Designers in Sustainability: What Metrics? Webinar report
Event summary
It was inspiring to hear from a quite diverse panel of ‘specialists’ linked to our overall topic. I encourage readers to follow up by linking to and watching the videos of each panelists’ introductory statements for a direct sense of the range of authoritative perspectives explored at the event.
We’re living at a time when growing awareness of potentially irreversible climate change often collides with polarisation of political positions and obfuscation of objective information and practical progress. We might even find polarisation of views within the design profession. But fortunately, not amongst the event panel or the audience on the day.
Collectively there was refreshing recognition of the historical environmental blindness, and the challenges, within the current profession, but coupled with plenty of modest good sense, practical suggestions and examples for repositioning our professional activity.
Greater attention to metrics as a universally understood language is a good place to start.
Dr Stephen Green, BIDA Board member
Rob Holdway hosting the event points out that he is a ‘specialist’ in sustainable design as ‘there are no experts’. He also reminds us that design has historically been a follower in relation to sustainability – never a leader and very slow to pick up on issues raised by Victor Papanek and many others. Metrics has a vital role to play in identifying issues, potential benefits and long term impacts and benefits. His own sustainability consultancy has, since 2010 covered ‘everything from sausage rolls, to coffins, televisions and policy.’ All using metrics which are always linked to profitability and economic performance. He concludes his introduction by challenging the ID profession to have a broader outlook. (video)
Alan Rance introduced himself as tree hugger alongside being a successful business owner with a 32 year history. He described his sustainability epiphany and resulting transformation of his business to certified carbon net zero – with all the details involved with this extensive, but essentially ‘simple’ process. Overall he stressed that it is all our collective responsibilities to ‘do every we can’, not just in our own practice, but advocating change through whatever channels are open to us. In the Q&A Alan underlined that for his business, the shift to carbon net zero has also resulted in direct uplift to his business success. (video)
Chris Sherwin, amongst jokes between host Rob: Question - ‘I don’t really know what you’re doing Chris’. Answer - ‘I worked at Philips clearing up the mess you’d made Rob’. Chris describes his current role at the front end of innovation at PA. On metrics he urges thinking at a macro scale, and re-inventing the design profession with sustainable design being at least as big as ‘human centred design’. But also at a micro scale where designers need to ‘up our game’, even though designers have been resistant to engage with this it is the language business and Governments. (video)
Sille Bertelsen with a background in sustainability practice in Denmark, Norway and the UK, and now a founder of Shade, a machine learning based plugin to guide ethical online fashion purchases and recognise green-washing. Ultimately with the aim of transforming the fashion industry through consumer pressure. Sille sums up a key element being the availability of transparent sustainability performance information, but also with the recognition that ‘sustainability is not black or white, good or bad. Echoing Alan’s comment she urges working together to tackle the challenges. (video)
Elena Dieckmann described her business which transforms chicken feather waste into insulation materials, which alongside a related PhD establishes a perspective which spans the commercial and academic. The main issue she highlighted was that most commercial and design activity is reactive (to sustainability issues) – at the end of product development processes – with designers currently in a poor position to have a positive impact. Therefore she suggests designers should reposition to use their problem solving skills to be ‘translators’ of scientific knowledge into actionable outcomes. (video)
Panelists and links to the event videos