Chemicals have a been a theme for me over the past few weeks. First I had a reader inquiry challenging the idea that there could be any health risks from plastics in food and drink packaging. Then, I had a run-in with my son’s school over a new, portable classroom that wasn’t properly aired before his class started using it, making the indoor air of very questionable quality.

Plastics–are they OK?

A reader of my Designer’s Atlas of Sustainability wrote to challenge the idea that plasticizers and other chemical additives in plastic could cause a health hazard. She argued that with today’s strict regulations there is no risk of harm from plastic food packaging.

In the book I talk about about a range of issues concerning plastics and more generally, chemicals. For example, I discuss downcycling and suggest that plastic drink bottles remade into textiles contain chemicals that aren’t intended for contact with skin. I also note that there are nearly 100,000 chemicals in use, few of which have been tested, and given the way our eco-sphere works, these all end up back in the environment in one place (such as our bodies) or another.

In responding to this query I noted that recent research (reported in the Guardian Newspaper) adds to the evidence that substances contained in many common plastics, including rubber used to make clogs, are absorbed through skin contact. (The Guardian Newspaper also produced a special report called “Chemical World” a few years back that is still relevant).

However, the main problem with the chemicals is that not enough of them have been properly tested for health effects, and the result is that we only regulate chemicals that we know about. A classic example is BPA, a chemical additive found in bottled water containers, baby bottles and the like. Last year mounting evidence about adverse health effects from BPA caused it to be withdrawn from the market.

The long term solution to this problem is hatching in the Green Chemistry movement, which is aiming to put the burden of proof of safe chemicals on the manufacturers. Currently a chemical is innocent until proven guilty, however, there are simply too many chemicals and, based on the evidence we do have, no reason to assume their innocence. Proposed green chemistry policies also recognize that health problems might arise for interactive, multiple exposures.

Schools and chemicals

In confronting the school I also had some evidence to hand. Children are more susceptible to environmental contaminants because they breath more, relatively, than adults and they behave in ways that put them in closer contact with their surroundings (crawling on the floor, putting fingers in mouths etc.). Poor indoor air quality can result from a combination of factors, such as poor ventilation, chemical emissions from new construction and finishing materials, mold (particularly in carpets) and so forth.

Increasingly research is showing a positive link between good indoor air quality and better student health, behavior, attendance, and academic performance. More broadly, sustainable design in schools is showing similar benefits (particularly air quality in association with daylighting). For example, recently completed, sustainably designed high schools in Oregon (by Boora Architects) are showing these benefits.

In addition, there are several organizations concerned with school design, and not only indoor air quality. The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) has a good report on indoor air quality on its website, along with other resources. Together with the state of California, CHPS tested a number of materials for off-gassing of chemicals, and the findings are also available on the CHPS website in the Low Emitting Materials Table. In the UK there is a similar oganization, the CIBSE schools design group.

Another group concerned about schools, environmental contaminants, and health is the Children’s Environmental Health Network. Their report “ABCs of Healthy Schools” details many areas of concern for new school building as well as finding and eliminating problems in existing settings. The American Architectural Foundation also hosts the “Great Schools by Design” program that publishes a number of reports on their findings.

An Activist Challenge

With chemicals the main challenge is what we don’t know. There are some things we do know, such as some of the air quality or platicizer issues mentioned above, and where possible we can aim to make those problems and solutions more widely visible, and to disrupt routine practices that make use of bad chemicals. The struggle in this regard is that many of these bad chemicals are still legal, and many of the practices, such as putting children in an improperly ventilated new classroom, is also within regulations. My son’s school is “looking into” the issue, but it comes back to the point that as long as it meets regulation, there is little justification for remediation.

Here it makes sense to join up with groups, such as those mentioned above, that are already working on these issues. I’m reminded of a quotation from architect Teddy Cruz who, working on an affordable housing project with a nonprofit housing group, noted that part of the design process was explicitly political–to find a way to change regulation, “the project became a political instrument to change code” and the construction became a political framework.* But this kind of work is not contained within a single project. Cruz comments that although he has built a number of buildings, it takes time to build a political position.

For the many problems we don’t know about, we may need to consider more old fashioned collective action. For example, if you are a member of a professional design association (even if you’re not), urge your association to support green chemistry legislation so that individual consumers and designers are not stuck trying to find research to determine the safety of any given chemical.

