The Sustainable Development Goals or the SDG’s as they’re more easily referred to have been one of the most valuable sources I have been shown this year. I find them to be a great way of structuring and critiquing a project. They are formatted by the UN below is what they describe the goals as.

“The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all…….the Goals interconnect in order to leave no one behind.”

These goals show a much broader look on sustainability than I used to think, up until I began to study sustainable design at uni I thought of sustainability in quite a narrow sense. I didn’t really realise the global effects or the need for goals such as gender equality and no poverty on sustainability. I believed them to be mutually exclusive and not a part of the climate action cause. Sustainability to me at that point was separating my recycling and eating less meat (not in a negative sense those things are important). However, I didn’t realise how much sustainability expanded, which in retrospect is a positive thing as by discovering these goals I have so many more opportunities and routes towards making a difference, and so do you.

As I said before, as a designer, I use these goals to help me structure my projects, they help me to asses the effect I want to have. When beginning a new project I use the goals as a basis to jump off from. Then when I have done more work on it I return and see if I have carried out my project with my initial goal in mind and if I can add another one in.

For example let’s take this blog. When I began to brainstorm starting a blog I thought I wanted to tackle number 12 “responsible consumption” through the blog content. Now that I have posted and shared it with family members and friends, they have told me some of the content has helped them take on more of a sustainable mindset. From that I’ve realised that I am also utilising goal number 13 “climate action”.

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

(to learn more about them in depth)

These goals can really help serve as a way to get creative at the beginning of a project. Maybe even for an idea generation, pick two and think of what projects could come out of mixing them together. For example goal 4 & 13 could be the basis on which to start a workshop for children in schools to advocate for sustainability ( Greta Thunberg inspired maybe?). Or perhaps you’re not involved in a creative position or field. How can you add these goals into your profession? Perhaps you own a business, look at goal 5 and assess how you approach gender equality in the workplace, maybe you’re a student, then question your institution on goal number 4. The SDG’s can be a great lens upon which to view sustainability through, don’t see them as a a hindrance or a format where you have to check all the boxes, use them as a tool to push your positive actions further and critique previous work you may want to improve.

Perhaps you might like to take a step aside from the SDG’s in your professional practice or feel as though you’re not in the position at work to make changes, that’s totally fine everyone can approach sustainability from a different route. What could be useful in this case is to look at the “Good Life Goals” below.

https://www.goodlifegoals.org/ (for more info)

The Good Life Goals are structured within the mindset of the SDG’s however made to be put on to personal and behavioural actions. I believe they could also be a great way to introduce the SDG’s to a younger audience as well as they are a little less formal.

Whether you chose to use the Good Life Goals, Sustainable Development Goals or a mix of the two. I hope they act as a useful tool for you to asses your previous actions or to structure new projects.

When it comes to how I actively try and be more sustainable, I believe in the mindset of prioritising. There are very few examples of perfectly sustainable products. My approach; break it down and start in one place. For me, it was my meat and dairy consumption. However you may want to reduce your use of plastic, so make that your number one priority. Use that priority as a way to inform your choices. Once you’ve come to grips with the plastic you can add in another priority in the mix. Luckily some things will work together. For example, you want to use less plastic, so you may buy your veg from the farmers market. Which happens to use less transport, is organic and supports your local community. You’ve acted on sustainability in ways you didn’t even realise, perfect. Along with the confusion and frustration that can sometimes go with actively trying to be more sustainable, you can have moments like these that show you you’re making a positive change, which personally is what helps spur me on.

Taking stock of your choices and priorities can really help to reflect on the positives of your actions and the areas you can improve on.

While you’re here, below I have left a small exercise, which I urge you to fill in. I’ve filled it in to show the merits in even the small sustainable steps and then what I am planning to add in as my next sustainable priority. Beginning to enter the world of sustainability can be a little daunting, it really is like learning a new language. Also, you end up picking up lots of new habits which don’t form overnight.

Your sustainable self audit. Download it print it out and fill it in yourself. Or just copy it down on a piece of paper, fill it in and embrace what you’re already doing. Allow it to act as a check point to drive further sustainable action.

