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Designing is imagining the future. Not only the future of objects, products and services, but also solving current challenges. Without a doubt, one of the most important for any company is sustainability, in terms of rethinking business models by focusing on the environmental impact of its actions. During five webinars that we will hold in October and November, we are going to address this issue from a design point of view. EADA will collaborate with Barcelona Global and McKinsey & Company in the Making next. Designing strategies for plausible futures international cycle of webinars, which is organized by EINA –Barcelona University School of Design and Art–. This cycle will feature different international experts in sustainable design, including Dr. Federica Massa-Saluzzo, Director of the Master in Sustainable Business and Innovation at EADA.

These webinars, which will take place every Thursday at 7:00 p.m. from October 7th to November 4th, will show the most innovative proposals in sustainable design that are already creating a competitive advantage for many companies. Speakers from leading companies will present during the five sessions real cases on how to implement sustainable design in four business areas: product, product-service systems (SPS), transformation of the organizational model and collaborative ecosystems.

EADA, which bases its learning model on the pillars of innovation, leadership and sustainability, has joined this initiative with the aim of fostering the transition of companies towards sustainable organizations and promoting sustainable leadership in companies. To Dr. Federica Massa-Saluzzo: “The challenge that companies face from the point of view of sustainability is to understand that they not only produce, but also they must be responsible for the global impact of their activities and that they have to be involved in actions that have a positive impact on the environment in which they operate. These webinars are a unique opportunity to rethink the role of companies, not as producers, but as policy and relationship designers.”

5 reflections on sustainable design for companies

The first conference that will open the cycle on October 7th will be The value of sustainable design in organizations, led by Ben Sheppard, partner of McKinsey & Company and world leader in design research. The focus of his presentation will be sustainable design as a way to increase profits, promote greater business growth and innovation in all areas of the company.

On October 14th will take place the webinar Sustainable Product Design: Paving the way for positive change. It will be taught by Julia Koerner, an architect and researcher who works on the convergence of architecture, product and fashion design. In her presentation she will give us several keys to use technology in order to imitate patterns and processes found in the natural environment.

The third session will be on October 23rd and will focus on the design of sustainable products and services. Under the title New product-service models, Robert Metzke, Global Director of Sustainability at Philips, will reflect on the need to think beyond the life cycle of a product, taking into account the social impact, the stakeholders involved as well as the interactions with the end user. Various sustainable practices to apply in the supply chain will be exposed.

The fourth session, to be held on October 28th, will inquire about the design of the sustainable organization. This session, which will be titled Systems Thinking vs. Design Thinking, will be taught by Javier Quiñones, who is CEO and CSO at IKEA USA. Quiñones will give several keys to redesign business models and make them more sustainable and, also, to transform the way of working: from a linear business model to a circular one.

The last conference will be on November 4th and will revolve around the design of sustainable ecosystems. This session, entitled The importance of collaboration and transdisciplinarity, will feature various experts, such as Tue Robi Jensen, Business Development Manager at Kalundbourg Symbiosis, Rafael de Balanzó, architect, urban planner and founder of Urban Resilience Thinking Design Studio, and María Buhigas, urban planner and founder of Urban-Facts. All of them will reflect on the need to pressure organizations to think collectively and redefine market practices that are not sustainable.