Design A Future Perfect: Cause & Effect

Sustainability is no longer just a buzz word, but will be the only choice there is.

More and more companies realize that they have to make products with the least amount of harm to the environment. In simplest terms, there are some fundamental sustainable best practices companies can follow to begin the process towards environmental wellness. And there's new thinking, which re-looks at the meaning of the brand and its purpose.

The former is really a tactical approach that in its cumulative effect does make a difference for the environment but is not the only answer. Some basic principles organizations can employ are:

• sustainable purchasing (recycled paper products and office supplies, natural cleaning products, compostable plateware/flatware and accessories, changing to compact fluorescent lightbulbs aka CFLs, bring your own coffee mugs and water bottles, using filtered water rather than supplying plastic bottled water, ecological furnishings and interiors and renovations using environmentally friendly materials);


• waste management programs (including reduction and recycling);


• energy conservation (internal operations, manufacturing, energy efficient equipment);


• assessing water efficiencies and renewable practices (conservation, leaks management, efficient landscaping; reclamation);


• providing credits to those who use sustainable transportation (public rail and bus systems, hybrid cars, carpooling, biking to work)


• education (internal: posting your sustainability accord and updates with accomplishments, and external: communicating your sustainability practices and/or brand DNA to the public)

Some well-known corporations are transparent about their sustainability efforts. Patagonia (who is tracking their environmental impact here: http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/footprint/index.jsp) and Whole Foods are two great examples. Walmart uses daylight harvesting to reduce electricity and white roofs for better cooling efficiencies. Walmart and other retail companies are changing their outdoor lighting and signage to LEDs in order to limit energy waste and create maintenance savings from replacing bulb outages. UPS has been eliminating left turns on driving routes which saves fuel and creates less emissions by reducing idling time. Fiji Water has been working to reduce the amount of materials used in product packaging as well as increasing the amount of recycled content in packaging. Wells Fargo Bank has eliminated check deposit envelopes at ATMs and has new technology that scans checks instead. Many of these initiatives are good for the planet and for the purse-strings.

In the design industry, recycled papers, tree-free papers and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified papers and printers are chosen for marketing and sales materials, retail packaging materials, POP campaigns, catalogs, etc; packaging footprints are being reduced through clever and thoughtful design and manufacturing; making the switch to electronic mail and campaigns and interactive marketing reduces paper usage; and being creative with re-use makes the most of waste elimination.

Tricycle Inc. in Chattanooga transformed the interiors industry by improving efficiency and waste reduction in sampling programs. Printed swatches which retained the appearance of the physical sample were used first to promote carpet samples; interior designers would only order physical samples at the very end of the decision making process. Rockport Publishers' book designer for SustainAble kept all the make-readies from the proofing phase to re-use for the book's cover. Bloomberg collaborated with industrial design firm MIO to find a way to re-use old company business cards from employees around the world and turned out a stool design for offices that was functional and sustainable. Twist's sponge packaging can be re-made into a bird feeder or mobile and Terracycle founded the company on liquid plant food made from waste (worm poop) and packaged in waste (reused soda bottles), not to mention bags made from Clif Bar wrappers and fire logs made from cardboard box waste.

There is a growing trend that consumers are now voting for the social ethics of a company or "buycotting." Which means we are buying only what we believe in. Are "green" tactics enough to get consumer buy-in? What if companies took a new look at their brands and developed authentically purpose-driven brand strategies? What if we ask a few new questions on our creative briefs: What happens at the end of the product's lifecycle? Does this project deserve to exist in a tangible form?

Echoing this mindset, what some pioneers in the sustainable industry are saying is let's get beyond the deliverable. Duke Stump of North Star Manifesto (and x-CMO of Seventh Generation) says, "the real opportunity isn't so much defaulting to a 'green product,' but rather understanding the effect you want to create." It's about the ethos of a brand and this must reflect the culture of the company from the founders through to all employees, operations, the brand and its messaging. This kind of new thinking will be the next green wave. And especially in tough economic times, the brands with the most relevance and resonance should escape much of the turmoil.

The lesson in all of this, as Jane Savage of Nike Considered says, "you can't do business on a dead planet!"

If you practice any sustainable design, take the pledge at the Designer's Accord:
http://www.designersaccord.org/