Welcome to the AIGA Center for Sustainable Design
Sustainability is a growing concern for designers everywhere. Over the last year, the urgency attached to this issue has been elevated by several high-profile books, movies, business initiatives and general press coverage. Renewable energy sources are touted in ads, and alternative fuel sources are appearing on ballot initiatives. In the world of design communications, postconsumer content is a given and it's becoming increasingly difficult to remember a time when paper (and even printers) were not FSC certified.
Sustainability's move towards the mainstream is a very positive thing. In order for sustainable thinking (and practice) to have the desired effect, it must be embraced as a way of life by individuals, businesses and governments alike. However, sustainability is a complex issue, and in order to better serve the companies for whom they work—or in order to help determine what those companies are doing in this regard—designers need to become more knowledgeable.
The AIGA Center for Sustainable Design is dedicated to providing designers with a wide range of information regarding sustainable business practice. Through case studies, interviews, resources and discourse, this site will encourage and support designers as they incorporate sustainable thinking into their professional lives. AIGA is providing leadership in several ways: our operations have been certified carbon neutral, we are making the travel offsets used for AIGA travel available for individual member purchase, and soon, there will be an impact calculator by which you can determine the ecological consequences of your activities (see the Greening AIGA section). In addition, local chapter-based "Green Salons" will stimulate thinking throughout the national membership, channeling that discourse back through the Center's discussion forum for further elucidation and commentary.
In his latest book, Collapse, Jared Diamond (the author of Guns, Germs and Steel) presents a sobering historical perspective on the mind set that defines our current situation: much of our daily lifestyle is unsustainable. At the end of the book—in the much welcome "Reasons for Hope" chapter—Diamond declares that "the increasing diffusion of environmental thinking by the public around the world... through growing diversity of increasingly effective organizations" is one of the principal reasons for hope. It is in the spirit of such hope that the Center for Sustainable Design invites you to join the conversation.
Please review the materials, contribute to the discussion forum, sign up for the mailing list and suggest additional content and/or resources. To become—and remain—a vital resource, the site is reliant upon member participation. So welcome, please visit often, and please tell others. Spread the word.
Posted by sustainability in General | December 1, 2006
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