Below is my self audit for the moment. Something I personally struggle with is consumption. My priorities at the moment seem to focus on consumption, I have been trying to make better choices and cut down on my plastic use which can be difficult when it comes to food! I also want to invest in better items of clothing and shop more second hand.

Using this audit I was able to reflect on the things I am doing like using zero-waste soap and shampoo from LUSH in the shower. Small changes can all add up. I think it’s important to tackle what you are finding difficult also as it will allow you to work through the problem with perspective.

Fill yours out, leave it somewhere you can see and allow yourself to check in on your sustainable priorities. Find comfort knowing you are already taking action and use that to drive you forward to do more.

Greenwashing is the sinister side of sustainability. It’s the thing you pick up in the shop or see on television and think, “that’s too good to be true”, and like most of those things it is. Think of the McDonald’s salad, it’s got more calories than the big mac. It’s not healthy just advertised as so. For the most part, we’re all pretty good at spotting these things, we know how marketing works. We question things like the McDonald’s salad (which has more calories than a big mac) but we don’t necessarily question products or services that promote themselves as sustainable. Greenwashing is the term used to describe one of these products or services that is too good to be true. Luckily when you know the signs to look for it can actually be quite easy to spot these signs. The greenwash guide by futerra has really easily separated examples of greenwash into 10 different categories, I’ve listed their definitions below as they really helped me get a grip on greenwashing.

Fluffy language: Words or terms with no clearmeaning, e.g. ‘eco-friendly’

Just not credible: ’Eco friendly’ cigarettesanyone? ‘Greening’ adangerous product doesn’t make it safe.

Suggestive pictures: Green images that indicate a (un-justified) green impact e.g. flowers blooming from exhaust pipes.

Imaginary friends:  A ‘label’ that looks like third party endorsement… except it’s made up.

Irrelevant claims: Emphasizing one tiny green attribute when everything else is un-green.

No proof: It could be right, but where’s the evidence?

Best in class?: Declaring you are slightly greener than the rest, even if the rest are pretty terrible.

Out-right lying: Totally fabricated claims or data

Green products V dirty company: Such as efficient light bulbs made in a factory which pollutes rivers.

Gobbledygook: Jargon and information that only a scientist could check or understand.

The best way to act on greenwashing is to question it. The same way you would be suspect of a delicious fat/sugar/gluten-free cake or a very cheap all inclusive holiday. We are really good at spotting old marketing tricks, but sometimes we put too much belief in products that promote themselves to be good for the planet. Which is understandable because we want to act positively so it can be easy to take greenwash for face value.

This can be explained with the example of recycling, according to a video by Vox’s Climate Lab, 25% of what American’s try to recycle isn’t recyclable, for instance, pizza boxes (ruined by the grease) and used paper towels. The name for this is aspirational recycling, we want to make a positive impact and recycle so when we’re unsure we throw it in the recycling just in case. If you take greenwashed products and services the very same could be said, could we call it aspirational consumption?

Using the futerra guidelines I listed earlier, I have examined an example of greenwashing critiqued the information given using the categories provided. The best way to approach greenwash is to question the information given.

Below I have added another example of greenwash, take a look at it and see what categories you think apply to it.

I definitely found a lot of greenwashing examples above. Hopefully, this small exercise will help you moving forward in making more informed sustainable choices. Below I have left a link to futerra’s website if you are interested in gaining some further knowledge.

Their website

https://www.wearefuterra.com/about/

Selling Sustainability (where you can see the greenwash categories)

Click to access FuterraBSR_SellingSustainability2015.pdf

Two and a half years ago I went vegan, it was late at night and I was scrolling through Facebook. I watched a two-minute video on the dairy industry which showed the less appealing side to the milk I had been drinking. As a student, I was buying the cheapest cartons of milk and packets of cheese I could get in the supermarkets. I wasn’t buying local organic responsibly sourced products, so I knew the milk I was drinking came from the system I had just become aware of. I was really put off by the thought of consuming dairy products after seeing this short clip. I decided to give up milk, on the same train of thought I decided it was probably best not to eat the beef from this system either, then I thought, I can imagine the eggs in my cupboard probably aren’t too great or the chickens they come from, and while I’m at it the fishing industry is notoriously pretty bad.

So I guess I’ll go vegan then?

