Apr 14

Sustainability in 7: Gil Friend on Sustainable Business

Posted in: Sustainability in Seven

gilfriend.jpg

90-x-90.jpg The Designers Accord Sustainability in 7 video series delivers a daily dose of design inspiration by today’s leading sustainability experts. Join in the conversation as they share 7 things every designer should consider when integrating sustainability into design practice.

Gil Friend offers a few pointers on business as a platform for sustainability, sharing key insights such as: “You don’t have to choose between making money and making sense,” and “The best businesses understand that profit is a cost of doing business, not its purpose.”

About Gil Friend

Gil Friend, president & CEO of Natural Logic Inc, is a lifelong social entrepreneur and noted thought leader on sustainable business, advising major corporations and government agencies on profitable sustainability strategies. He has written more than 100 articles, contributed chapters, to several books, and is the author of The Truth About Green Business and the forthcoming Risk, Fiduciary Responsibility and the Laws of Nature.

The Designers Accord is a global coalition of designers, educators, and business leaders working together to create positive environmental and social impact. Adopters of the Designers Accord commit to five guidelines that provide collective and individual ways to integrate sustainability into design. The Designers Accord provides a participatory platform with online and offline manifestations so that members have access to a community of peers who share methodologies, resources, and experiences around environmental and social issues in design.

(more…)


No Comments
Apr 13

Sustainability in 7: Fiona Bennie on Future Scenarios

Posted in: Sustainability in Seven

fionabennie.jpg

90-x-90.jpg The Designers Accord Sustainability in 7 video series delivers a daily dose of design inspiration by today’s leading sustainability experts. Join in the conversation as they share 7 things every designer should consider when integrating sustainability into design practice.

Fiona Bennie’s job is to look into the future and keep us posted on what’s in store for us in the next 10, 20, 30 years and beyond. Of course, that future is built on the premise that we are moving towards a more sustainable lifestyle, and designers would do well to heed her advice.

About Fiona Bennie

Fiona Bennie is a Principal Sustainability Advisor on the innovation team at Forum for the Future, a London and New York based non-profit working on sustainable development. Fiona focuses on sustainable innovation and design strategy for product and service development, running projects with Unilever and O2 amongst others. Recent work includes leading the i-team, with IDEO; co-authoring Fashion Futures 2025 for Levi Strauss & Co.; and publishing a sustainability toolkit for the UK Creative Industries.

The Designers Accord is a global coalition of designers, educators, and business leaders working together to create positive environmental and social impact. Adopters of the Designers Accord commit to five guidelines that provide collective and individual ways to integrate sustainability into design. The Designers Accord provides a participatory platform with online and offline manifestations so that members have access to a community of peers who share methodologies, resources, and experiences around environmental and social issues in design.

(more…)


No Comments
Apr 12

Sustainability in 7: Dara O’Rourke’s Seven Design Principles for Sustainable Design

Posted in: Sustainability in Seven

Dara.jpg

90-x-90.jpg The Designers Accord Sustainability in 7 video series delivers a daily dose of design inspiration by today’s leading sustainability experts. Join in the conversation as they share 7 things every designer should consider when integrating sustainability into design practice.

Following Bill’s introduction to Cradle to Cradle design in theory and in practice, Dara O’Rourke offers some quick tips for designers, noting that sustainability is a key ingredient in “beautiful, cool, hip products.”

About Dara O’Rourke

Dara O’Rourke is a professor at UC Berkeley in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. O’Rourke is also the co-founder of GoodGuide.com, an online tool that provides ratings on consumer products based on their health, environmental, and social impact.

The Designers Accord is a global coalition of designers, educators, and business leaders working together to create positive environmental and social impact. Adopters of the Designers Accord commit to five guidelines that provide collective and individual ways to integrate sustainability into design. The Designers Accord provides a participatory platform with online and offline manifestations so that members have access to a community of peers who share methodologies, resources, and experiences around environmental and social issues in design.

(more…)


No Comments
Apr 11

Sustainability in 7: William McDonough on Cradle to Cradle Design

Posted in: Sustainability in Seven

thumbnail_mcdonough.png

90-x-90.jpg The Designers Accord Sustainability in 7 video series delivers a daily dose of design inspiration by today’s leading sustainability experts. Join in the conversation as they share 7 things every designer should consider when integrating sustainability into design practice.

William McDonough needs no introduction for anyone with an interest in environmental design: he’s been exploring sustainability through architectural practice for some twenty years now, and his insights are more relevant than ever. In this edition of Sustainability in 7, William McDonough discusses the notion of “Cradle to Cradle,” covering everything from reversing entropy to butterfly hatcheries.

About William McDonough

William McDonough is the founding principal of William McDonough + Partners, a design firm practicing ecologically, socially, and economically intelligent architecture and planning in the U.S. and abroad. McDonough has won three United States presidential awards: the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development (1996), the National Design Award (2004); and the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award (2003). He and German chemist Michael Braungart wrote Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things and founded MBDC (McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry), a consulting firm.

Check out: Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute

The Designers Accord is a global coalition of designers, educators, and business leaders working together to create positive environmental and social impact. Adopters of the Designers Accord commit to five guidelines that provide collective and individual ways to integrate sustainability into design. The Designers Accord provides a participatory platform with online and offline manifestations so that members have access to a community of peers who share methodologies, resources, and experiences around environmental and social issues in design.

