What should we be aiming for?
So we have established our starting point, but where should we be aiming for?
At an industrial design event in London at the beginning of March 2021, Jo did a talk and asked the audience (mostly designers) which of the following they believed was key to creating more sustainable products:
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Reducing plastic production/consumption
Building circular economies
This was her rationale on listing these three points:
(1) Reducing greenhouse gas emissions with the aim of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees was the fundamental target of the Paris Agreement drawn up at COP23. Both Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion see this as the ‘core to all climate change solutions’ and that we ‘must get to net zero as soon as possible’. As the drop in carbon emissions in 2020, due fundamentally to the impact of Covid-19, levelled off in 2021, this target seems more and more optimistic. However, measuring and reducing the CO2e (carbon emissions equivalent) linked to the products we design and manufacture is key to ensuring we aren’t contributing any further towards global warming related climate change.
On to point (2); reducing plastic. This is something our clients often list as a critical design requirement and something that a lot of consumers also believe to be a key measure of sustainability. Photographs of wildlife entangled in plastic bags and fishing nets paint a grave image of the scale of the plastic problem we have, as consumers, created. Aside from the danger to sea life however, the production and incineration of plastic leads to greenhouse gas emissions upwards of 1 billion tonnes a year, equal to the output of 189 coal-fired power stations. The greatest impact of plastic on our planet therefore is the CO2e emissions associate with it. Switching to recycled plastic, considering end-of-life opportunities to recapture materials and working to change users behaviour with regards to disposal will all ultimately help to reduce the impact of the plastic we use. But reducing our reliance on it in the first place, is critical.
Finally the third point (3) is the circular economy; often considered by designers to be the pinnacle of sustainability.
The circular economy is based on three principles
Eliminate waste and pollution
Keep materials in use
Regenerate natural systems
Within a circular economy a product may follow one or more of these principles and there’s often some overlap. For example, if something has been made so it can easily be repaired and keep materials in use, chances are it will reduce waste too.
For a product to be circular, the whole life cycle needs to be considered. Creating something that can be reused again and again is great, but not if it requires a huge amount of non-renewable fossil fuels to be produced. And if the materials can’t be broken down and recycled then it’s not a circular.
Creating circular economy products is not always possible. It is expensive, usually requires system change and will most likely result (at least initially) in a more expensive offering for the consumer. But don’t let that put you off. Many believe this is where we should all be aiming for, and even a small step in the circular economy direction is better than nothing. If you want to read more about the circular economy, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation is the best place to start.
So what should we be aiming for?
First and foremost we have to reduce carbon emissions. The clock to net zero is ticking. The Paris Agreement gives us until 2050, Extinction Rebellion say we have until 2025 before we have to acknowledge that keeping climate change below 1.5 degrees is impossible.
However designers are some of the worlds best problem solvers. We have to set the bar higher than this. We have to believe a world in which materials can be captured and reused in a circular economy is possible and begin working towards it.
How do we get started?…
The next section takes you through some strategies that can help reduce the impact of the products you are designing and detail about how and where they can be implemented.