Join Yasmin Borain, Head of Experience Design at Publicis Sapient, and Jani Cortesini, Creative Strategy Lead at Google Zoo, for a hands-on workshop on how to use design to help achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
In September 2015, the General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). All organisations and individuals in the world have a responsibility to collaborate and make sure we achieve them together.
More and more, people want brands to make a positive contribution to society but it is also our responsibility as designers to make sure this happens through the products and services we create.
Don’t miss this inspiring and interactive day where you will learn how to use Design as a way of solving existing customer and business problems, that also contribute to the achievement of SDGs goals. You will learn more about the latest technology and inspiring case studies around sustainability from some major organisations, and you’ll also work on real client briefs and create solutions that will help organisations achieve customers, business and brand needs that have a real purpose.
This workshop will show you how to develop your strategic thinking around sustainability and brand purpose, to help brands connect people to values and have an impact in the world.
https://interaction20.ixda.org/program/06-designing-sustainable-brands
3. Today
9:00 Sustainability goals and why they are important 15 min
9:15 Inspiration: How to become a sustainable brand 30 min
9:45 Break 5 min
9:50 The brief 15 min
Ideation: Google Design Sprint 2 hrs 20 min
10:05 Define the problem 30 min
10:20 Concepting 35 min
10:40 Prioritise and refine 15 min
10:55 Bring it to life 1 hr
12:25 Pitch your idea 30 min
12:55 Winners and wrap up 5 min
9. Only talking about your own sustainability
values as a brand isn’t enough.
People want brands
to help them live their
values and beliefs.
10. USA+UK
Consumers want
brands to help them
make a difference
88%
I don’t know
Harder
Easier
29%
28%
43%
Source: http://www.project-everyone.org, Survey of 1,004
Yes
No
Do brands make it easier
or harder for you to be
environmentally friendly
& ethical in your daily life?
Would you like brands
to help you be more
environmentally friendly
& ethical in your daily life?
11. "55% of consumers believe
companies have a more
important role than
governments today in
creating a better future."
Havas Meaningful Brands Report, 2019
12. Sustainable
hauls, zero-
waste swaps and
houseplant tours
are just a few of
the new types of
videos we’re
seeing crop up
on YouTube.
190% increase
year over year in
uploads of haul
videos on
YouTube with
'sustainable' in the
title and a 13X
increase in views
of those videos
Views for YouTube
videos related to
sustainable living
that provide tips
for being more
eco-friendly
doubled in 2018
compared to 2017
Last October, we
saw a 7X increase
in monthly views
of videos with
'clean beauty’
in the title
Source: https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-gb/advertising-channels/video/youtube-viewers-are-
going-green-here-are-3-things-that-marketers-need-to-know/
13. As designers we have the
responsibility to respond to
this customer behaviour
and infuse sustainability
concepts into the products
and services we design.
15. A sustainable brand is one
that has successfully
integrated environmental,
economic and social issues
into its business operations.
16. Being a
sustainable
means ...
Modifying part(s)
of your operation
Transforming your ecosystem,
impacting your wider business
Broadening your mission, acting
fearlessly & providing a platform
for others to influence change
18. Waitrose has gone 100%
plastic free on 200 product
lines in it’s Botley Road Store
in Oxford, England
The store offers refill options for fruit and veg, wine and
beer, frozen food and detergent & washing up liquids - plus
other innovative ideas such as dedicated veg preparation
stations where chefs are available to chop and prepare food
ready for cooking (cutting down on plastic packaging
around chopped veg)
Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Waitrose_token.jpg
23. Cotton accounts for 25
percent of all fibres
used by the fashion
industry, with a notable
impact on water and
pesticide use.
Viscose production is smaller but growing in
demand, and has links to the destruction of
forests—some endangered—which are critical in
mitigating carbon emissions.
Source: https://www.woodmac.com/research/products/chemicals-polymers-
fibres/fibres/synthetic-fibres/
24. Using data analytics and
machine learning on
Google Cloud, they’re
planning to track the
environmental impact of
cotton and viscose.
Their goal: create a tool that can quantify even the
most obscure links in the fashion supply chain.
25. Environmental Impact
Social Impact
Have a
positive impact for
everyone that we
depend on and
those who depend
on us
We challenge and
push boundaries
to make luxurious
products beautiful
and sustainable
Brand
purpose
People
needs
World
impact
27. We’re in business
to save our home planet.
