Design Victoria is committed to helping small to medium enterprises (SMEs) build their competitive advantage through design-led innovation and excellence. Sustainable By Design – a practical online resource for SMEs focuses on improving sustainability performance with design being the catalyst to achieve this success.
Design for sustainability is a dynamic capability through which Victorian businesses can respond to new and emerging market opportunities both domestically and globally, generating enhanced performance and greater competitiveness.
It is important for businesses to recognise that sustainable design is not about dismissing the fundamental principles of design-led innovation, simply in favour of environmental gains. Design for sustainability is about delivering the best results possible - in both form and function, without compromising quality or the environment and unnecessarily increasing costs.
Key areas covered in Sustainable By Design include:
- Design-related opportunities for building sustainability into your business
- How sustainability impacts on business and what businesses can do to improve their environmental performance
- Greening the supply chain. Ways to make sustainable procurement a reality
- Energy - maximising efficiency, minimising your carbon footprint
- Water - how to maximise efficiency and consume less
- Reduce, reuse and recycle. Waste avoidance and materials efficiency
- Transport - moving goods, services and people using less fuel
- Best-practice environmental communications and marketing
- Jargon buster - learn the sustainability lingo to communicate accurately and effectively with clients; and
- Additional sources to assist with advice and support.
Sustainable By Design has been collaboratively developed with leading industry specialists. Design Victoria would like to acknowledge the following organisations and individuals for their expertise in developing this valuable online resource.
- Lyndon Anderson, Swinburne University of Technology
- Doug Buckle, Buzz Creative Product Agency
- Anna Carlile, Viola Design
- Kel Dummett, Sustainability Victoria
- John Gertsakis, WSP Environmental
- Ralph Horne, Centre for Design, RMIT University
- Kate Nicolazzo, VECCI
- Phil Slattery, Sustainability Victoria
Click here to access the Sustainable By Design website
'It is estimated that 70% of a product’s environmental impact is determined at the design stage. Designers and product developers are in a key position to influence and reduce these impacts, often through straightforward methods'.
Design for Sustainability – D4S and WPS Environmental.
Related Links
Swinburne University of Technology — www.swin.edu.au
Buzz Creative Product Agency — www.buzzproducts.com
Viola Design — www.violadesign.com.au
Sustainability Victoria — www.sustainability.vic.gov.au
WSP Environmental — www.wspgroup.com
Centre for Design — www.cfd.rmit.edu.au
VECCI — www.vecci.org.au
21 November 2008