* (see Journal of Architectural Education 2007, 60(4), “Introduction” and page 8 )

For those of you engaged in teaching various aspects of sustainable design, I want to let you to know about a new discussion list I’ve set up, SUSDESIGNTEACH (very elegant name, I know).

The list is open to anyone who is interested in discussing the challenges of teaching sustainable design. You can sign up to the discussion list here:
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=susdesignteach

For a slightly longer introduction to the list, see my short article here:
http://www.designers-atlas.net/disclist.html

In addition, I’ve issued an update to the Teaching Guide for my book, The Designer’s Atlas of Sustainability, with 9 new briefs and exercises covering the following topics: chemicals, climate change, holistic health, small changes, deep ecology, shrinkage (versus growth), sustainable consumption, time (long termism), and aging.

As with the full Teaching Guide, many of the briefs and exercises in the addendum are supported by a range of case studies, most of which are available online.  More information and free download here:
http://www.designers-atlas.net/teachguide.html

Q: What is the state of education in sustainable design at the university level?

A: It’s changing quickly. Ten years ago there were few programs that emphasized it, now there are many more. Some programs make it a particular focus, like the BA Product Design Sustainable Futures program where I used to teach (University College for the Creative Arts, U.K.). Other programs are maintaining a more “neutral” overall design focus, but adding individual classes or design briefs, on sustainability. Over the next decade I think we’ll see a lot more change as people gauge the expertise, emphasis and delivery needed for sustainable design.

Q: What’s the difference between green design and sustainable design, and how do these play out in the educational context?

A: “Green” or “eco” design is the practice of reducing or eliminating environmental impacts of design, whereas sustainable design is concerned with the environment, but also with social and economic issues. Design schools that take sustainable and green design to heart will ultimately have to articulate a vision for their program, not only in terms of the expertise they want in the faculty, but also the types of students they recruit and the employment their graduates gain.

what types of students will we recruit?
what skills should they learn?

For example, will your design program turn out business and legislative minded eco-designers that specialize in market competitiveness and compliance? Will it turn out social designers schooled in open source methods to facilitate “co-design” within communities? Will it turn out “service” designers (following the notion of replacing products with services) with special knowledge of hospitality and customer care? Ultimately I don’t think one program could offer all that and do it well. Eventually we’ll see specialties arising, particularly at the graduate level.

Q: What is needed to improve programs in this field?

A: There are a few things we need to think about. First, who can do the teaching? Although many design faculty members are interested and concerned about it, which is great, not many could turn around and deliver an astute, compelling class on it starting next week, the way they might be able to on “human factors in design” or “craft and materials.” A lot of people are now trying to “get up to speed,” and my teaching guide is meant to help that group as well as specialists. My experience is that sustainability isn’t a specialty that you can easily “buy in” to a faculty because for now, there aren’t that many specialists. Schools that invest in helping their faculties become experts will gain a long term advantage as prospective students and the wider economy assign higher value to sustainable outcomes.

Second, where will sustainable design graduates find jobs? Jobs in this field within industry are still relatively rare. That’s partly because many values associated with sustainability, such as social capital and natural capital, are not well reflected in the marketplace. Businesses have difficulty making money from it, so they don’t pursue it. The situation may change with more regulation or consumer pressure. Meanwhile, students who take sustainability to heart, who want to transform our current systems, immediately run up against a resistant industry. Yet there are other career paths for these graduates and we need to suggest more diverse models for design practice, models such as not-for-profit design studios, social enterprises, and public agencies.

Third, how long will it be before students arrive at college with a solid understanding of the ideas behind sustainability? Currently we have to begin at square one in teaching sustainability, which is difficult given the already crowded design curriculum. Over time elementary and secondary schools will probably include more on sustainability. But what message could we send now to prospective students about pre-requisite knowledge?

Q: What are some of the best examples of products that have been designed with sustainability principles in mind?

A: That’s a difficult one (see related post: “Q: best sustainable design examples?“). A design solution may hit the right cultural notes while overlooking significant ecological issues, such as a package design that helps elderly people but performs poorly in ecological terms. In my book I try to provide a framework for thinking about what makes a given example sustainable or not, on ecological, economic or cultural grounds.