Our Reason for Being
At Patagonia, we appreciate that all life on Earth is under threat of extinction. We aim to us the resources
we have – our businesses, our investments, our voice and our imaginations–to do something about it.
28. Core values
Our values reflect those of a
business started by a band of
climbers and surfers, and the
minimalist style they promoted.
The approach we take toward
product design demonstrates a
bias for simplicity and utility,
Build the best
product
Our criteria for the best product
rests on function, reparability, and,
foremost, durability. Among most
direct ways we can limit ecological
impacts is with goods that last for
generations or can be recycled so
the materials in them remain in
use. Making the best product
matters for saving the planet.
Cause no
unnecessary harm
We know that our business
activity–from lighting stores to
dyeing shirts–is part of the
problem. We work steadily to
change our business practices and
share what we’ve learned. But we
recognise that this is not enough.
We seek not only to do less harm,
but more good.
Use business to
protect nature
The challenges we face as
a society require leadership. Once
we identify a problem,
We’re part of the problem. A recent report in the
journal Nature identifies different regions of the
world where fossil fuels should not be extracted
if our planet’s temperature is to remain below
the 2 degree Celsius mark. But fossil fuels like
those that end up in our jackets are commodities,
and despite Patagonia having a much deeper
knowledge of our supply chain than most
companies in our industry, we still have no way
to know where those fossil fuels were extracted.
As a result, we can’t say how much damage we
cause with each jacket we make with
nonrecycled polymers. What we do know is that
making them all contributors to climate change
and moves the planet closer to the temperature
tipping point.
29.
30. What it means to be a
committed company
2002 Started 1% for the planet
2011 Created ‘Don’t buy this jacket’
2014 Dissolution of their CSR and sustainability
department
2016 Sued the President to protect two national
monuments in Utah
2017 Launched Worn Wear
2018 Joined youth movement for climate action and
introduced Patagonia Acition Works online platform
31. What it means to be a
committed company
2002 Started 1% for the planet
2011 Created ‘Don’t buy this jacket’
2014 Dissolution of their CSR and sustainability
department
2016 Sued the President to protect two national
monuments in Utah
2017 Launched Worn Wear
2018 Joined youth movement for climate action and
introduced Patagonia Acition Works online platform
32. Climate actions
Environmental impact
Labour conditions
Animal welfare
Energise and empower
people to act and
make change happen
Provide transparency
to educate people
regarding
environmental and
social issues
We’re in
business
to save our
home planet
Brand
purpose
People
needs
World
impact
33. Sustainability is no longer only a strategic differentiator.
Today, brands incorporate it into
their organization's thinking and
values to have a greater impact
on their business and deliver
lifetime benefits to customers
and society.
37. Environmental Impact
Social Impact
Help people consume
less to lighten our
environmental
footprint
Empower consumers
to be part of the
change
Make sustainable
living commonplace
Brand
purpose
People
needs
World
impact
38. Unilever briefs
Goal:
By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
How might we:
Empower and
incentivise citizens, local
communities to take
control, raise awareness,
and lobby for action on
water quality?
1 Help consumers use
less water and/or make
water recycling easier,
and more acceptable?
2 Drive awareness of and
empower consumers to
take action on the water
impact of their foods?
3
39. Unilever brief 1
How might we:
Empower and
incentivise citizens,
local communities
to take control, raise
awareness, and
lobby for action on
water quality?
Key insights:
• The World Bank are calling it
the invisible water crisis: In
both developed & developing
countries alike, a combination
of bacteria, raw sewage,
chemicals, and plastics are
sucking oxygen from water
supplies and transforming
rivers and lakes water into
poison for people and
ecosystems
• Sources of contamination are
multiple and varied: poor
sanitation, unregulated
industry, agricultural fertiliser
run off, plastics …
Who will we engage?
Citizens, governments, companies,
and farmers
Source: http://en.handyshower.pl/wasting-water/ and
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2019/08/20/quality-unknown
40. Unilever brief 2
How might we:
Help consumers
use less water
and/or make water
recycling easier,
and more
acceptable?
