'Pertaining to a system that maintains its own viability by using techniques that allow for continual reuse'.
The easiest way to describe sustainability is as the balanced use of natural, social and economic capital for the continued health of the plant and future generations.
As designers we can adopt sustainable practices at a variety of levels depending our individual situations.
The terms 'Green' and 'Eco-friendly' really refer to the environment whereas 'sustainability' also considers the social and economic implications of material, designs and production processes.
When creating sustainable work designers should ask themselves:
- Is this the best method to communicate the message?
- What is the impact of making this piece?
- How can we lessen the impact if we print the piece?
Designers should follow these five sustainable principles to create a solution:
- Respect and care for the community
- Improve the quality of life
- Conserve Earth's vitality and diversity
- Minimize the depletion of non renewable resources
- Change personal attitudes and practices to keep with the planet's carrying capacity
These principles, in turn, should encourage designers to make the following, more conscious, design decisions:
- Design for re-use/longevity
- Design cyclically, not linearly
- Choose recycled/nontoxic materials
- Minimise waste
- Minimise ink coverage
- Choose local vendors that use renewable energy and employ socially equitable and environmentally friendly business practices.
- Educate consumers about the lifecycle issues through messaging/marketing
- Encourage others to design sustainably
CERTIFICATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTAL LABELING
These are some logos we should be aware of:
SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY
Sustainable forestry is a management system that works to maintain a full range of economic societal and environmental values. It provides a way of using non-timber forest products to meet people's ever-increasing need for lumber, paper and other products, without degrading forest ecosystems. Sustainable forestry is a process by which companies adopt more responsible practices: They increase protection of soils, waterways and wildlife, and they treat workers and neighbouring communities fairly. Sustainable forestry ensures hat forestlands retain their economic value for the long term. Choosing paper from sustainably managed forests that are independently certified is the best way for designers to support the environmental and social systems that are found in these healthy forests.
The FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) is the most respected and widely recognised international certification body. Over the past 13 years, more than ninety million hectares in more than eighty-two countries have been certified according to the FSC standards.
CRADLE TO CRADLE
Where products are designed so that after their useful lives are over they can provide 'nourishment' for something new.
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