Green design gets a lot of coverage, so let me highlight cultural sustainability, especially equity and long term well being. First, there’s humanitarian design work. This ranges from the eco-design housing solutions proposed for survivors of Hurricane Katrina to humanitarian products proposed by Project H Design or Design that Matters. Second, we’re seeing more investigation of design for the long term, from hundreds to thousands of years. An example is the Rosetta Disk, an analog object designed to last 2000 years to record the thousands of languages currently used on earth that are likely to be lost in the next 100 years. Third, fair trade and ethical sourcing are also surfacing more constructively with projects such as Rugmark, an effort to eliminate child labor in rug making, and “fashioning an ethical industry,” aimed at fashion design.

The long lasting Rosetta Disk

Q: Now that many design education programs are making strides toward sustainable design, what is the next big trend?

I think the next trend will be “social innovation” derived from improving our overall social capital (e.g. trust and social relationships). People are recognizing that we actually have a lot of good technology, but we don’t have the social means to apply it well. Energy efficiency is an obvious example; it saves money—yet many organizations aren’t doing it largely due to social and political obstacles.

Social innovation recognizes that even apparently technical and econonmic problems often have social solutions, so it looks to social relationships and social organizations for innovation, as opposed to relying on business and technology. We are already seeing “social enterprises,” organizations with primarily social agendas, oriented toward doing good without losing money, hence “non-loss” instead of “for profit” companiese (see related post “is there a fourth sector“). At the same time there are more new social “tools,” ranging from social networking to open source.

Consumption is a problem that requires largely social solutions

Social innovation poses a real challenge to designers who have traditionally focused on things (consumer goods, buildings) and selling things. I think we are going to see a shift toward exploring how design can facilitate relationships and social capital, perhaps using a “non loss” business model. Sustainable consumption is a good example of a problem that designers can’t solve by creating and selling more things. Consumption comes down to issues of meaning and identity, issues that have to be resolved primarily through social relations, not things. The question is, what kind of training do designers need to understand and enhance social innovation? We are just starting to ask that question now.

Second, I came across an article by Russell Fortmeyer in Architectural Record (november 2007) that profiles some designers who’ve become sustainability managers in architectural practices. Some of those interviewed for the piece suggest other strategies to would-be sustainable designers:

• Get involved in sustainable design outside your firm, for example by becoming active in the AIA’s Committee on the Environment (COTE), The IDSA’s environment section, or similar.
• Get involved in sustainability-oriented committees or groups that work on issues in the community where your firm operates. This benefits your knowledge base, but also gives your firm, even though it is you and not your firm participating, a certain profile. This profile may cause the topic of sustainability to come up in ways that don’t involve you brining it up.

With all the recent talk about climate change and stabilizing the climate quickly, there has also been a great deal of talk about the increase in “green” jobs. But last week I came across an interesting post on Worldchanging by Joel Makower titled “Where Are All the Clean, Green Jobs?” suggesting that the numbers of these jobs has actually not grown much. This confirms my suspicion that we are still at the “talk” stage and not at the “walk the talk” stage, meaning that by and large you have to go in to a job on a conventional path and apply an intelligent and sensitive strategy once you are in.

Q: I’ve recently graduated in design (architecture, industrial design, textile design, etc.) and I’m really interested in working in sustainability, but I don’t see any design jobs that really include it. Where can I find a job in sustainable design?

A: [This is part 2 of a 2-part answer.] In this second part of the answer I look at options for a job that concentrates on sustainability issues rather than the practice of design (and then evolving it into a design job) or the option of finding a design-related job in the public sector or in a consultancy that specializes in public and nonprofit client work.

Let’s look at the job that concentrates on sustainability or sustainable development. Let’s assume that through your design studies you pursued sustainability and even did a couple of specific sustainable design briefs; even better, let’s assume you used some of your history and theory classes to do additional research and further expand your knowledge of sustainability. You have substantive knowledge of the concepts underpinning sustainability and you have some visual evidence of your own original [design] thinking on the subject.

With a portfolio as well as a resume in hand, you will present a unique profile to prospective sustainable development employer, such as a nonprofit environmental or community organization. Although your design work will be intriguing to this prospective employer, it is unlikely to be part of the actual job. Although it looks great, your prospective employer probably won’t know what to do with it…You must of course present yourself as the candidate best suited to do the job, so you’ll probably need to position your design work as just an “added bonus” to your other credentials. Assuming you are equal to other candidates, this added bonus could put you over the top.

