Can eco-design address intergenerational issues of sustainability and meet the needs of our ageing population?

Intergenerational concerns such as the sustainability of our planet are increasingly in the lexicon of researchers, consumers, government leaders and the business world. Sustainability and intergenerational equity require product designers to continue to eco-innovate. Designers also need to be acutely aware of demographic trends. The ageing population presents its own challenges, and consumers will look for a range of features in products from the ICT industry, including durability, ease of use, reparability and functionality. Product design, the speed of technological advances and our ageing population, with its inherent demands, will therefore require the ICT industry to consider life-cycle thinking approaches if it is to meet the needs of the ever demanding 'baby boomer' generation. In addition, the fundamental need of humans to be socially connected can be greatly enhanced through ICT. In particular, an ageing population with less mobility could benefit from I CT. However, there is unclear evidence that ease of communication through email and mobile phones results in reduction of travel and associated environmental impacts. This chapter explores these issues, in light of the need to find solutions that will reduce our resource consumption to improve the outcomes for a sustainable environment and support social connectedness of our ageing population