Design is the Problem Webinar

Design is the ProblemNathan ShedroffRosenfeld MediaSmart Experience

March 2009

Design is the ProblemNathan Shedroff

What is Sustainability?

Schedule:

What is Sustainability? • Definitions & Domains • Systems PerspectiveQuestionsSustainability FrameworksSustainability ToolsQuestionsSustainability Design StrategiesSummaryQuestions



An official definition:

Use and development that meets today’s needs without preventing those needs from being met by future generations.

Brundtland Commission, 1987

see DITP page xxi



A casual definition:

Don’t do things today thatmake tomorrow worse.

see DITP page xxii





...for your kids





...for your grand-kids





...for your grand-kids



Sustainability encompasses 3 domains:

ENVIRONMENTAL

FINANCIAL

SOCIAL



In business terms:

FINANCIAL CAPITAL

SOCIALHUMAN CAPITAL

ENVIRONMENTALNATURAL CAPITAL



In terms of society:

FINANCIAL CAPITALMONEY

SOCIALPEOPLE

ENVIRONMENTALNATURAL RESOURCES



They form a system:

MONEY

PEOPLE

NATURAL RESOURCES



see DITP chapter 1

So, we need to understand society from a systems perspective:

• Diversity = Resiliency• Centralization• Decentralization• Competition• Cooperation• Vitality• Stakeholders



see DITP chapter 1


• Diversity = Resiliency• Centralization• Decentralization• Competition• Cooperation• Vitality• Stakeholders



see DITP page 6

Diversity = Resiliency



see DITP page 6

Diversity = Resiliency



see DITP page 10

Centralization:• Optimization and Efficiency• Standardization• Economies of Scale• Coordination



see DITP page 10

Decentralization:• Local Expertise and Appropriateness• Higher/Quicker Response



see DITP page 10

Decentralization:• Local Expertise and Appropriateness• Higher/Quicker Response• Resiliency and Robustness



see DITP page 11

Competition:• Increases variety• Creates new—often better—solutions• Responds better to challenges• Responds better to change• Rewards better performance• Enhances innovation



see DITP page 11

Cooperation:• Creates Standards• Increases volume and scale• Spreads “best practices”• Increases likelihood of success• Stabilizes markets



see DITP page 11

Cooperation:• Creates Standards• Increases volume and scale• Spreads “best practices”• Increases likelihood of success• Stabilizes markets• Forms foundation for innovation



see DITP page 17

Stakeholders:

Government

Business

Individuals

NGOs

Courts, Departments, Lawmakers (city, state, federal, and international)

Customers, Fans, Teams, Groups, Communities

Employees, Distributors, Partners, Suppliers, Media, Investors, Clients

Organizations, Unions, Institutions



see DITP chapter 19


• Diversity = Resiliency• Centralization• Decentralization• Competition• Cooperation• Vitality• Stakeholders• Balance



Any questions so far on the following:

• Definition of Sustainability

• Scope/domain of Sustainability

• Systems Perspective


Sustainability Frameworks

What is a framework?



What is a framework?

A perspective on Sustainability that organizes our understanding.



What is a framework?A perspective on Sustainability that organizes our understanding.

What is a tool?




What is a tool?

A mechanism to use to measure or evaluate sustainable impacts.




What is a tool?A mechanism to use to measure or evaluate sustainable impacts.

What is a strategy?



What is a framework?A perspective on Sustainability that organizes our understanding.What is a tool?A mechanism to use to measure or evaluate sustainable impacts.

What is a strategy?A design approach to lessen the negative impacts of something.