The Plan
Congratulations, you’re hired (for example, as a program coordinator for sustainable transport, an outreach manager for sustainable urban agriculture or a project assistant in sustainable energy). So, your challenge in this scenario is to have a strategy — a plan — for how to work design into your projects to an every increasing degree. The strategy must identify specific ways to introduce design. To bring more design into your job, you first have to find out where the entry points are. For example:

• How do your job’s issues tie in to your areas of design (eg interiors, arch, product, graphic) –if your area is interiors and you’re working on urban agriculture, the link might be residential kitchens, restaurants, farmers markets and supermarkets. How do the designs of these places help or hinder sustainable urban agriculture?
• How do the members of your organization (if it is a membership organization) connect to design – are any designers members? Do they connect the membership to their role as designers?
• Are there designers or design issues in the broader constituency of the group? What about funding organizations or partners – do any of them suggest tie ins for design
• What about the group’s opponents? Have the opponents used or picked up on any design issues related to the campaigns/projects? Do the opponents have weaknesses that a design approach could exploit?

Once you’ve found some links, then your task is to look at these links and find ways that design could further your organization’s goals in a solid way. Although your program or project may have some specific and largely “policy” or “awareness raising” goals, typically the policies and awareness are to achieve some sort of change. Going back to the urban agriculture example, the project might support local farmers getting better representation in supermarkets or create more local farmer’s markets, or create more school and home kitchen gardens. If you can demonstrate how design-related initiatives also accomplish these goals—perhaps accomplish them in an even more appealing way, then your ideas are likely to be considered, if not adopted the first few times around. Your ideas will of course be strengthed by case studies of similar or related design initiatives that accomplished parallel results (possibly not for sustainability, but perhaps for food sales, gardens, or supermarkets).

Where do you go to find jobs in “sustainability”? Most cities and regions are now producing at least one “green/sustainable directory” that lists the range of environmental and social groups, companies and government agencies that work on sustainability issues. Sometimes you can find specific internship programs, for example here in London we have the London Sustainability Exchange which has recently announced an internship matching program.

What about a government job?
Another approach for designers to consider is to seek out a design practice that specializes in public sector work, since public sector work often has higher benchmarks for sustainability, and if it doesn’t, the case is easier to make in the public sector. It is also possible to find sustainable design jobs in the public sector. In architecture, for example, more and more public agencies are adopting sustainable building policies, setting up sustainable construction programs to guide their citizens and becoming involved in a range of related initiatives (eg LEED, energy star etc.). Architects, landscape architects and related professions often work on these efforts as employees of cities, counties or states.

Industrial designers will find that city, county and state waste management groups are increasingly interested in product design. In fact these groups should be called “solid resources management” instead of “solid waste management” because that is what they will ultimately have to be. These groups are worried about reducing product-related hazardous chemicals, increasing recyclability, promoting the “take back” of products by manufacturers, and reducing the overall flow of products into landfill. An industrial designer who shares these concerns could find interesting challenges in solid resource/waste management. You can imagine similar scenarios in graphic design, interiors, landscape and so on.

Over to you
It’s probably safe to say that design is a relatively untapped resource in the context of environmental campaign groups and public agencies. However, it is also probably safe to say that designers are typically not educated in how to deliver their services in these contexts – so that is where you will have to apply yourself. What is the best strategy for bringing design more fully into these folds? I’ve given you a few ideas, but as you find out more, please let me know.

Q: I’ve recently graduated in design (architecture, industrial design, textile design, etc.) and I’m really interested in working in sustainability, but I don’t see any design jobs that really include it. Where can I find a job in sustainable design?

A: [This is part 1 of a 2-part answer.] Unfortunately at the entry level in the private sector, there simply aren’t that many jobs that obviously and directly involve sustainable design. Even at a senior level, the number of qualified, talented and experienced people who would like to have sustainable design jobs outstrips the number of those jobs. But we need to qualify this idea by saying that there aren’t many jobs that involve sustainable design to start with. You have several options for creating sustainable design jobs and I’ll get to those in a moment.

First recall the main reason why there are relatively few jobs that offer you opportunities to pursue holistic sustainable design; although sustainability aligns with many people’s personal values, a number of important sustainability objectives, such as breathable air, a stable climate or happy families, simply lie outside the private sector. It is difficult to make money from them and so, until they are legislated or until a company addresses “social” responsibility, it is hard to justify pursuing these aspects of sustainability in a for-profit organization (see more about this in “activism and the economy” as well as in The Designer’s Atlas of Sustainability). Having said that, however, there are also some aspects of sustainability that do save money (such as energy efficiency), attract customers or otherwise improve the bottom line.

