Mark Lee, CEO of SustainAbility UK, spoke at the Sustainable Brands 08 conference on the history (and future) of changes in society around sustainability suggesting we can see them as four waves (a metaphor as an Aussie living near the beach I can relate too!).
The citizen/regulation driven first wave triggered by Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in the 60s-70s, followed by the consumer led green movement of the 80s early 90s which ended in a sea of green wash. The third wave was more focussed on social issues such as equity and governance through the anti-globalisation movement.
Mark posits we are now in the fourth wave which is more complex characterised by multiple issues and systems (with a climate change focus at the moment which he argues we shouldn’t overly emphasise).
It’s a fascinating future looking speech so watch it to understand the fifth wave which he identifies as demographics and food related in the shorter term. He also touches on the localisation vector which is something Digital Eskimo is working on at the moment, more on that soon!
Last week I attended Sustainable Innovation at the Base of the Pyramid conference in Helsinki on the ways in which innovation and business can help the billions of people who are living in poverty. The model is known as the the Base of the Pyramid (BOP) approach which relies on entrepreneurial activity to create value and ultimately well-being through product and service (co)creation and provision instead of the old development aid or charity models.
The stand out speaker for me was Simona Rocchi, Director of Sustainable Design at Philips who described the ethos and methods behind the design of the Chulha smokeless stove, co-created in India with local communities and NGOs. It was inspiring to see design (and in particular a similar approach to design that we practice at Digital Eskimo) given centre stage of a conference on sustainable solutions (design rarely rates a mention in my experience).
The award winning stove exemplifies the potential of co-designing in context with all stakeholders and also represents an innovative model of IP ownership (Philips is sharing it with the community) as well as the many benefits that can flow to corporations that participate in society in this way.
When I talk of design i’m usually referring to more than just graphic design … more
As George Monbiot has pointed out, plane travel is difficult to reconcile with a planet loving green lifestyle (though others disagree). Either way it’s easier to commit too when you live in Europe, but is much harder when you reside in the rather isolated countries like Australia however - and so with a heavy green heart i recently agreed to travel to Europe for a wedding.
I’ve made the trip part business, part pleasure and extended the trip to maximise the value and reduce the need to travel again next year. I also made the most direct flights rather than the cheapest to and from London. Once in Europe I am minimising my carbon footprint by utilising the train and ferry networks. So all intra European travel on the trip is via trains, ferries and wherever possible regular public transport. (ok ok and the odd cab when its just too hard!)
A great website to assist the sustainable traveller is The Man from Seat 61 - a self confessed train boffin and ex British Rail manager who has pretty much travelled all over Europe and the world via train and can tell you which trains and even which carriages are the go for various legs of your journey. He’s passionate and as always it rubs off - i’m a convert to train travel as the most sustainable and cool form of long distance mobility - tis a shame there’s no underground from Australia to Europe though.
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Kristen Le Mesurier’s recent article on sustainable offices ran in the Sydney Morning Herald this week. It featured myself (with a 5 year old photo bless her heart!) and Rick Millen from PricewaterhouseCoopers and Kate Noble from the ACF discussing the value and impact of sustainable business operations.
We, of course have been quite active and vocal in our efforts to walk the talk as it were; and continue to improve the way we do things. (Our current studio renovations project will feature many sustainability inspired innovations which we’ll share with you as they become reality). To her credit Kristen included a point i often raise in interviews (though it rarely seems to get through the editors) regarding the operational aspect of a company’s sustainability …
“… And while all of these sustainable operational initiatives are important and commendable, they are really just the tip of the iceberg. What is really important is the impact companies have on the world in terms of the actual work they do.”
“The actions we inspire, enable and facilitate are by far the biggest part of our ecological footprint, that’s the chunk of the iceberg under the waterline,” Gravina says.
When talking about design agencies in particular; the iceberg is the proverbial elephant in the room.
Laying down a challenge to other companies, Digital Eskimo recently carbon offset the entire history of the agency, dating back to 2001. We calculated our carbon emissions with our friends at Climate Friendly and offset the lot, effectively cleaning up the (relatively small given our ecological ways) mess we’d left behind on our way to becoming Sydney’s pre-eminent sustainability focussed design agency.
We now challenge other companies to do the same. As we all sit and wait for what looks like a pretty lacklustre response from the government to the Gaurnaut review, we as industry leaders can do a lot to set the pace.
So what’s your company doing about it’s past emissions?
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