--- name: sustainability-assessment description: > Guides a structured sustainability assessment of production processes or product use phases using TRIZ Function Analysis. USE THIS SKILL when the user wants to assess environmental harm, identify waste streams, rank sustainability hotspots, or decide which step to improve first for environmental reasons — TRIZ vocabulary is not required, the sustainability question is. Trigger on: "sustainability", "Nachhaltigkeit", "sustainability hotspots", "circular economy", "Kreislaufwirtschaft", "which step is most harmful", "what waste do we generate", "environmental impact of our process", "Harm score", "FA-Process", "FA-Product", "LCA alternative", "SDG alignment", "cyclicity matrix". Do not trigger on a general question about where to focus or what to improve first: without environmental harm, waste, emissions, resource consumption or circularity in the request, use mpv-analysis or trimming instead. --- # TRIZ Sustainability Assessment Skill Guides users through a rapid, expert-estimation-based sustainability assessment rooted in TRIZ Function Analysis, Circular Economy principles, and the UN SDGs. No external databases or LCA software required. > **Important**: This method produces *relative* rankings, not absolute > environmental metrics. Always clarify this to the user — it is a rapid-scan > complement to LCA/CFA, not a replacement. --- ## Step 1 — Scope the Analysis Before doing anything else, ask the user: 1. **What product or process** are they assessing? (Brief description.) 2. **Which lifecycle phase** is in scope? (See lifecycle phases below.) 3. **Which analysis path** do they want to follow? - **Path A – FA-Process**: For the *Production / Realization* phase. Use when the user wants to assess a manufacturing or assembly process. - **Path B – FA-Product**: For the *Utilization / Service* phase. Use when the user wants to assess a product during its use phase. If the user is unsure, recommend Path A for manufacturing contexts and Path B for product-in-use contexts. If the lifecycle phase is unclear, ask. Do not assign any scores or start modelling until you have answers to these three questions. ### Lifecycle Phases (for reference) 1. Development / Design 2. **Production / Realization / Implementation** ← Path A target 3. Distribution 4. **Utilization / Service / Support** ← Path B target 5. Return 6. Reuse / Recycling 7. Landfill (to be eliminated) --- ## Step 2 — Route to the Correct Path After scoping, **read the relevant reference file in full and keep it in context for the rest of the session** before proceeding past this step: - **Path A (FA-Process)** → read `references/path-a-process.md` - **Path B (FA-Product)** → read `references/path-b-product.md` Both paths use the **Harm Formula** defined below. --- ## Harm Formula (used in both paths) ``` Harm = (Amount + Cyclicity) × State × Impact ``` | Factor | Description | Range | |-------------|----------------------------------------------------------|---------| | Amount | % of input leaving a sub-step as waste (0–100) | 0–100 | | Cyclicity | From the Cyclicity Matrix below | 1–24 | | State | Aggregate state of the waste (table below) | 1–5 | | Impact | Toxicity / environmental impact (table below) | 0.5–2 | **Theoretical limits:** Min ≈ 0.5 · Max = 1,240 If Amount = 0 %, Harm = 0. No further evaluation needed for that loss. ### Aggregate State (State factor) | State | Points | |------------------------------|--------| | Solid | 1 | | Liquid | 2 | | Fine dust / nebulised liquid | 3 | | Gas | 4 | | Field / Radiation | 5 | ### Potential Impact / Toxicity (Impact factor) | Classification | Factor | |-----------------------------------------------------|--------| | Potentially supporting (biodegradable nutrients) | 0.5 | | Neutral | 1 | | Potentially toxic | 2 | ### Cyclicity Matrix Combine **Source** (row) × **Destination** (column): | | Reuse | Recycling | Energy | Landfill | |--------------------|-------|-----------|--------|----------| | **Source: Reused** | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | | **Source: Recycled**| 2 | 4 | 8 | 16 | | **Source: Virgin** | 3 | 6 | 12 | 24 | **Source definitions:** - *Reused* — Input was previously used; re-entering with minor modification. - *Recycled* — Input comes from a recycling process or certified sustainable cultivation. - *Virgin* — Previously unused resource taken directly from the environment. **Destination definitions:** - *Reuse* — Waste directly reused in another process with minor modification. - *Recycling* — Waste fed into a recycling process (material stays as material). - *Energy* — Waste used as energy source (burning, biogas, composting for heat, composting for growing new material). - *Landfill* — Waste dumped without further utilisation. Worst option. > **Recycling vs. Energy distinction**: Recycling keeps material as material > (re-melting, reforming). Energy converts material to heat/electricity (burning, > composting). Guide the user to the more accurate category if unsure. --- ## Worked Examples (for calibration) ### Example A: Sheet Metal Cutting Offcut - Amount = 3 %, Source = Virgin, Destination = Recycling → Cyclicity = 6 - State = Solid = 1, Impact = Neutral = 1 - **Harm = (3 + 6) × 1 × 1 = 9** ← Low harm ### Example B: Soldering Exhaust Gas - Amount = 100 %, Source = Virgin, Destination = Landfill (vented) → Cyclicity = 24 - State = Gas = 4, Impact = Potentially toxic = 2 - **Harm = (100 + 24) × 4 × 2 = 992** ← Near-maximum harm; top priority --- ## Behavioural Constraints - **Always ask before scoring.** Never assign factor values on behalf of the user without stating assumptions explicitly and inviting correction. Subject-matter expert judgement takes precedence over defaults. - **Never skip or compress steps.** If the user pushes to move faster, acknowledge the request and explain which input is still needed before proceeding. Skipping steps produces unreliable relative rankings. - **Clarify ambiguity first.** If a waste stream, source, or destination is unclear, ask before proceeding. - **Consistent scoring matters most.** Relative rankings within a session are more valuable than absolute precision. Apply the same criteria throughout. - **Never position this as an LCA replacement.** Always note that results are relative estimations to guide innovation focus. - **Maintain a professional, methodical tone.** Explain reasoning transparently. --- ## Output Format Templates ### Detailed Function Model Table (Path A) | Step | Sub-Step | Funct. Cat. | Funct. Rank | Input | Substance Type | Waste/Loss | Amount % | Source | Destination | Cyclicity | State | Impact | Harm | |------|----------|-------------|-------------|-------|----------------|------------|----------|--------|-------------|-----------|-------|--------|------| ### Summary Portfolio Table (Path A) | Step | Sum Funct. Rank | Norm. Functionality % | Sum Harm | Norm. Harm % | |------|-----------------|----------------------|----------|--------------| ### Priority Issues Table (Path B) | # | Issue | Severity | Frequency | Magnitude | Mitigation Difficulty | |---|-------|----------|-----------|-----------|-----------------------| ### FA-Product Output (Path B) - **Component list** with wear/harm flags - **Critical interaction list** with interaction type and sustainability note - **Priority Issues Table** (see template above) - **Recommended next steps** per B6 Use bullet points and headers to structure long outputs. Define any TRIZ term on first use.