There are certain elements that are essential for designers and design to lead the sustainability sector, the 5 E's - Equality, Economy, Ecology, Elegance, and Enjoyment.
It is interesting that the sustainable design movement has been led mainly so far by architects. This is probably because we architects are involved in the landscape and the work we do is more permanent. This means that the buildings we design send signals that affect the landscape and people over many, many years, which inevitably makes us more interested in the 5 E's.
The world of industrial design is different, though. New products launch in a short period of time, and we always expect the next product to be better. This could be the reason there hasn't been a very solid approach to sustainability in the past. It has been possible, of course, to create elegant and economical products that everyone could enjoy equally, even with conventional standards. But these products lacked ecological intelligence.
By incorporating the Cradle to CradleSM concept, the five E's will be integrated in the products created from here on out. To enjoy ecology, it's vital that the other four E's are also in play. Most people separate out each of the E's. But we can't do that. We have to integrate all of the E's into a single product.
I'd like to go into ecological intelligence in design a bit more. The great thing about design is that it's a manifestation of human intention. There are no limitations of scale like time or space in a flash of inspiration or an idea.
We look at design on a microscopic scale and realize that a product should be safe and healthy and good for the planet at the molecular level. Then we broaden our perspective and ask the question, "What can we do to make this product safe and healthy for all generations to come?" We can even expand this scale further. We have the Earth, and we have the sun. The Sun gives us 5,000 times more energy than we need to power human systems. The Cradle to CradleSM concept is to use sustainable, natural energy and links every aspect to the growth of living organisms and the regeneration of products to design on every scale, from the molecular to the cosmic.
I'm not saying that every product must be solar-powered tomorrow. In fact, Cradle to CradleSM emphasizes the idea of transitions. But it is important to have a vision of what our objective is, of where we're going. I think that whether or not a company envisions this strategy will impact the future of manufacturers and their designs in a major way.
The ultimate question for designers to ask themselves is, "Will it make the world a better place?" This is not simply a question of whether some new form has made my world better. The question is, "Did it actually improve my quality of life?"
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