These are the major frameworks:Natural CapitalismThe Natural Step™Cradle to CradleHolistic Management

see DITP chapter 3



These are the major frameworks:Natural CapitalismThe Natural Step™Cradle to CradleHolistic ManagementLCA (Life Cycle Assessment)Total Beauty™BiomimicrySROI (Social Return on Investment)Sustainability Helix

see DITP chapter 3



Natural Capitalism (eco-efficiency):

see DITP page 45

FINANCIAL CAPITAL

HUMAN CAPITAL

NATURAL CAPITAL

MANUFACTURED CAPITAL

USE

MANUF. DISPOSAL




• Radical Resource Productivity: Buy time using resources radically more productively

• Ecological Redesign: Make use of Biomimicry

• Service & Flow Economies: Redesign all products and processes for sustainability

• Investing in Natural Capital: Restore Ecosystem Services

• Whole Systems Thinking

see DITP page 46

HUMAN CAPITAL

FINANCIALCAPITAL

MANUF. CAPITAL

NATURAL CAPITAL




• Human Capital: people & society

• Natural Capital: materials, energy, stability & diversity

• Financial Capital: money, profit, etc.

• Manufactured Capital: materials, energy, & IP

see DITP page 46

HUMAN CAPITAL

FINANCIALCAPITAL

MANUF. CAPITAL

NATURAL CAPITAL



Sidebar: Types of Capital

LASER Manual

Natural

HumanSocialCulturalInstitutional

BuiltTechniological

FinancialTechnical Exchange

Michael Fairbanks

Natural Endowments

Human

CulturalInstitutional

Humanly MadeKnowledge Resources

Financial Resources

Progressive Economics

Natural

HumanSocial

Manufactured

Financial

Natural Capitalism

Natural

Human

Manufactured

Financial

see DITP page 49



The Natural Step:™

see DITP page 83

FINANCIAL IMPACTS

SOCIAL IMPACTS

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS



The Natural Step:™Four System Conditions

• System Condition #1: Substances from the Earth’s crust shouldn’t accumulate in the environment• System Condition #2: Substances produced by society should not increase in the biosphere• System Condition #3: We must preserve the productivity and biodiversity of the ecosystem• System Condition #4: Resources should be used fairly and efficiently to meet human needs.

see DITP page 84

ENVIRONMENTALIMPACTS

SOCIALIMPACTS

FINANCIALIMPACTS


The Natural Step™Resource Funnel

Sustainable Supply

Sustainable Demand

Sustainability

Increasing SocietalDemand for Resources

Declining Life-Sustaining Resources

The margin foraction narrows

The Present The FutureThe Past


The Natural Step:™

see DITP page 84


SOCIALIMPACTS

FINANCIALIMPACTS



Cradle to Cradle (eco-effectiveness):

see DITP page 51

FINANCIAL IMPACTS

SOCIAL IMPACTS

ENVIRONMENTALNUTRIENTS

USE

MANUF. DISPOSAL

TECHNICAL NUTRIENTS



Cradle to Cradle (eco-effectiveness):

Concept & term coined by StahelPopularized by McDonough & Braungart• Eliminate hazardous materials• Consider the entire lifecycle• Materials should be upcyclable• Less Bad does not equal Good!

see DITP page 52


SOCIALIMPACTS

FINANCIALIMPACTS


Sustainability Tools

These are the major tools:LCA (Life Cycle Assessment)Total Beauty™BiomimicrySROI (Social Return on Investment)Sustainability Helix



LCA (Life Cycle Assessment)

see DITP page 66

FINANCIAL IMPACTS

SOCIAL IMPACTS


USE

MANUF. DISPOSAL



LCA (Life Cycle Assessment)

see DITP page 67



Total Beauty™

see DITP page 86

FINANCIAL IMPACTS

SOCIAL IMPACTS




see DITP page 87

Total Beauty™

FINANCIAL IMPACTS

SOCIAL IMPACTS


EFFICIENT

SOLAR CYCLIC

SOCIAL

SAFE



Biomimicry

see DITP page 59

FINANCIAL IMPACTS

SOCIAL IMPACTS




Biomimicry

see DITP page 63


SOCIALIMPACTS

FINANCIALIMPACTS



Biomimicry

Self-assemblySolar transformationPower of shapeColor without pigmentsCleaning without detergentsWater-based chemistryMetals without miningGreen chemistryTimed degradationSensing and respondingGrowing fertilityLife creates conditions conducive to lifeDecentralization and distributed control

see DITP page 60


SOCIALIMPACTS

FINANCIALIMPACTS

Simple building blocksUse of feedback loopsRedundancyCyclic solutionsDiverse solutions



Biomimicry

Distill the design function• Don’t ask “What do you want to design?”• Instead, ask “What do you want your design to do?”• Keep asking “Why do you want your design to do that?”

