Recently I had the great privilege of hearing Michael Braungart’s keynote speech on “cradle to cradle” at the Green Industrial Design conference in Holon, Israel. “Cradle to cradle” is a revolutionary approach to sustainable development, co-developed with William McDonough and published in their book of the same name (2002). I’m a big fan.
This philosophy radically challenges “over-population” as the root to all the current environmental problems. Its newness is in the concept that if we redesign the way we make things – transitioning from the current system of “cradle to grave” into a new cyclic system of “cradle to cradle” – then it wouldn’t matter how much we consume. That way, we can continue to consume, but after the products’ usage has ended, if designed correctly, they can become raw materials for future products.
Some call this a new industrial revolution. Only this time, doing it the right way.
Thomas Alva Edison, the renowned inventor, lived in a house with a large front garden and an iron gate at its entrance. It is said that friends who came to visit were both astonished and annoyed to discover that they were forced to push hard to swing open the gate. Time and again, they complained to Thomas to fix the creaking, old gate and Edison kept promising to oil the hinges and spare his guests the trouble, but never delivered. It was only after his death, at a ripe old age (84), that the matter came to light: the gate had been connected to a pump, and each time it was opened, water was pumped into the inventor’s bathtub.
A few months ago, we were invited to take part in a conference, near Washington DC, called Greener by Design.
Our theme there – we gave one plenary session and several of what we call “Innovation Flashes” in between the other sessions - was Sustainability & Innovation. When they hear the title, cynics often say “this year’s buzzword and last year’s.”, and I have to admit there is something in this remark. Still, for most companies, both them and their clients do want products to be sustainable, and competition does demand that offerings be more innovative. So in the end, not much choice these days but to aim for both S and I.
But why do we sense that a tension exists between innovation and sustainability?
