What Have You Done for Green Lately?

July 09, 2008 0 Comments

At our July BuzZ we had about a dozen attendees interested in going “green” at work. We hosted this event to be a jump start in implementing more “green salons” and share sustainable design information with the Charlotte design community. It is important as designers, since we’re the ones communicating to the world, we should learn more about environmental responsibility and take the lead in developing solutions. We can use our talents and insights to help people understand what they can do.

We started off by questioning the room, What have you done for green lately?
And had an array of fascinating responses. Personally, I was never a “treehugger “kind of person and I probably still use a good amount of toxic and non-environmentally friendly products but I am trying. My husband and I are building an eco-friendly condo and are learning more each day to live more sustainable. What we have done to “be more green” is we have started using more earth friendly household cleaning supplies and are researching worm composters for our new home. Another attendee, advocates green to clients and works hard on how to get them to buy in. We learned that our very own Charlotte Convention Center makes several sustainable efforts by employing a strict AC monitoring system, caters events with locally grown and/or organic foods and uses plastic cups made from corn. Others had recently hired companies to pick up their recycled paper at their offices and we had one attendee, a self-proclaimed “obsessive recycler”, who goes so far as to take paper home from work to ensure it’s recycled. A few others shared their recycled paper stories which were quite innovative such as creating annual reports and notepads out of their recycled paper. The AIGA Charlotte executive board actually uses old swatchbooks and design magazines to create our business cards. Most of us agreed that we all have or were about to switch to “greener” cleaning products, becoming more aware to eat more organic and locally grown foods and discussed the cost savings switching from incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescents (CFLs - which can now be recycled at Home Depot). Some steps others have taken in their offices were to use reusable containers, utensils and cups vs. throwing disposable ones away each time. Lastly, we learned of a local architecture firm’s in-house marketing team recently launched an internal sustainable platform that addressed how to be more sustainable at work, as an organization and in employees’ personal lives. To communicate this platform company-wide they held a kick-off event called “Get Your Green On” (complete with video interviews, the launch a green logo/brand, t-shirts for employees, decorations from recycled industry magazines, drinks in reusable glasses and a “trash wall” that demonstrated the impact of each employees waste). From getting everyone in their firm on board with the program and making it fun, it was and is an ongoing success.

There is a lot of information to take in as a designer for researching all elements for your projects, let alone the environmental impact. When designers consider sustainability, questions surrounding paper and printing are usually the first to arise. Rightfully so, as printing is a messy, resource-intensive process, and paper procurement, processing and consumption has profound environmental effects. Additionally, for many designers, printed materials are the most tangible physical result of their efforts — who among us hasn’t stood at the business end of a printing press and marveled at the speed at which paper is dispatched? Accordingly, we have the AIGA Center for Sustainable Design (sustainability.aiga.org) which devotes considerable energy towards addressing these concerns as well as provide practical information, case studies, news articles, discourse and resources, relevant to sustainable business practice.

Another highly recommended resource is to join and follow is the Designers Accord (www.designersaccord.org). The Designers Accord is a global coalition of designers, educators, researchers, engineers, and corporate leaders, working together to create positive environmental and social impact.

As a growing design community it seems like we are all taking small steps in the right direction for sustainable design. By sharing our resources and educating one another through AIGA Charlotte, we can make a direct and positive impact that will excite our community into adopting “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” into their everyday lives.

Please feel free to post any comments or feedback you may have and let us know:
What does sustainability mean to you?

For more information and resources please download our AIGA Charlotte’s Be Green at Work Tips

:: ECO BOOKMARKOLLES ::
sustainability.aiga.org  Provides designers with a wide range of information regarding sustainable business practice
designersaccord.org  Global coalition working together to create positive environmental and social impact
core77.com  Current pulse on the design community, with strong focus on social and environmental change
treehugger.com  Witty green news on culture, technology, design, with lots of recommendations and product info
thegreenguide.com  National Geographic’s online magazine featuring green living tips, product reviews, and environmental health news
grist.org  Online magazine that provides environmental news topics with humor
catalogchoice.org  Free service that helps you decline paper catalogs you no longer wish to receive
earth911.org   US and Canada’s largest online clearinghouse of recycling information
thegreenoffice.com  Online retailer of recycled, environmentally friendly, and sustainable business products, school supplies, and paper
ecofabulous.blogs.com  Newest to market eco-chic items

Written By: Rachel Martin | Membership Director | AIGA Charlotte