WELCOME TO THE IDSA ECODESIGN SECTION

We support the design of products, services, spaces and delivery methods that minimize damage or restore the health to the natural environment.

WE ARE ALL INVOLVED

Designers have enormous potential to reduce ecological damage and it is imperative that we seize the opportunity. Several indicators delineate the central role of the US in the global environmental crisis.

Although only 5% of the World's population lives in the US, we create more than our share of pollution - more than 30% of all global warming gases and the highest per capita solid waste production (1500 pounds per person per year) of any nation.

US business and media hold significant influence over international consumption trends. The global population will probably reach 9.1 billion by 2050 (up from "only" 6.5 billion in 2005.) Individual pollution rates are growing faster than human population growth, so resulting global impacts on the Earth's biosphere will probably more than double by 2050.

In 2004, 11% of birds, 25% of all mammals, and 34% of all fish and amphibian species were estimated to be endangered. According to the World Resources Institute, human activities are driving species to extinction 100 to 1,000 times faster than what would occur naturally. Biologists estimate that this mass extinction is the fastest in Earth's 4.5-billion-year history. Unlike prior extinctions, this extinction is the result of human activity and not natural phenomena.

The US has a major influence on advancing or inhibiting international environmental standards. The US has resisted many international efforts to improve environmental standards (global warming, electronic product recycling, etc.), when we could be using design to lead the world in promoting more environmentally friendly products.

These distressing conditions make it essential that industrial designers in the US understand the ecological impacts of our work, and that we persistently work to minimize these impacts. Design can play a crucial role in stopping this destruction by enabling people to meet our needs without destroying the natural world.

Ecologically conscious designs are favored in design competitions. The IDEA criteria specify the 'ecologically responsible use of materials and processes throughout product lifecycle, including resource and waste reduction, energy efficiency and repair/reuse/recyclability.' Ecological design can reduce costs, improve functionality for those who interact with the design, and inspire people to act for the benefit of our natural environment and the quality of life of human society in the future. It is the design challenge of our generation.