Thank you to Sarah Kear and Ecokinesis.

***

I have to admit a bias. . .  by my definition, design must create some sort of sustainable value, or else it falls short of excellence.

As Dr. Karl-Henrik Robert, founder ofThe Natural Step, pointed out at the CBSR 8th Annual Summit, Collaborating for Sustainable Change, whatever system we look at in this world, whether economic, social or environmental, we cannot deny that there is a dynamic deterioration happening.  There aren’t more trees being planted than being cut down, there aren’t more things being upcycled from garbage than garbage being created, there aren’t more people making a living wage than people making less than $2 a day. We live in a world of chronic un-sustainability.

I see it as a designer’s duty to help rectify this. I’m talking about designers in a very broad sense — designers of communities, policies, infrastructure, cities and organizations, just as much as designers of buildings, interiors, and consumer goods. Why? Like Promethius from Greek mythology, who gave humankind fire and wily intelligence, but also unleashed human troubles (courtesy of Pandora), designers are responsible for giving humankind innovative new things, technology and ways of organizing. It’s a wonderful talent, but we need to mitigate our Pandora-effect as much as possible!

So, where to start? What an overwhelming question! Initial thoughts are enough to make most take the status quo route.  Robert identified the sources of our inaction as either “getting lost in the leaves”, i.e. drowning in information and one-off solutions, or “drill holes” i.e. we go deeper and deeper into our specialized areas of practice that we don’t connect with others over the commonalities in our shared problem.

We need “cooperation across value chains”, but to do that we first need to have a common language based in scientific rigour. The Natural Step proposes that their four System Principles for Sustainability provide a strong foundation that can withstand any debate, and therefore be a springboard for cross-sector conversations and better design.

An action can be deemed sustainable if it is:

• Not causing a systematic increase in substances extracted from the earth, such as oil or metals
• Not causing a systematic increase in concentrations produced by humans, such as plastics, polyester, toxic chemicals, or waste products of all kinds
• Not causing the systematic physical damage of the natural environment, such as deforestation or loss of biodiversity, and
• Not undermining the ability of humans to meet their basic needs for clean water, sufficient food and clothing, safe housing, education etc.

Meeting these conditions is a tall order for sure, but at least they give us a simple, indisputable starting point!  System Principles + Creativity + Action = Innovative design

In my final post, I’ll explore The Value of a Common Language some more.

This is part II of III reflections on Collaborating for Sustainable Change, the 8th annual CBSR Summit, and Smart Shift, hosted by Durham Sustain Ability in the last half of October 2010.