Sustainability is a trend and a good one at that. I think this quote sums it up quite nicely:
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
A quote from: World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). Our common future. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987 p. 43. Lets not get into what the definition is exactly, as there is plenty of debate about that already.
Replacing the word development with living would give:
“Sustainable living is living that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
It is only together that we can truly make this world sustainable. I believe that as Industrial Designers it us up to us to make sure we design products that will truly sustain life. But as consumers it is just as important to buy and use sustainable products and dispose of them properly.
Consumers must demand TRUE sustainable products (which I believe is found using Cradle to Cradle methodologies), Businesses and Industrial Designers should be pushing these TRUE sustainable products and the government should help create this environment of true sustainability.
Unfortunately I believe change will have to come first from the government. They have already seen the need for a more sustainable world and they have the capability to drive the change that is needed. Within the current limitations that I can perceive (global competition, power of the government and ease of change) the government could:
- Better inform the public about what truly sustainable products are and setup International standards that can be checked against.
How often have you seen a product that has been labelled as green but you never really knew if it was? We need to be educated to understand what is and isn’t sustainable and there needs to be a trusted system or guideline to help us. So many claims are being made by businesses but almost non of them are being checked or measured to some international standard. Greenpeace for one has been making an effort to inform the public.
- Setup easy and fun to use disposing/recycling facilities and promote them.
Help the public sustain the world. There are so many people that want to recycle but the government does not provide the facilities! As a example of how simply it could be done, take Switzerland.
- Setup strict regulations on businesses for advertising sustainability.
Given the international standards, the government must make sure business cannot misinform the public. Agencies must be setup that checkout claims by businesses about being ‘greener’ or sustainable. Check businesses and act accordingly if they make ungrounded claims. Make sure that terms such as ‘green’ actually mean something concrete and cannot be used if your new TV uses 20 less Watts then the other model. In other words, increase the quality of advertising sustainability, recovering its true meaning and value.
With these changes an even greater demand will be created for truly sustainable products without changing or enforcing too much (which would result in more bureaucracy, more taxes, disgruntlement about more legislation, etcetera). This demand will drive change within this triangle of consumer, businesses/industrial designer and government.
Until we get this triangle reinforcing each other we won’t achieve a sustainable world. Why are we still stuck in our old ways? Sustainable development and living isn’t going to harm anyone, not economically, not socially nor ecologically. I’ll go as far and say our lives will improve in all those areas. So get off your ass, which ever part of this triangle you might represent and help fix this world.
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