I had no prior knowledge of the sustainable or health benefits of this lifestyle. I didn’t go vegan for the planet or the animals, I just decided that the food I was consuming wasn’t appealing anymore. I wasn’t thinking about climate action, I was only thinking “what am I going to eat?”. I instantly took to Youtube and typed in “vegan recipes”. I fell down a rabbit hole of videos and discovered a whole new community of positive content. I had believed veganism to be preachy and an unappealing lifestyle, also one where all I could eat would be lentil based. The reason I am sharing this story is not the fact that I went vegan (preachy), but because it was my entry into sustainability. All these vegan content creators were subtly advocating for sustainability because in sustainability things end up going hand in hand. They would show the small steps they were making towards sustainability as passing comments. Drinking their water out of a metal straw while speaking to the camera or referencing to the merit of buying their veg from the farmers market while cooking a recipe. Not only would they speak of the positive steps they were taking but they would highlight their shortcomings, telling the viewers yes they wanted to buy a product in a glass container but the plastic one was the only one available within their means. This allowed me breathing room to realise that sustainability can be a spectrum and your efforts sometimes slide up and down it. This is how I built up my sustainability literacy by consuming approachable content, obviously not entirely, but it was my introduction to a topic that beforehand scared me, and one that I felt I was not a stakeholder in. This change in attitude, the step I took towards sustainability was by going vegan, however, it opened the door to more lifestyle changes.

The reason I’m using this anecdote is to highlight that everyone’s introduction to sustainability can be different, perhaps this blog is yours? Start with an area you’re interested in, the environment, food, protesting, going low waste. Use your interests to drive your sustainable change and make a difference. As I spoke about community in the last blog post, it can be helpful to look online for a community that shares your drive. Sustainability is like any interest, it involves a bit of learning and research but in no way does that mean that you have to constantly trawl through peer read reviews and heavy literature, use the media available to you to gain information that will build up your knowledge of the topic and push you to further research and action. Below I have left a few links of online accounts that interest me when I want to see some sustainable content that is a bit more informal.

Vox is a really helpful source for sustainable content. Well informed and digestible, check out also their climate lab playlist on youtube.

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment

youtube.https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkZ7BJQupVA&list=PLJ8cMiYb3G5fP5oq01TBp9fgh70vDDSMe

“Wear I live” to me has been a great source as a student to see others and how they act sustainably. Jenny integrates sustainability so well into her day to day life showing that sometimes you don’t need the new eco products, random things around your house can work just as well do you need a keep cup if you have an old glass pasta jar hanging around? She also tackles fast fashion, issues of mental health and university life in a really approachable manner.

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheStainedlips

For some vegan influencers that engaged me to sustainability.

“Pick Up Limes”

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq2E1mIwUKMWzCA4liA_XGQ

“Caitlin Shoemacker”

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0cxMY7jZ_kiE2bvykJffZA

“Nina Montagne” (previously “Cam and Nina”)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnBU5lGDMnsRN6SamwSwq4g

Design inspiration check out “Dezeen” and see what’s under their sustainability tags.

https://www.dezeen.com/tag/sustainability/

Something informative and that breaks down sustianable solutions without being too complex. The “7 Dimensions of Climate Change” I’ve mentioned before.

https://www.thersa.org/discover/publications-and-articles/reports/the-seven-dimensions-of-climate-change-introducing-a-new-way-to-think-talk-and-act

“Mothers of Invention” is one of my favourite sources as you can listen to an expert on sustainability and a novice in one episode, Meave asks all of the questions I’d be too scared to ask. Each episode also features guests who have made substantial contributions to climate justice.

https://www.mothersofinvention.online/

That’s it for now, however I may make a post in the future full of more sources I find helpful and engaging.

What is sustainability?

What is sustainability? That was what was written on the first slide of one of out first presentations at uni. We were all waiting with our pens and paper ready to take note of the next slide which we assumed would contain “the answer”. Spoiler, there wasn’t one. 

