Designers Accord Stockholm Town Hall: Reflections and Photographs
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Last week’s first international town hall at Ecoteque in Stockholm was a success! Thanks to Pernilla Ankh for her photographs and Johan Ranstam for the recap.
“We aim to give visitors the energy, inspiration and knowledge to live modern, climate-smart lives.” (Birgitta Sandström Lagercrantz, The Ecoteque)
Everything on The Ecoteque menu was eco-labeled and Hermans Ekohandel-sponsored with organically farmed, roasted almonds.
“I have gone from feeling like I am playing in the band on the Titanic to more desperately trying to stop the captain claiming the benefits of a melted polar iceberg.” (Martin Willers, PEOPLE PEOPLE)
Do you want to roll in the green? Yes? And you do what? Design for a sustainable society? Allow me to smile… Hold it! Sustainable design doesn’t have to be all about eating plain noodles for the rest of your pitiful life. The recent Designer’s Accord Town Hall meeting in Stockholm just happened to be the first one ever outside of the US. Hosted by the Swedish Association of Designers Dec. 10th at Ecoteque, the topic of the evening was The Profitability of Sustainability. The leader of the gang was Martin Willers, Design Strategist at People People. Mr. Willers has been working in design and sustainability, and has often felt a conflict between the two. However, there is no conflict. There is a gap, and the solution is knowledge. For designers: to understand the impact of their products. For companies: to understand that there is money to make.
People are bad. Really bad. Designers in particular. Some say 80% of the environmental impact of a product or service is decided at the idea stage. Thus, says Mattias Ohlson from Cradle to cradle, people should strive to act like ants. The ant society leaves no residues which nature can’t handle. Your waste is my food. Design like you were living in a huge anthill. For example, if there was a plastic that maintained its properties although melted and remolded, a vacuum cleaner made from such a material could be recollected and fully recycled. Now, here’s the good news: This material already exists and could even be less expensive than regular plastics. Less cost means better profitability. So, what are you waiting for?
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