Insights

Designs for life – design's duty to the planet

Gus Desbarats, Chairman of Alloy, a leading product design company, looks at the challenges of delivering environmentally sustainable products in a world limited in resources and argues that the design community has a pivotal role to play in delivering solutions that are both sustainable and suitable for modern living.

The message of 'environmentalism' has been promoted by a variety of groups and lobbies for several decades. Despite warnings from scientists, evidence from independent bodies and the reality of climate change we see before our eyes, we have been slow to change our individual and collective behaviours when faced with potentially the biggest crisis in our planet's history.

This is beginning to change. There has been a realisation amongst decision makers that it is no longer enough to appear ethical. The impact of the internet and a 24-hour news agenda has made it impossible for companies to say one thing and do another. You do not have to look much further than the Greenpeace interactions with Unilever this month to realise the impact that environmental agenda is having on big business.

No longer is sustainability nice to have, it is absolutely essential to the design process. If designers do not generate the strategies that move us towards a more sustainable ecosystem, within the existing business frameworks, not only will all of us suffer from the consequences but the industry will have missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to demonstrate leadership and propel the industry into a position of significant authority.

The desire to innovate
One of man's most primeval instincts is to innovate: from caves to cars, from flint to fuel cells. Asking human beings to stop progressing or indeed to reverse what has been created to date is always likely to be unpopular. To a certain extent this is why the sustainable message has taken time to reach the mainstream: it was associated with having to do without. We like living in warm houses, taking holidays to foreign countries and driving wherever we want.

But we all know the consequences of having all we want. There is a realisation that our resources are not infinite. How can we embrace the dual challenges of progress and sustainability? How can we ensure that we use the limited and precious resources we do have without compromising the lifestyle to which we have become accustomed? How do we create sustainable solutions that deliver - not only to the population but to the demands of businesses and shareholders? Smarter thinking is needed.

The complexity of delivering the most sustainable solution
One of the strongest demands from the environmental lobby to date has been to recycle more. The recycling process however is a complex one. It involves many different parties, including packaging manufacturers, distributors, retailers, local authorities, waste management companies and, of course, households.

Furthermore there is huge complexity in the range of materials that can be recycled, and separating them can be challenging.

The smoothie brand Innocent began using PLA on some bottles. PLA is a material with similar properties to PET and other plastics, but as it is grown from a renewable source (corn) it can be composted as opposed to recycled.

Yet Innocent has withdrawn PLA and is now using recycled PET for the simple reason that PLA and PET cannot be separated at waste centres. A compostable material was not being composted, instead it was polluting the PET waste stream.

Biofuels are good for the environment right? Well, yes and no. When biofuels replace fossil fuels that use up precious resources, the environmental impact is positive. When these biofuels are produced at the expense of rainforest, causing impact to endangered species and the destruction of a critical part of the earth's natural defence mechanism, the environmental impact is anything but positive. When the demand for biofuels is such that their growth is impacting food prices for some of the poorest people on Earth, the human price will be too much to bear.

Greener thinking
The issue of sustainability is not a simple one. It is also not as simple as waving a green flag and supporting every new eco initiative that is flavour of the moment. What is required a deep understanding and analysis of the economics of initiatives and developments. Sober reflection of the overall environmental impact of a product or service requires a professional approach, an understanding of the impact of sourcing every part of a device, a recognition of supply chain issues and an informed approach to decision making in developing and creating the most effective solution for each scenario. There are challenging decisions to be made by grown up people.

Yet today far too many products are designed with built-in obsolescence. Gone are the days when products were built to last and people bought them for this reason. Indeed possibly one of the most shocking cultural changes of the last fifty years has been the increase in disposability of products. Nappies and razors are only two examples of products that were not disposable fifty years ago yet are now. Furthermore, the digitisation of our world has led to less rather than more sustainability. We buy new phones every year, we want the latest megapixel camera and once our PC is out of date or too slow, we but a new one. And perfectly serviceable devices like screens and keyboards are scrapped because the CPU is upgraded.

The generation that was obliged to reuse, driven by a chronic shortage brought on by war, is dying. The next generation enjoyed the benefits of seemingly unending economic growth and now need to learn how to make do. The challenge today is to create solutions that use less without impacting significantly on our lifestyles.

Greener solutions
Simply put we need to use less of things and make things last longer. How do we go about this?

The development of digital solutions is potentially the single most important benefit in the campaign to deliver a sustainable future. From less paper to less physical storage to less energy for transportation, the development of digital networks offers an opportunity that should be ruthlessly exploited to do less physically and more virtually.

The opportunity afforded by software solutions to problems provides more than the chance to replace travel with video conferencing. It offers us the opportunity to develop new virtual solutions to a host of problems. Modularity will need to be a central component. Why replace a mobile phone when only the screen is out of date? By designing modularity into products, users can continue to enjoy a reliable and familiar user experience without having to feel out of date. Furthermore, brands can benefit from more loyal customers who return to them for upgrades and new features. The potential is both exciting and could have significant impact.

There is also the opportunity to significantly reduce packaging. Again, new thinking is required - thinking that goes beyond the removal of several layers of packaging from items, although that would be a good start.

An example could be the toiletries industry. Every year millions of plastic bottles containing shampoo, conditioner and shower gel are discarded. How easy would it be to market a long-term solution? The plastic bottles could be replaced with an elegant robust solution that can be used with made to fit refills. Instead of buying tens of plastic bottles a year, we might buy one long term dispenser, along with environmentally packaged refills. Not only does this provide a more sustainable solution, it also makes the consumer more likely to choose the same brand again, because they already have a dispenser they love. A solution that offers increased sustainability as well as business benefit is a win-win situation.

Conclusion
First principles dictate the following simple mantra is essential to deliver the challenge of a world where sustainability does not mean discomfort: we need to use less and make what we have to last.

The challenge for the design industry is to create better ways to achieve this, looking at all the variables, and delivering smart solutions - ideally that bring benefit to the consumer as well as the planet.

This is the time for action. It is not enough for the design industry to lead the debate, we must deliver by designing sustainability into everything we do. To constantly rethink our solutions within these principles and challenge ourselves to do better.

The challenge is a significant one but so is the opportunity. In essence designers have to do what they do best: making things better for the world we live in today.

www.thealloy.com
TheAlloy is a leading UK product design company specialising in bringing together the interests of engineering and marketing in the design process. TheAlloy has an international reputation for its work in sustainable design.