It’s such a loaded question I always laugh when people ask me what I do at uni, because it’s always followed by “ahh sustainable design, what does that really mean?”. Sustainability is not just recycling symbols and keep cups, it’s much more than that. Sustainability is different to each person based on a huge range of different things, location, means, education, authority, the list goes on. I believe if you asked all ten of my classmates each would give you a different answer. Which, when I began to study on this course really terrified me I was thinking why do we all have such different opinions on this?  And when is our teacher going to tell us the answer? However, now I have come to realise it is actually quite a positive thing that we can approach sustainability in so many different ways. Through design, media, politics even everyday consumer actions we can make a difference with a sustainable outcome. I thought I would break the news to you at the beginning in case you thought this blog would give you the secret to sustainability you think we must be given upon entry to a sustainable design course. I can however tell you what I think sustainability is.

A quote I recently read from the “7 Dimensions of Climate Change” liked below says,

 “Climate change is a scientific fact.However with virtually no facet of our social functioning is unaffected by a changing climate. Why is it not a social fact?”

Sustainability, and I can only present my approach, is a social issue. It doesn’t matter how you tackle it, the point is that collectively sustainability is in our best interest and we can act on it together as a community. We don’t need a few designers in a room working for sustainability perfectly, we need a large community of people acting for sustainability imperfectly. That is one of my reasonings for starting this blog to add to the online community of sustainability and to allow you to join. I was at a lecture recently by Ezio Manzini, he was speaking about community based projects, when the room was open to questioning someone mentioned why were they not making a bigger impact with this community garden he spoke of. What he said rings true in my opinion, he responded with “ It’s not what they’re doing it’s the fact they’re doing it together.” When it comes to sustainability looking to join a community can have the upmost of value.

So I’m a designer, but you may be a chef, stay at home parent, CEO of a huge organisation, however sustainability works well for all of us and can be a positive thing that connects us. Just the same as when I started my course and realised that myself and my classmates would all tackle sustainability in different ways. It is a community you can join and have an impact on.

Welcome

Hi all, and welcome to the first blog post of this journey. I am a masters student studying sustainable design at Kingston University London. You’re probably here to learn what sustainability is, the magic definition that will make it all easy and digestible. Unfortunately, I cannot give that to you, nor can any of my classmates, or honestly even my tutor. Sustainability is a huge field within which there is a vast array of different opinions and approaches. What I can do is share my findings, research and theories with you. Throughout my studies this year I have thoroughly enjoyed designing for sustainability and learning how to design for social issues. It has only spurred me on in my personal life to make more sustainable choices. Yet, when I speak with my parents and friends, comparatively to last year when I studied graphic design, they’re not interested. Meaning, as an aside to the work I’ve been doing in the back of my mind I’ve been thinking, why aren’t they?

Why do my parents not have the same drive and urgency I do when it comes to the challenges of climate change? I don’t feel as though I am even close to a good example of a sustainable citizen. However, when carrying out my day to day tasks I constantly internally question my choices sometimes to the point of anxiety. Should I buy this organic fruit even if it’s in plastic, how can introduce more low waste options into my skincare routine or should I really take the bus home or could I walk? To me, it seems like a continuous stream of questioning that comes naturally. This tricky question regarding those close to me has been hanging over my thoughts and only upon reflection did I realise, I’ve not always been like this. A few years ago I wouldn’t pass a second thought to buying a load of cheap fast fashion clothes in Primark with no intention of looking after them or disposing of them properly, I would have no problem eating meat every day in a week. I realised that I had basically learnt a new language and a whole hoard of new habits. And it didn’t happen overnight. This is the basis that has led me to want to create content that is more accessible and let’s be honest approachable.

We have been asked to write an essay for our course, I started to write it and part way through I thought who am I writing this for? Instead, I have decided to challenge the idea of an essay and present my findings and research through these blog posts. After beginning to question the attitudes of those close to me, it solidified a grounding for me in my practice on this sustainable design masters. I realised that although I would find merit in writing a critical essay that would be of interest my classmates and regurgitate all my research into a solid piece of writing. I would be preaching to the converted. I want to write this for the passive allies of sustainability, not the active ones. Not only do I want to be the change I want to see in the world but I wish to accommodate others in doing the same. I will be sharing the sources I have found useful and breaking down some of the theory I have learnt this year on this platform. I hope my findings can help you solidify your own grounding in sustainability, and perhaps start your journey, as everyone starts somewhere.