Webinar Thursday 14 October 12:30-13:30 - Designers in sustainability: What metrics?
Is the design profession equipped to tackle sustainability and avoid it's own 'built-in obsolescence?
Papanek wrote in 1982 ‘There are professions more harmful than industrial design but only a few of them’. How is the profession evolving to meet sustainability challenges? Are we using robust metrics, or are we creating our own built-in obsolescence?
About this event
BIDA has been holding a number of webinars under the banner of Design in Extraordinary times. We now turn our attention to sustainability. Papanek’s challenge to our profession is perhaps even more relevant now than in 1982.
We have assembled a panel from industry and design chaired by founder of sustainability consultancy Giraffe Innovation, Rob Holdway, to debate the extent to which the Industrial Design profession is prepared for developing design and innovation with sustainability at its core.
- Are we equipped with the methods and metrics to consult in this area?
- Do we work in new partnerships with experts in the field?
- How do we make sustainability core to our activity?
- What foundations does the next generation of designers need to avoid ‘built-in obsolescence’ for our own profession?
SPEAKERS:
- Rob Holdway – Founder, Giraffe Innovation, (event Chair)
- Alan Rance – Managing Director, MIDAS Pattern Company
- Clare Brass – Director, Department 22
- Chris Sherwin - Circular Design Expert, PA Consulting
- Sille Bertelsen - Cofounder, Shade by Shadey Club
- Dr Elena Dieckmann - Head of Innovation, Aeropowder ltd & Senior Teaching Fellow, Imperial College London
This event also continues BIDA’s goal of Creating a professional support network by and for young designers. The younger generation are facing significant challenges as a result of COVID, volatile global economics and the need to be equipped for managing the global impacts of climate change. Their ability to utilise design in this context is key to maintaining the widely recognised strength of the UK’s creative capability.
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
Rob Holdway – Founder, Giraffe Innovation, (event Chair)
Rob founded Giraffe in 1988, advising global companies, government and small companies in the UK, United States and China on sustainable design and innovation with clients including the UK government, Smiths Industries plc, Dyson, CISCO, DTI Manufacturing Advisory Service, DTI, Design Council, Environment Agency and Jahwa (Shanghai).He’s advised the UK Government on the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) directive and cleaner design and appeared on BBC Radio 4 (Costing the Earth, Shop Talk, You & Yours) and several television news channels across Europe.
Alan Rance – Managing Director, MIDAS Pattern Company
MIDAS Pattern Company is a major UK manufacturing company producing high quality, low volume moulded enclosures for high value equipment sectors and brands. Alan founded the company in 1989, and whilst working in a massively competitive and challenging global market, embarked on an award winning mission for the company to become carbon net-zero in just 20 months from April 2019, and to encourage others to tackle climate change with a practical, down-to-earth, responsible approach.
Clare Brass – Director, Department 22
Clare has a distinguished background, both in design and sustainability.Following 20 years working in design in Milan, Clare was head of sustainability at the Design Council until 2007, set up the SEED foundation which links environmental research with business opportunities and more recently founded Department 22, focusing on consultancy for circular economy based innovation working for a wide range of clients including: IKEA, M&S, Panasonic, Sainsburys and McDonalds.Clare has also previously led the SustainRCA initiative at the Royal College of Art, mentored for the Ellen MacArthur foundation and continues to be actively involved with supporting students at the RCA, Imperial College London and Imperial College Business School.
Chris Sherwin, Circular Design Expert, PA Consulting
A well recognised expert and thought leader in sustainability and circular innovation and design with over 25 years experience including his role as Head of Sustainability at Seymourpowell. Previous wide ranging experience includes Head of Innovation at Forum for the Future and work at Philips and Electrolux. Chris’s consulting experience includes: sustainability strategy work with companies including The Tetley Group, Cadbury, General Mills and Mars. He has also advised and trained people on sustainability in Unilever, P&G, Johnson Matthey and Interfaceflor together with helping develop and launch sustainable products to the market with Dulux, Sony Ericsson, O2 and BP. Chris holds a PhD in ‘Innovative Ecodesign’ from Cranfield University.
Sille Bertelsen, Cofounder, Shade by Shadey Club
Sille is a design engineer with an encyclopaedic knowledge of sustainability and a background in consultancy and design strategy working across Denmark, Norway and now the UK. With colleagues in the Cooperative Shadey Club she has recently developed the web plug in Shade. Described as ‘anti Greenwashing web plugin’ in the fast fashion sector, the plugin recently won the Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas award. Sille’s work uncovers a wide range of issues around sustainability credentials in the fashion industry and beyond, together with insights into how AI systems can help bring greater transparency to consumers.
Dr Elena Dieckmann, Head of Innovation, Aeropowder ltd & Senior Teaching Fellow, Imperial College London
A specialist in biomaterials, pilot production of circular products, waste resource conversion, design of circular materials and systems. Elena’s significant contribution to research in the field is the development of the world’s first feather based thermal packaging material, which was launched in Europe under the brand pluumo through Aeropowder Ltd. Her research involves the investigation of feather textiles with regards to their mechanical, thermal, biodegradation, sound absorption, tensile, oil absorption properties. Aeropowder is a multi award winning startup which specialises in fully compostable, circular cold chain packaging. Elena’s interests involve circular economy, waste conversion, traceability and new recycling technologies with the aim to support the development of cross-industrial value chains to allow up-cycling of waste streams.