Overview

Design Victoria is committed to helping small to medium enterprises build their competitive advantage through design-led innovation and excellence. Sustainable by Design focuses on improving sustainability performance with design being the catalyst to achieve this success.

Minister's Foreword Design can play a key role in making business sustainability a practical reality. Victorian businesses are well placed to make changes that can help maximise their sustainability performance and minimise their environmental impact. SMEs are known for their ability to innovate in all sorts of ways - from product design and development through to service delivery and intelligent logistics. Sustainability is now part of the competitive landscape that requires companies to seek continual improvement through smart, effective and efficient strategies. Design Victoria is a key resource and enabling agency to help ensure that design-oriented SMEs have access to practical and timely knowledge about how to approach environmental issues and business sustainability in a commercial setting. This 'How To' web site is one of several Design Victoria initiatives focussed on the greening of design and business in Victoria. It features guidelines, tips, advice and additional information resources to help your business become environmentally aware and solution oriented. I welcome you to the Design Victoria kit/web site, and encourage you to review and adopt the ideas and actions put forward. Many of them are straightforward measures involving little or no additional cost, yet they can help transform your business into an environmentally smart operation with a distinct competitive edge. Gavin Jennings MLC Minister for Innovation and Sustainability

Sustainable outcomes demand practical measures relevant to local conditions.

Realistic action on environmental issues is a positive way of operating your business – small, medium or large. Reducing impacts and maximising efficiency can deliver measurable cost savings, as well as help build your competitiveness and profitability.

The aim of this ‘How to Kit’ on Sustainability is to highlight the economic, environmental and social value of addressing environmental factors in the creation of products, services and spaces.

The tips and guidelines in this kit have an operational focus and will help to improve overall environmental management in your business. Wherever relevant, the kit also highlights the role of good design in helping deliver quality outcomes that are environmentally preferable.

Most of all, Design Victoria is committed to helping businesses build their competitive advantage through the smart integration of environmental considerations.

Credits

Sustainable by Design has been collaboratively developed with leading sustainability industry specialists. Design Victoria would like to acknowledge the following organisations and individuals for their time and 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

 

 

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