they deemed to be of value and use for the receiver.
That brings me to the question, “what value for the receiver” really means. A small gift that generates happiness or utility for a long period of time has for sure more value than an expensive gift that generates no happiness and loses its usability quickly. But why is there a whole industry generating “giftware”? Vastly low or even zero-utility goods, with a bad ratio of happiness generation vs. resource consumption? Not sustainable at all! Perhaps just because these gifts have an established monetary value and thus can be gauged as adequate gift for a certain occasion or receiver. Or because the added value sits in the ready and quick availability of these goods, which makes it easy and convenient to procure them. In other words, they create a kind of perverted value for the gift-giver. In industrial ecosystems if the output of a process creates wares that have no value for the receiver, we call this waste. Waste if the worst form of lack of sustainability, thus we fight it.
In our daily lives we can contribute to sustainability by avoiding waste and by procuring goods that last long and keep their utility. In 1963 my father bought a butter dish, before heading to Cologne to start his university studies in economics. The product followed the design principles of the Bauhaus, which ask for form following function. The shape and material are reduced to the necessary, while maximizing utility. The design, which you can see on the picture, was created by a small German company* under the vaLon® brand. Their most famous product was an iconic eggcup, which they manufacture still today – unchanged. The material is durable plastic, justifying the brand’s claim “Unzerbrechliche Liebe”, which translates to “Unbreakable Love”. When I started my studies at the Technical University of Darmstadt in 1989, I inherited the butter dish from my father and used it throughout the years till recently, when I gifted it to my son, who started his studies at Lancaster University. A kitchen utensil’s third life.
Photo (C) Tobias Becker
In industrial applications we often find products and systems that must last for many decades. Maintaining such systems makes economic sense. Upgrading and improving them lifts the productivity of manufacturing and processing plants. The longevity of components and entire systems demand proper design and documentation, but also the ability of both the end-user organization and the supplier to operate and service the technology and supply spare parts and software upgrades. This is not an easy task. Take – for example – industrial electronics that are used to control processing plants, like a hydro power plant. The investment in the dam, caverns, and spillways is huge and operators strive to leverage that investment for a century or longer. Perhaps every 50 years the major mechanical and electromechanical assets are being overhauled or replaced. The control system electronics are supposed to keep up with that cadence, though their longevity is about half of that. Plus, the components and chips are not available for decades, and regular redesigns are required to ensure the availability of spare parts and ultimately keep the power plant running, and thus the lights on. Obviously, a renewable power source like this is a contribution to sustainability. But also, the technology sustenance that keeps it running for so long: a hidden gem of sustainability.
*vaLon is a brand of SE Kunststoffverarbeitung GmbH & Co. KG (www.se-k.de)