(more…)


No Comments
Apr 08

Sustainability in 7: Alissa Walker on Walking the Walk

Posted in: Sustainability in Seven

Thumbnail_AlissaWalker.png

90-x-90.jpg The Designers Accord Sustainability in 7 video series delivers a daily dose of design inspiration by today’s leading sustainability experts. Join in the conversation as they share 7 things every designer should consider when integrating sustainability into design practice.

Alissa Walker remains true to her surname in this playful Friday edition of Sustainability in 7, in which she imparts short, sweet bits (or licks, as it were) of practical wisdom. Enjoy!

About Alissa Walker

Alissa Walker is a freelance writer who can most often be found in Los Angeles. She writes about design, architecture, cities, and transportation for many publications, including Fast Company and GOOD, and is the associate producer for the public radio show “DnA: Design and Architecture.” In 2010, Alissa was named as a USC/Annenberg Getty Arts Journalism Fellow for her writing about design and urbanism. She lives in a royal blue house in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles where she throws ice cream socials, writes infrequently on her blog, Gelatobaby, and relishes life in L.A. without a car.

The Designers Accord is a global coalition of designers, educators, and business leaders working together to create positive environmental and social impact. Adopters of the Designers Accord commit to five guidelines that provide collective and individual ways to integrate sustainability into design. The Designers Accord provides a participatory platform with online and offline manifestations so that members have access to a community of peers who share methodologies, resources, and experiences around environmental and social issues in design.

(more…)


No Comments
Apr 07

Sustainability in 7: John Thackara on Energy

Posted in: Sustainability in Seven

Thumbnail_JohnThackara.png

90-x-90.jpg The Designers Accord Sustainability in 7 video series delivers a daily dose of design inspiration by today’s leading sustainability experts. Join in the conversation as they share 7 things every designer should consider when integrating sustainability into design practice.

Is being creative really a virtue? Design educator and writer John Thackara stresses the urgency of our energy future and shares a powerful reminder that, “All creation has an energy cost.”

About John Thackara

John Thackara is a writer, educator and design producer. He is the author of In The Bubble: Designing In A Complex World (MIT Press) and of a widely-read blog at designobserver.com. As director of Doors of Perception, John organizes festivals around the world in which communities imagine sustainable futures—and take practical steps to realize them.

The Designers Accord is a global coalition of designers, educators, and business leaders working together to create positive environmental and social impact. Adopters of the Designers Accord commit to five guidelines that provide collective and individual ways to integrate sustainability into design. The Designers Accord provides a participatory platform with online and offline manifestations so that members have access to a community of peers who share methodologies, resources, and experiences around environmental and social issues in design.

(more…)


No Comments
Apr 06

Sustainability in 7: Andrew Dent on Materials

Posted in: Sustainability in Seven

Thumbnail_AndrewDent.png

90-x-90.jpg The Designers Accord Sustainability in 7 video series delivers a daily dose of design inspiration by today’s leading sustainability experts. Join in the conversation as they share 7 things every designer should consider when integrating sustainability into design practice.

In today’s episode of The Designers Accord Sustainability in 7, Andrew Dent of global materials library and consultancy, Material Connexion reminds us that honesty is the best policy, shares the truth about biopolymers and asks, “WWND?”

About Andrew Dent

Andrew Dent PhD is the Vice President, Library & Materials Research, of Material Connexion, the leading global platform for material solutions and innovations. Dent guides the implementation of research in consultancy projects for Material Connexion’s clients, and directs research into innovative products and processes. Previously, he held a number of research positions at Rolls Royce PLC, Cambridge University, and SUNY Stony Brook.

The Designers Accord is a global coalition of designers, educators, and business leaders working together to create positive environmental and social impact. Adopters of the Designers Accord commit to five guidelines that provide collective and individual ways to integrate sustainability into design. The Designers Accord provides a participatory platform with online and offline manifestations so that members have access to a community of peers who share methodologies, resources, and experiences around environmental and social issues in design.

(more…)


No Comments
Apr 05

Sustainability in 7: Janine Benyus on Biomimicry

Posted in: Sustainability in Seven

DAS7_JanineBenyus.png

90-x-90.jpg The Designers Accord Sustainability in 7 video series delivers a daily dose of design inspiration by today’s leading sustainability experts. Join in the conversation as they share 7 things every designer should consider when integrating sustainability into design practice.

Today we kick off the Designers Accord Sustainability in 7 series with Janine Benyus’ introduction to Biomimicry. How does a peacock feather inform new display screens? How do we use mother nature’s polymer architecture to think about new materials?

About Janine Benyus

Janine Benyus is a biologist, innovation consultant, and author of six books, including Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. Benyus founded the Biomimicry Institute, a non-profit organization that promotes the study and imitation of nature’s efficient designs, to be used to create sustainable technologies. She is also a principal and co-founder of the Biomimicry Guild, an innovation consultancy that helps Fortune 500 companies create sustainable products, processes, and policies based on nature’s principles.

The Designers Accord is a global coalition of designers, educators, and business leaders working together to create positive environmental and social impact. Adopters of the Designers Accord commit to five guidelines that provide collective and individual ways to integrate sustainability into design. The Designers Accord provides a participatory platform with online and offline manifestations so that members have access to a community of peers who share methodologies, resources, and experiences around environmental and social issues in design.

(more…)


No Comments