Features / Sponsored Feature
Sustainable Design – Bristol leading the way?
Bristol is a hub for the creative industries. However, with the focus on the city as European Green Capital, are they embracing sustainability principles and practice? With their mutual focus on driving innovation, creativity and a better quality of life, sustainability and design would seem to be natural bedfellows. However, is this really the reality?
I asked Lynne Elvins, Bristol-based specialist in sustainable design, about this.
“There is certainly a gap for many design agencies between their interest and desire to be more sustainable versus their internal understanding and application of sustainability,” Lynne says.
“There are many ways to embed sustainability strategy and actions into the design process and creative teams. This can provide opportunities, such as more innovative ideas and new relationships with clients. Too many agencies wait for clients to ask for sustainable design, when many clients are ready for it, but don’t know what the design options could be. There’s a real opportunity for designers to take a front seat.”
Sustainability market leaders in the corporate world now recognise the key role it plays as part of a competitive market strategy.
96 per cent of CEOs surveyed the the UN Global Compact back in 2010 said they thought sustainability should be fully embedded in strategies and operation.
Nike’s human rights supply chain failures in the 1990s forced them to address sustainability issues. The company has now made it a driver of their design strategies. This of course is used to shape their products and the materials they use, but also all their stakeholder relationships as well as future business development strategy.
So if any Bristol creatives want to explore the opportunities to develop sustainability, we are offering a free sustainability health check, tailored to design agencies, to identify if and how they can improve on their social and environmental performance.
It’s an exciting time be developing your sustainability offer in Bristol with lots of opportunities to engage and learn as part of Green Capital year, including Bristol Big Green Week this month from June 6 to 21. Let us know if you want any help getting your business involved and making the most of them.
Traci Lewis is Director of Sustain-Live a Bristol-based sustainable development consultancy, helping local businesses and organisations to be more sustainable. Email traci@sustainlive.org www.sustainlive.org or telephone 07870 268 654