Translate to biology• Identify the functions• Ask “How does Nature do that

function?”• Reframe the questions• Define habitat conditions that

reflect design parameters• Translate Life’s Principles into

design parameters

Discover natural models• Go outside• Consider both literal and metaphorical models• Comb the literature• Brainstorm with biologists• Create a taxonomy of Life’s strategies

Emulate Nature’sstrategies• Brainstorm multiple

solutions• Refer back to the Discover

phase and consider chimeradesigns

• Consult with biological experts• Go back to your model and explore

more strategies

Evaluate your design againstLife’s principles• Can your design adapt and evolve?• Does your design create

conditions conducive to Life?• How can you improve your

design?

see DITP page 62


SOCIALIMPACTS

FINANCIALIMPACTS



SROI (Social Return on Investment)

see DITP page 79


FINANCIAL IMPACTS

SOCIAL IMPACTS

ENVIRONMENTIMPACTS




see DITP page 81


SOCIALIMPACTS

FINANCIALIMPACTS



Sustainability Helix

see DITP page 93

FINANCIAL IMPACTS

SOCIAL IMPACTS


Operations& Facilties

Design ProcessInnovation

HR Develop. & Corp. Culture

Stakeholders& Partnerships

Marketing & Communications

Governance & Management



Sustainability Helix

Stage 0:Unsustainable

“Business as Usual”Stage 1:

ExplorationStage 2:

ExperimentationStage 3:

LeadershipStage 4:

Restoration

High degree of organizational alignment

Stakeholders & CommunitiesGovernance and ManagementOperations and FacilitiesDesign and Process Innovation

Human Resources and Corporate CultureMarketing and CommunicationsPartnerships and Stakeholder Engagement

see DITP page 95


SOCIALIMPACTS

FINANCIALIMPACTS



However, there are many other tools:LCA (Life Cycle Assessment)Total Beauty™BiomimicrySROISustainability HelixBlended ValueIntegrated Bottom LineLASER ManualFootprint Calculators (water, carbon, etc.)Stakeholder AnalysisSA 8000CSR

ISO 50001SOS (Blackburn)Wheel of ChangeCity Climate Protection ManualMetrics (GDP, GPI, GNH, GRI, SRI)LEEDFASB redefinition of ProfitSCOREFactor 4 and Factor 10SHINGOSIGMA

see DITP page 99


Sustainability Frameworks & Tools

Summary

see DITP page 102

MARKET(FINANCIAL CAPITAL)Corporate Strategy:• Governance & Management• HR Development & Corporate Culture• Operations & Facilities• Design & Process Innovation• Marketing & Communications• Partnerships & Stakeholder

SOCIETY(HUMAN CAPITAL)

Multiple Potential Criteria

Issues:Fair/just distribution/use of

resources according to(whose?) values

ENVIRONMENT(NATURAL CAPITAL)• Ecosystem Services• Radical Resource Efficiency (min 10x)• Renewable energy and materials• Eliminate the use of toxic substances• Natureʼs solutions can inspire our own• Maintain Biodiveristy• All Wastes are inputs for other systems.• Safe deposits of energy and materials to the environment are balanced with those taken from it

PRODUCTS & SERVICES (MANUFACTURED CAPITAL)

USE

MANUF. DISPOSAL


Sustainability Frameworks & Tools

Any questions so far on the following:

• Sustainability Frameworks

• Sustainability Tools


Sustainability Strategies

These are the major strategies:Reduce

• Design for Use (Usability & Meaning)• Dematerialization (Materials, Energy & Transportation)• Substitution (Materials & Energy)• Localization• Transmaterialization• Informationalization

ReuseRecycleRestore

see DITP page 103



Design for Use(Usability, Accessibility, Clarity & Meaning)

see DITP page 112



Dematerialization(Materials, Energy & Transportation)

Apple iPhone

Apple Keyboard

see DITP page 119




Apple packaging

see DITP page 121




Apple iPhone

see DITP page 122



Substitution(Materials, Energy & Transportation)

Mirra chair,Herman Miller

Less expensive,less toxic, andmore sustainable:

• Raw materials• Components• Energy sources

see DITP pages 128, 130


A ton of mined Bauxite turns into half a ton of aluminum oxide.

