1st Edition

Sustainable Design from Vision to Action

Edited By Jeremy Faludi Copyright 2026
452 Pages 215 Color & 22 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

452 Pages 215 Color & 22 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

452 Pages 215 Color & 22 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This book offers a comprehensive guide to the sustainable design of products, services, or related systems. It goes beyond concept explanations to provide you with practical instructions on how to apply the tools and methods to your own designs. The world is finally waking up to the necessity of sustainability, especially in the design and engineering of all the physical products that surround us... Read more

Notes on Contributors

Acknowledgements

 

Part 1: Vision: Goals and Metrics

 

Chapter 1. Sustainable Development Goals

Conny Bakker, Jeremy Faludi, and Ruud Balkenende

Chapter 2. Planetary Boundaries

Conny Bakker, Jeremy Faludi, and Ruud Balkenende

Chapter 3. Ecodesign

Conny Bakker, Jeremy Faludi, and Ruud Balkenende

Chapter 4. Cradle to Cradle and the Circular Economy

Conny Bakker, Jeremy Faludi, and Ruud Balkenende

Chapter 5. Systems: Introduction

Jeremy Faludi, Ruud Balkenende, and Conny Bakker

Chapter 6. Systems: Complexity

Jeremy Faludi

Chapter 7. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Introduction

Jeremy Faludi, Ruud Balkenende, and Conny Bakker

Chapter 8. Doing Fast-Track LCA

Jeremy Faludi, Ruud Balkenende, and Conny Bakker

Chapter 9. LCA: Scenarios, Functional Units, Uncertainty

Jeremy Faludi, Ruud Balkenende and Conny Bakker

 

Part 2: Action: Design Strategies

 

Chapter 10. Materials: Introduction

Ruud Balkenende, Jeremy Faludi, and Conny Bakker

Chapter 11. Materials: Metals

Ruud Balkenende, Jeremy Faludi, and Conny Bakker

Chapter 12. Materials: Plastics

Ruud Balkenende, Jeremy Faludi, and Conny Bakker

Chapter 13. Materials: Bio-Based Plastics

Ruud Balkenende, Jeremy Faludi, and Conny Bakker

Chapter 14. Product Lifetime Extension

Ruud Balkenende, Jeremy Faludi, and Conny Bakker

Chapter 15. Material Recovery: Recycling Processes

Ruud Balkenende, Jeremy Faludi, and Conny Bakker

Chapter 16. Material Recovery: Design for Recycling

Ruud Balkenende and Jeremy Faludi

Chapter 17. Energy Literacy

Jeremy Faludi, Ruud Balkenende, and Conny Bakker

Chapter 18. Energy Efficiency

Jeremy Faludi, Ruud Balkenende, and Conny Bakker

Chapter 19. Energy Generation and Storage

Jeremy Faludi, Ruud Balkenende, and Conny Bakker

Chapter 20. Behavior Change

Jeremy Faludi, Ruth Mugge, and Conny Bakker

Chapter 21. Business Models: Product Service Systems

Jeremy Faludi, Conny Bakker, and Ruud Balkenende

Chapter 22. Business Models: Presidio Booster

Jeremy Faludi, Conny Bakker, and Ruud Balkenende

Chapter 23. Biomimicry Basics and Mentors

Jeremy Faludi

Chapter 24. Biomimicry from Principles

Jeremy Faludi

Chapter 25. Equity and Inclusion

Evren Uzer, Cynthia Lawson Jaramillo, and Michele Kahane

Chapter 26. Support and Collaboration

Jeremy Faludi

 

Index

Biography

Jeremy Faludi is Assistant Professor of Design for Sustainability at the faculty of industrial design engineering, TU Delft, the Netherlands.

"Many books provide suggestions on how to address today's ecological issues. These are essential, but they leave out the details necessary to transform the visions into action. The title of this badly needed text tells it all: this book has practical tools to make the visions real." 

Don Norman, author of Design for a Better World: Meaningful, Sustainable, Humanity Centered

"This captivating book breaks down complex sustainability topics into actionable ways of designing, using straightforward language and many illustrations. It’s the sustainable design partner that you will want to go back to again and again.”

Cindy Pereira Cooper, Engineering for One Planet co-founder and initiative leader, The Lemelson Foundation

"If we're to redesign our world to be more just, equitable and sustainable, we'll need a roadmap to show the way. There may be no better one than this to leverage the full suite of tools, from biomimicry to behavior change to business strategy, needed for the journey."

Joel Makower, co-founder and chairman, Trellis Group and GreenBiz

“I’ve followed Jeremy’s sustainable design thought leadership for more than 15 years and recommend this book to anyone looking for guidance on how to put theory into practice.” 

KoAnn Vikoren Skrzyniarz, founder/chairwoman of SustainableBrands

"I have reformulated [my course] to follow your book chapter by chapter and with the suggested activities. I am pleased to report that it is going extremely well. Personally, I love the materials, and the students appear to be very engaged. I dare say ‘riveted.’ "

Benoit Cushman-Roisin, professor of engineering sciences at Dartmouth College

"This book provides a thorough exploration of sustainable design – covering materials, energy, and lifecycle strategies to create environmentally responsible products and services. With practical methods and actionable insights, it equips designers and engineers to accelerate the necessary transformation toward circularity and sustainability."

Prof. Steven Eppinger, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, co-author of Product Design and Development.

 

"This book is a must-read for designers, educators, innovators, and changemakers. As we consider all the possible ways to apply sustainability to design practices, Sustainable Design: From Vision to Action bridges a longstanding gap between ambition and execution by equipping the reader with practical and implementable strategies that move us beyond the space of aspiration. By exposing multiple frameworks, it empowers a designer to tap into a broader perspective of sustainable design and have actionable steps to move their work forward.” 

Kara Pecknold, VP of Regenerative Design at frog, part of Capgemini Invent