We need to change our 1950’s mindset where people were totally enchanted about “better living through more consumption”. www.thestoryofstuff.com
Design has become the flagship of many companies and it is being hyped to sell more products within the B2C market as well as in the B2B market. But in these days where sustainability is a major topic, we cannot justify design relevance with the fact that we thereby sell more products. There is definitely a challenge for the design community to ensure creation of sustainable design. To address the topic more holistically I’d rather talk about responsible design: design that brings true value to society on all levels. So how to do it?
First step: implement responsible design management!
The article “The big idea – The Sustainability Imperative” in Harvard Business Review (May 2010), illustrates that many companies are still wandering in the dark, when they actually should not. Like with all other business strategies, there is a roadmap to create a successful vision for sustainable design management and it moves systematically through the same four stages of value creation:
- Deliver proof of value by focusing on proactively reducing costs, risks and waste.
- Redesign selected new products, processes or business functions to optimise their performance.
- Drive revenue growth by integrating innovative approaches into the core strategy
- Differentiate the value proposition through new business models that enhance corporate culture, brand leadership and other intangibles.
On top of that, the same basic rules as for design management apply for implementing responsible design management:
- It starts with the philosophy!
It’s time to take leadership. We need to ensure a holistic sustainable approach, from production methodologies through to design processes and supplier partnerships. Shape the philosophy and ensure alignment with the business strategy! Take a look at the sustainability pioneer Patagonia (who have been highly successful within the crisis time) and learn from their philosophy[1] - It requires commitment!
We need to engage the whole design team. Team up with stakeholders and make commitments. Implementing the vision often means changing large, inert companies and thus requires a persistent and committed design team. Making commitments to specific goals helps to drive achievements. - It demands proof!
Proving the value of responsible design does however the right assessment and we require new methods, as we cannot measure new thinking with old standards. We already mentioned the using brand value measurements like the Good Brands Report (measuring brands on imagination, innovation, environmental responsibility and social consciousness). But there are also other methods being developed to prove responsibility, both company internal (such as the Fujitsu Cost/Green Index) as external, such as the IDEA awards, now including evaluation on social, ecological, cultural, as well as economic responsibility. As the IDSA mentions: “The design profession can no longer claim excellence in design unless we have considered the concept of responsibility as a central part of the design problem”.[2] - It demands responsible products & strategies!
We need to walk the talk. We can start with offering recycling services[3] and try to improve the CO2 & H2O-footprint of our products and production methodologies. On top of that are possible strategies aiming for different product usage whilst battling against continuous product replacement[4] through:- designing for variability (e.g. children’s furniture adaptable to the child’s age & size)
- designing for increased product attachment[5]
- preparing the product for future repair or upgrading (through better design management of all customer touchpoints and services)
- It needs to be transparent!
We need to be authentic about it. We need to set goals & objectives on top management level, ensure transparent decision making and take accountability & responsibility for our actions. - It needs to be communicated!
Internally, we need to build best practices. Externally, we need to educate the user. We need to better explain the benefits to the end-user by reducing complexity of our products to help the customer understand. An interesting article in the PAGE gives hands-on insights in how to best reflect a green brand in packaging[6].
Without doubt, the list is not complete yet. And I’m sure there are enough barriers we will encounter, but there is certainly no reasonable argumentation to not try.
Sources:
[1] Globetrotter 4-seasons Magazine 25/2010, http://www.4-seasons.de/magazin/archive.php
[2] http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/147/build-a-better-mousetrap.html?page=0%2C1
[3] http://www.samsungmobile.co.uk/greenmanagement/treatment.do
[4] Nicole van Nes & Jacqueline Cramer (2005) “Influencing product lifetime through product design”, Business Strategy and Environment, Volume 14, Issue 5, pp. 286-299
[5] Mugge, R., Schifferstein, H. N. J., & Schoormans, J. P. L. (2004). “Personalizing product appearance: The effect on product attachment”, Paper presented at the 4th International Conference on Design and Emotion, Ankara, Turkey
[6] Silke Bochat, “Greenwashing? Nein Danke!” PAGE, September 2010
Tags: ethics, responsibility, strategy, sustainability
