12 steps towards sustainability

Ways to make your studio more sustainability-oriented

1. 1.      Take small steps

Remember that you don’t have to change the world, and that you should only do things you really believe in. But double-sided printing, turning off lights and monitors also saves you money, so such steps are worth considering.

1. 2.      Use eBay and Freecycle

Creating new stuff and disposing of the old area a massive drain on resources. Second-hand purchases and swaps defang that cycle, and it’s even better if you keep it all local. Heat to www.uk.freecycle.org

3.      Challenge your clients

Dont’s just accept clients’ ideas for creating a mail shot or annual report. Maybe an interctive website would be more effective for thier itention; maybe creating less will lead to more. State your case and prove your point.

1. 4.      Steal principles

There are tons of sustainability policies and guidelines posted online. Download them, read them, find out how they implement them. Meet the authors and buy them a beer if they’re local. Sustainability is social after all!Try www.minxcrative.co.uk or www.designbybeam.com/approach/Designing_Sustainably.html

1. 5.      Thin of the end, first

Whether you’re creating a brochure, buying a sandwich or upgrading your computers, think about what happens to it all at the end of its life. Will that metallic ink hinder recycling? Is the packaging biodegradable? Will they be suitable as render farm units?

1. 6.      Get educated

Fact are your friend. Abandon your preconceptions and get reading about social and environmental impacts of your business. Three Trees is an excellent place to start: www.threetreesdontmakeaforest.org

1. 7.      Stay educated

One day you’re whoop-whooping that your favourite chocolate bar uses Fairtrade cocoa, the nect you discover it’s bassed on palm oil. Sustainability thinking evolves and so should yours. Check out www.thelivingprinciples.org

1. 8.      Give 5% of your time to causes

Community is as important as the environment, so give time to not-for-profits or causes. You could even start one of your own. See how Firebelly Design does it: www.firebellyfoundation.org

1. 9.      Go open source

Again, the social is an important as the environmental, so get involved with the global community. Use the software and try to contribute skills and insight back to the movement. Head to www.opensource.org

1. 10.  Write better code

Certainly computer processors trying to execute cumbersome code will use more energy. But beyond that, poorly coded applications are just plain anti-social and have repercussions regarding your application’s longevity. It’s tought to use and frustasing to maintain. Blog Elegant Code says it best : http://elegantcode.com/2010/06/06/the-best-code-you-will-ever-write

1. 11.  Let Michael Braungart and William McDonough blow your mind

Human-created design should mimic nature, argue Braungart an McDonough, in that our waste should be infinetely rcyclable, and a source of creativity rather than something toxic and to be avoided. Read their book Cradle to Cradle, and find them on TED and YouTube.

1. 12.  Green your office

Visit www.greenyouroffice.co.uk or similar to find out about sustainable office stationery. They even have a cleaning service that promises to keep it green.

Source : Arts Magazine September 2010

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