So where to find that sustainable design job? Here are three options: First, you could opt for a conventional design job, and then adopt a strategic approach to sustainability. Second, you could opt for a job that concentrates on sustainability issues rather than the practice of design. This approach requires you to adopt a strategic approach to practicing design. Third, you could find a design-related job in the public sector or in a consultancy that specializes in public and nonprofit client work. In part one of this answer, I’ll address the first option. In part two (forthcoming) of the answer I’ll address options two and three.

Let’s take a closer look at what I mean by “a strategic attitude.” The term “strategy” suggests having a plan for where you want to go and how you will get there. If you are in a conventional design job, then your strategy is a plan for how to work sustainability into your projects to an every increasing degree. The strategy must identify specific ways to introduce sustainability.

Lets consider a couple of examples. You’re in an organization where your boss (or leaders of the company, for argument’s sake we’ll say your boss) dismiss sustainability as a fad or worse, as hopelessly difficult, ugly and compromised design. Or perhaps your boss assumes sustainable design is too complicated and he/she doesn’t have the expertise in that area and doesn’t have the time to get the expertise. Depending on the specifics of the company, here are some possible elements of your strategy

Your competitors, your industry – what are they up to sustainability-wise?
Is there a way to get your boss interested in sustainability because competitors or your industry-at-large are involved. Are there competitors or parts of the industry that your boss particularly admires, and if so do those parts of the industry have anything to do with sustainability? You want to find examples that are already pleasing to your boss for some reason, and then be able to use that appeal as a way of introducing sustainability. For example suppose you’re in an architectural practice specializing in high end residential projects. You study your boss’s opinions about recent work (say in the architectural magazines) and recent award winners, then you try to find some sustainable design examples that fit the pattern (for ideas about finding example see Q: best sustainable design examples).

If your boss is of the “its-too-complicated” school, then find out how your competitors/industry is managing it. Are they using certain tools (such as rating systems or software analysis packages) or are they working with certain types of consultants? Are they getting help from “champions” (such as progressive clients, government agencies or nonprofit groups) and so on. Have any groups associated with your industry developed kits, tools or resource packs on sustainability issues that you can get? Consider how your boss could benefit from these tools/consultants/champions/kits to tackle sustainability in your company.

Compliance – what regulations are coming down the pike?
What types of sustainably-oriented practices, materials and behaviors in your industry do governments recommend and honor with awards, and how long will it be until those behaviors etc. will be required by regulation? How have activists criticized your industry, perhaps even lobbying government to regulate your industry more tightly? Are there areas where the groups that represent your industry, or your clients industry (eg homebuilder’s association, electronics manufacturers, etc.) are lobbying? All of these are indicators of future regulatory changes in your industry that smart companies will address strategically before they are forced to adopt a government-dictated solution. Consider how your boss could strategically deal with the upcoming regulatory environment by being more progressive in sustainability terms.

Activism – what does the company and its employees care about?
What are the company’s values? What about the values of your company’s clients?
Find out how the company’s values and the individual employee’s values link to sustainability. For example, does the company have a “social responsibility” statement? ), what does the company fund through philanthropy? What do the people who work there care about? For example, have they personally experienced cancer (possible link to toxins in the environment) outdoor sports (links to the natural environment) overseas unrest (links to fair trade or economic justice)? Are any activist groups trying to get your industry to change and would they help you be proactive, rather than attacking your company’s poor performance? Look at this same range of issues for your clients and see if you can find the specific links back to sustainability—signs that your client is interested in sustainability and thus might be open to sustainable design.

Once you find the possible “ways in” to sustainable design keep in mind that you can apply them to specific projects as well as to an overall approach to practice. Bu you have to be ready to introduce the “ways in” them when opportunities arise. Consider where these opportunities might arise given the routines of your workplace. Would it be better to plant the idea casually first, then force the issue when a client opportunity arises? Or would it make sense to bring it up only if an application is to hand? You have to gage your approach to your own workplace.

