Design thinking as a core philosophy in corporate sustainable development and wider society
An introduction into design thinking and it’s relevance to Green Alliance’s proposed product legislation
This project has been inspired and run in conjunction with Green Alliance, an independent charity whose mission is to promote sustainable development by ensuring that environmental solutions are a priority in British and European politics. They work with representatives from the three main political parties, government, business and the NGO sector to encourage new ideas, facilitate dialogue and develop constructive solutions to environmental challenges.
One of the areas of work in which they are engaged is ‘Designing out waste’, an initiative that is supported by their designing out waste consortium that comprises ten major companies. This work is concerned with need to reduce dependence on raw materials and waste generated both throughout product supply chains and also at the end of life. The ‘product shadow’ is their term for the negative impacts of waste and energy inputs that occur during the lifecycles of item made from virgin raw materials, that ultimately go unseen by the purchaser/user.
The project is a report that is intended to provide Green Alliance staff with an overview of academic thinking surrounding sustainable design, and to offer an account of the Design for Development/design thinking perspectives and the ways in which they differ from green/eco design. The report outlines the concept of design thinking, which is a core design for development discipline, and the ways in which it can/is being used by business to drive innovation, and that this should become a core business strategy for addressing sustainability issues. Also covered is an overview of the UN Global Compact, which covers the views of some 600 CEO’s of major international organisations that largely supports the contents of the project.
The fundamental argument of the report is that it questions the need for yet more legislation, and arrives at the conclusion that the government should not only seek to provide clear direction to companies, as recommended by Green Alliance, but also to adopt an integrated, collaborative role rather than a more remote, coercive one.