Ore takes a month to travel to the refinery.

Each ton of Aluminum Oxide is smelted into 1/4 ton of aluminum in Sweden or Norway.

Cans are created in roller mills in Sweden or Germany.

Aluminum sheets are punched and formed into cans, washed, dried, painted, lacquered, flanged, sprayed with protective coating and inspected.

The Sugar might come from beet fields in France.

Phosphorus is excavated from open-pit mines in Idaho.

The Caffeine might come from a chemical manufacturer

Sealed cans are inserted into cardboard cartons made of forest pulp from British Columbia

Cartons of cans are shipped to warehouses and supermarkets—84% of which are discarded after use.


Localization(Materials, Energy & Transportation)

Lovins, et al.

see DITP page 136



Transmaterialization

Zip Cars




Transmaterialization

Interface FLOR carpet

see DITP page 147



Informationalization

iTunes Music Store

see DITP page 152



Informationalization

Open Architecture Network, Architecture for Humanity

see DITP page 156



These are the major strategies:ReduceReuse

• Design for Durability• Design for Reuse

RecycleRestore

see DITP page 159



Design for Durability

Dyson vacuum

• Higher quality/longer lasting• Servicable/Repairable• Upgradable• Component service• Rental system (components and/or offering)




Design for Reuse (unintended)

Artecnica tranSglass vases

see DITP page 160



Design for Reuse (intended)Reuse of: Materials, Energy, Components, and Functions

Maille condiment jars




These are the major strategies:ReduceReuseRecycle

• Design for Disassembly• Close the Loop• Design for Effectiveness

Restore

see DITP page 181



Design for Disassembly• Product redesign• Labeled components• Uni-material components

Rickshaw Zero bag

see DITP page 184



Design for Disassembly• Use materials identification labels

• Avoid permanently attached, dissimilar materials

• Design for ease of disassembly (snap fits vs. screws)

• Use only one polymer type per product

• Use only one polymer-color combination per product

• If necessary, use compatible combinations of

polymers

• Avoid paints and lacquers

• Avoid labels or use compatible labels

• Choose high-value plastics

• Avoid density overlaps between different polymers

From Eric Masanet,UC Berkeley

see DITP page 185



Close the Loop

Kalundborg, Denmark

NovoNordisk A/S

LakeTissø Kemira

FishFarms

Statoil A/SRefinery

SeaWater

AalborgPortland A/S

& RoadPaving

Crude Oil

Sludge FishWaste

FuelGas

GypsumCondensate

Yeast Slurry

Steam

Water

Steam

Fly Ash

TreatedWater

TreatedWater

Sulfur

Fertilizer

Sludge

Coal

NoverenI/S

Liquid FertilizerMisc. WasteCombustibleWaste

NovozymesA/S

City ofKalundborg

Glass,Metal, &Paper forRecycling

Misc. Waste

TreatedWater

Compost

ASNÆSPowerStation

BPBGYPROC

A/S

BiotekniskNordrens

Solirem A/S

see DITP page 199



Design for Effectiveness• Process redesign• Take-back programs• Eco-industrial parks/industrial estates

Rickshaw Bags




These are the major strategies:ReduceReuseRecycleRestore

• Design for Systems

see DITP page 209



Design for Systems

Curitiba, Brazil

see DITP pages 212-215



Summary/Checklist:

1. Provide More (value, meaning, performance) for Less (materials and energy)

2. Focus on Efficiency and Health

3. Use & Promote Local energy, resources, and labor

4. Don’t use PVC

5. Design solutions to be savored

6. Don’t spend more declaring your results than the value they provide

see DITP page 288



Next Steps:

see DITP page 296



More in the book:

• More examples

• How this sits within development processes

• Measuring results

• Declaring results



Now for the rest of the questions...

Technology

Design is the Problem Webinar