Compostmodern '08

I was recently sent an email from Anita Yu of Zoom-in.com, which was very informative on today's issue of mixing business with sustainability/renewable design.

Here are three videos:

Green Design vs. Sustainable Design

Posted by Peter Nicholson

When people use the term "sustainable design" with me, as a magazine editor did recently, my first question has become, what do you mean exactly? Their answer is, invariably, what I would consider "eco" or "green" design (be it in architecture or product design). Equating sustainability with eco or green is inaccurate.

Eco/green design is not the same as sustainable design, although it can be a subset of it. Reducing environmental impact is a worthy goal and an important discipline, but it's often far from striving for sustainability. Sustainable design involves an emerging design methodology, one that strives to understand the system in which a particular issue exists before attempting to solve it. Unlike just about every other design discipline, with sustainable design, the end product is not determined beforehand. Rather, it could be a product, a communication piece or campaign, a policy initiative, a building, a product service system, etc. Sustainable design is also a discipline which, in addition to the environmental, strives to at least acknowledge the social and economic ramifications (for starters) of a project as well.

As you might be thinking, this emerging discipline is difficult and requires greater and broader training than many designers ever attain. It demands that one be multilingual in the sense of being able to speak the language of design, business, marketing, environment, and public policy, for starters. The methodology is a fairly simple, something that I aspire to write more about in the coming months. I'll be the first to admit that we here at o2-Chicago/Foresight Design Initiative have yet to figure it all out; we're only beginning. But we aspire to refine and practice (and eventually teach) sustainable design, recovering (or creating as the case may be), a more values-based discipline.

A closing anecdote: I was walking down the street the other day with one of Chicago's leading "green" architects, a person whose firm designed one of only a handful of LEED "platinum" (the highest rating possible) certified buildings (LEED, for those who might no know, is a green building rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council). During a lull in our conversation he turned to me and said "You know, Peter, I'm really over green buildings." My mouth fell open in amazement. This person's firm *only* does green architecture and urban planning! "Uh, doesn't your livelihood sort of depend on them?" I replied. "Peter, I've come to realize that it's about *so* much else. We have to think bigger, think in terms of sustainable communities." Green buildings, he implied, are relatively simple in comparison.

As aspiring sustainable designers, we must continue to push the envelope well past the "green" threshold, and think and practice with greater holistic awareness. We should use terms carefully and, I hope, via mediums like this list, continue to delve deeper into the discussion and, more importantly, the practice.

Greening Graphic Design: A Step-By-Step Guide.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/02/22/greening-graphic-design-a-step-by-step-guide/

This is going to be very helpful for my supportive print piece. I will discuss how to integrate green/sustainable graphic design with biomimicry and graphic design in order to promote the best possible solutions for our present and future needs as both designer and target audience.

How to Decipher Labels and Choose Green.

10.30.2007 12:00 AM

Why Plastics Labeled 1, 2 and 5 May be Safer, and Other Tips
(This is great to know for product design)

On household and personal care products, "non-toxic" and "environmentally friendly" are virtually meaningless labels. Learning to decipher the meaning of the ingredients on those labels -- and some that aren't even listed -- is the key for consumers trying to avoid certain chemicals, especially those now under scientific scrutiny, but not regulated by the government, according to USA Today.

Here are some tips from the article:

• Avoid products that list "parabens" as an ingredient on shampoos, conditioners and other personal care products. Some studies suggest these chemicals affect the reproductive and hormonal systems in animal tests.
• Avoid products that list "sodium laurel/laureth sulfate" as an ingredient, because it contains a carcinogenic compound.
• Avoid anything with a "danger" or "warning" label, since it has stronger chemicals.
• Be wary of the term "fragrance," which is used to denote a combination of compounds, possibly including phthatates, which are a subject of recent concern because of studies showing they can mimic certain hormones.
• Choose sunscreens made with zinc or titanium.
• Choose plastics with the recycling code 1, 2 or 5. Recycling codes 3 and 7 are more likely to contain bisphenol A or phthalates, both suspected of disrupting the hormonal system.

Get Certified.

http://www.c2ccertified.com/

Cradle to Cradle Certification provides a company with a means to tangibly, credibly measure achievement in environmentally-intelligent design and helps customers purchase and specify products that are pursuing a broader definition of quality.

This means using environmentally safe and healthy materials; design for material reutilization, such as recycling or composting; the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency; efficient use of water, and maximum water quality associated with production; and instituting strategies for social responsibility...

Check this out!