Key insights:
• Recycling of water can take
many forms: from reuse of
shower water to large scale
municipal recycling schemes, at
the end of the day all water is
recycled
• Toilet-to-Tap water (otherwise
know as recycled or reclaimed
water) is often met with a ‘yuk’
reaction, despite being 100%
clean & safe
• By 2030 it is projected that
there will be a 40% gap
between water supply and
demand. Water recycling will
be an essential to ensure
available and sustainable
management of water for all
Who will we engage?
Citizens, water providers, and
businesses
Source:
https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/dotcom/client_service/sustainabilit
y/pdfs/charting%20our%20water%20future/charting_our_water_future_full_report
_.ashx
41. Unilever brief 3
How might we:
Drive awareness of
and empower
consumers to take
action on the water
impact of their
foods?
Key insights:
• The average direct water used by
a European is 140 litres. But much
more is embedded in our foods
and materials (3291 litres (x23)
for a ‘healthy European diet)
• For instance, it takes 140 litres to
make 1 cup of coffee, 170 litres
for a pint of beer, 320 litres of
water to grow 1 avocado. A big %
of our avocados are grown in
areas that are suffering with
severe water shortages (e.g.
Chile)
• Our choice of food has the
potential to have impacts on
water availability in countries
across the world
Who will we engage?
Citizens, chefs/restaurants, and
businesses
Source: https://www.eea.europa.eu/signals/signals-2018-content-list/articles/water-use-in-
europe-2014 and https://old.danwatch.dk/en/undersogelseskapitel/how-much-water-does-
it-take-to-grow-an-avocado/ and https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-
business/gallery/how-much-water-to-make-food-drink
42. Unilever briefs
Goal:
By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe & affordable drinking water for all
Brief 2: How might we
Help consumers use less water and/or
make water recycling easier, and more
acceptable?
Brief 1: How might we
Empower and incentivise citizens,
local communities to take control,
raise awareness, and lobby for action
on water quality?
Brief 3: How might we
Drive awareness of and empower
consumers to take action on the
water impact of their foods?
Key insights
Recycling of water can take many forms: from reuse of
shower water to large scale municipal recycling
schemes, at the end of the day all water is recycled
Toilet-to-Tap water is often met with a ‘yuk’ reaction,
despite being 100% safe and clean
By 2030 it is projected that there will be a 40% gap
between water supply and demand. Water recycling
will be an essential to ensure available and sustainable
management of water for all
Key insights
The World Bank are calling it the invisible water
crisis: In both developed & developing countries
alike, a combination of bacteria, raw sewage,
chemicals, and plastics are sucking oxygen from
water supplies and transforming rivers and lakes
water into poison for people and ecosystems
Sources of contamination are multiple and varied:
poor sanitation, unregulated industry, agricultural
fertiliser run off, plastics …
Key insights
The average direct water used by a European is 140 litres. But
much more is embedded in our foods and materials (3291 litres
(x23) for a ‘healthy European diet)
For instance, it takes 140 litres to make 1 cup of coffee, 170 litres
for a pint of beer, 320 litres of water to grow 1 avocado. A big %
of our avocados are grown in areas that are suffering with severe
water shortages (e.g. Chile)
By 2030 it is projected that there will be a 40% gap between
water supply and demand. Water recycling will be an essential to
ensure available and sustainable management of water for all
Who will we engage?
Citizens, water providers, and businesses
.
Who will we engage?
Citizens, governments, companies, and farmers
Who will we engage?
Citizens, chefs/restaurants, and businesses
47. 10 min
Discuss with your group
10 min
Individually write ways into the
problem as How might we?
statements
10 min
3 votes each as dots, pick your top
3 as a team
48. Too broad
HMW make water clean globally?
Just right
10 min
HMW eliminate the presence of
specific chemicals in drinking
water?
Question an assumption
HMW make unsafe water visible to
anyone?
Remove the bad
HMW incentivise people to share
images of water?
Amp up the good
HMW make tracking water quality a fun
learning opportunity?
Explore the opposite
HMW get people to look at other
signals for water quality beyond water?
59. Thank you
Yasmin Borain
Head of Experience Design, Publicis Sapient
linkedin: /yasminborain
twitter: @coelestine
email: yasmin.borain@publicissapient.com
Jani Cortesini
Creative Strategy Lead, Google
linkedin: /jcortesini
twitter: @jcortestini
email: jcortesini@google.com