If you think a client might be sympathetic to sustainable design – find an opportunity to make the case to your colleagues so you can pitch to the client. If you find some sustainable design examples that you think will appeal to your boss’ sensibility, introduce them during an office lull or leave photocopies with a short note. Practice with a friend or sympathetic colleague some phrases you could use to introduce one of your “ways in.” Then begin introducing them. If one doesn’t work, move on knowing that at least you have put down one paving stone while also demonstrating your willingness to exceed your job description in looking for benefits for your company/boss.

As more paving stones are put down, eventually a “way in” will emerge, or the expertise you have developed in the process will earn you a different job. After all, the process I’ve described helps you build a network, and it is through networks that most jobs are found.

Pursuing this kind of smart strategy makes you more than just an entry level designer – it makes you an agent of change. Have you tried these or other approaches? How did it work for you?

Q: what do you think are some of the best examples of sustainable design around today?

A: I think there are a lot of interesting examples out there, some that are working well and some that perhaps failed but still offer good lessons. The purpose of the Atlas has not been to declare which examples are best, but rather to provide some framework for thinking about what makes a given example sustainable or not, on ecological, economic or cultural grounds. A design solution may hit the right cultural notes while overlooking significant ecological issues. For example, a packaging design might drastically improve accessibility for elderly or otherwise impaired users, while at the same time perform poorly in ecological terms.

by what criteria are they “sustainable”?

As I mention in another answer, sustainability is also very context specific. Something that we would see as “sustainable” for a tropical city may not look so sustainable in a nordic one, for example. This sensitivity to context is another factor that makes me hesitant to promote generalized “good examples.”

On the other hand, there are times when you just need a specific example (or many) to communicate the ideas. After all, visualizing new solutions, exploring alternative futures in three dimensions — this is the power of design. But new examples are appearing all the time and few people can track all of them. The real question here is: how do you find good examples when you need them? I tend to use a few different approaches.

For architecture I typically turn to one of the organizations that work on highlighting good examples. For instance, there are several systems now that rate building sustainability. Buildings rated “platinum” by LEED (in the US) or “excellent” by BREEAM (in the UK) are generally good examples, although even these systems and their results have some critics. Similarly the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has an annual award for “green design” that highlights good examples. Some progressive and well respected newspapers that cover architectural design will produce annual top-ten green architecture lists (for example The Guardian newspaper in England). These are some places to start your search.

There are fewer systematic ratings or awards for sustainable product design. Although MBDC has released the “Cradle to Cradle” rating system, at this stage its scope is limited. Products are also challenging because they change so often. A good design this year may go out of production next year in favor of a new model. When I need to find examples of sustainable product design I use several different strategies, as I outline below.

Certification systems and standards
There are a number of third party systems for certifying products and materials. For example, sustainably harvested wood is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which develops a chain of custody for certified wood. Energy efficient appliance can earn an “energy star” rating or exceed appliance energy efficiency standards. Other systems deal with fair trade, recycled content material, organic material and so forth. Sometimes looking into these standards will yield good examples, or particularly aggressive efforts along one of these lines.

Individual activists and nonprofit groups
Typically there are individual design activists, such as William McDonough and Michael Braungart or Amory and Hunter Lovins, that are known for their pioneering work in greening products and buildings. Kate Fletcher is an expert on sustainable fashion and textiles. It’s worth checking to see what they and others like them are up to—recent projects, writings and what they think are good examples. Nonprofit environmental groups also get involved in products or materials. For example Greenpeace has looked at PVC-free products and materials and other chemical concerns. The group Greenblue has various product-related initiatives. The group Fashioning an Ethical Industry works on ethics in the fashion industry. And there are others; Design Feast offers a good webliography on sustainable and activist design. I also list a range of groups and centers working on sustaianble design here.

Companies
There are companies that have a reputation for pursuing sustainable design more aggressively than usual. We hope this roster is growing all the time. At the moment I’m aware of some interesting work going on within companies such as Wilkahn (Germany), Nike, Nokia, Patagonia, IKEA, and Philips. I’m sure there are many more and as you get into the field you may become more aware of the industry leaders relevant to your work. I rarely start at the company’s corporate web pages. I typically start with an internet search on google (or increasingly dogpile.com) using as search terms the company or product name + “sustainable design” (or “recycled material”, “reuse” or “sustainable product” etc.). This search approach will sometimes turn up critiques and articles about companies and their work.

In summary, these are a few of the methods I use to find good examples. What methods do you use? What activists would you add to the list I’ve given? It’s important to ask around, keep checking to update your examples and also to do your own analysis on how “sustainable” any given building or product is.