We've got two post-scripts from last week's Designers Accord Town Hall Meeting at Bresslergroup in Philadelphia. Thanks to Rita Cavicchia and Margie Gorman for their thoughts, and thanks to Elysa Soffer and Peter Camburn for their photographs!

Designers Accord Town Hall Meeting, Philadelphia, April 23, 2009 at Bresslergroup By Rita Cavicchia

Last Thursday, April 23rd, the first Designer Accord Town Hall meeting in Philadelphia brought together designers, students, entrepreneurs, and corporate representatives alike, in what turned out to be a most dynamic meeting of minds. The shared purpose was to discuss sustainability. Although somewhat undefined, the platform pieced itself together brilliantly throughout the course of the gathering to eventually become a myriad of soap-box moments, where voices spoke passionately--albeit briefly--on the presence (or absence) of sustainability in our life-works, businesses, and of course, our world-at-large.

The meeting took place in the panoramic studios of the Bresslergroup, positioned in the heart of the design corridor of Philadelphia. The space itself harvested an energy that seemed to put guests at ease right from the start. That, and the aperitifs, made for a great half hour of business card exchanging and friendly smiles. Peter Bressler himself nestled comfortably in the space amongst a group of friends, colleagues, and dare I say, admirers. Roughly 50 souls and 8 individual presenters set the stage for what was to become a cordial and open forum. Unconference Format: Less is More Mike Flanagan (Director of Marketing, Bressler Group) opened the event with announcements, which highlighted some Bressler happenings. He then presented a brief clip from "The Story of Stuff", a 20-minute, fast paced, information-heavy look at consumption in the United States. The clip took a hard, yet charming approach at delivering the ugly story of the consumption-centric culture that we have adapted as Americans. The clip also provided this alarming fact: 99% of the stuff that we harvest, mine, transport and consume, is trashed in less than 6 months. The masses in the United States now consume twice as much as they did 50 years ago.

The room sat in a shared silence, as heads nodded and eyebrows raised. As I looked around the room, I'll admit, I wondered how we, the Principals, the Professors, the Head-nodders, the Great Young Talent Pool, the Business-Minded, the Designers of all of this said stuff, were truly combating this ultimate trashing of our earth? Weren't we inherently adding to the problem, simply by creating more stuff? As it turned out, this is why we were all gathered, to learn what we can be doing with more efficiency, and to pull from our greatest resource, our peers.

A Designer in Every Boardroom Leo Gonzales of SCA Tissue North America kicked off the presentations with some of the ways that his organization was maintaining their long-time green position in our global economy. He offered a poetic analogy of the Locust and the Steward--a neat take on differences in the U.S Consumer vs. Away-from-home practices. No one consumer or business is in the position to judge. But when you use and throw away, waste becomes a part of your inherent culture.

Susan Firestone, President of SiwThaiSilk in Yardley, PA, brought to the table her passion of textiles and some beautiful samples of her goods. Her focus was largely centered around fair-trade and best practices in the village cooperatives that she partners with. She mentioned that cotton, which uses 25% of the world's pesticides, certainly puts textiles awkwardly juxtaposed to the worlds' problem. And when asked about formal certification processes that her business has undergone, she forged a brave smile and said "I thought I would first engage in best practices, and take care of the paperwork later...it is what it is." It certainly is--especially in this struggling economy, where small business owners like Susan are fighting for survival themselves.

Terms like LEED and Green-collared workforces circulated. There were side conversations about the trade-offs of positioning green in our economy so that corporations and the business owners alike would start to see sustainable practices as a more cost-effective imperative. And then of course, there is the question of green-washing.

Alina Wheeler, author of Designing Brand Identity, attempted to add some color around that question with an introduction to her taxonomy of certification marks chart. And as she looked around the room, she noted that the messenger itself was largely absent from this meeting, with very little representation by way of Information Architecture. If not them, then who, she asked, will begin to communicate the best practices of sustainability to us, and ultimately the world?

"So, now we're getting somewhere," I thought, as a deeper purpose began to rest in my mind. The people in the room were clearly passionate about what needs to be done. But, how do they begin to implement sustainability more efficiently to their respective domains?

Alex Zahradnik, Co-Chair of Ethics of AIGA Philly offered the solution. His declaration that a designer is needed in every single boardroom of every single organization--from the very impetuous of a project to the delivery--seemed simple enough. But how do we begin to implement that? I am starting to feel like I am watching an episode of ABC's Lost; with every revelation, more questions are raised.

The Take Away A few more presenters articulated their works and findings, such as Monique Curry, president of the Association for the Advancement and Integration of Design (AAID). Her thoughts on the generational divide of Designers were interesting, and certainly raised a brow or two. She expressed a great need for the integration of design in all mediums--from the university level, to top designers. She mentioned a disconnect in collaborative projects--a contractor may disregard a principle, for example, based on cost-effectiveness. Thus integration and communication become key in this waterfall ideology.

At the end of the day, efficiency was the name of the game. If everything we did in our lives and in our work was done with the end of sustaining our earth for the generations ahead of us in mind, we'd be positioning ourselves for life and growth. Wouldn't it feel good to be the Steward?

As the evening closed, a thought echoed forward from the audience. "Thank you to our gracious hosts, and please, next time tell me to bring my own cup; I hate drinking from #7 plastic."

Away Doesn't Exist By Margie Gorman

The Designers Accord Philadelphia Town Hall was thought-provoking meeting. About 50 people representing players from all along the chain were in attendance: big company engineers, product designers, entrepreneurs, landscape architects, textile designers, information architects, graphic designers, civic organization leaders, academicians, and students. There were lots of good questions and swapping of cards, and attendees asking when the next gathering will be. One of the most interesting contributions was from a nine-year-old girl, who wasn't even in the room.

"The Story of Stuff" had mesmerized her fourth grade class and she insisted that Dad watch it at home. Dad (Mike Flanagan, Bresslergroup) showed a five minute clip, as charming stick figure drawings illustrated the consumer driven economy--how the American identity is primarily derived from what we buy: how 99% of the stuff we purchase is trashed within 6 months; how we now consume 2 times as much stuff as 50 years ago…well worth watching.

One of the favorite presenters was Leo Gonzales, Project Engineer, Dispenser Development for SCA Tissue North America. Yes, I know. A paper towel dispenser guy, but Leo talked about how SCA's dispensers are controlling and changing behavior. The dispensers can be calibrated to release just one paper towel at a time, with an interval setting of 1/2 – 4 seconds. The airport traveler--who might have grabbed a wad of towels--gets one. At a time. And one. Should be. Enough. The whole experience becomes a more conscious use of resources. SCA can also make the paper goods (towels, napkins, toilet paper) narrower. Which led to "How narrow can toilet paper get before the end user is not happy?" Answer: "The market can only bear a certain amount of change."

For SCA's customers, the purchase decision is really about cost saving. Use less, costs less. SCA's green cred comes with an international perspective. SCA is the largest private owner of forests in Europe and sees itself as a steward of these resources, re-planting three trees for every one harvested. In the US, it's more about recycled materials: 750,000 tons of recycled paper; 450,000 of it PCW: Two different approaches to environmental responsibility.

Susan Firestone, President of SiwThaiSilk. described textile production as the world's "second oldest profession" and pointed out that in the beginning, "all fabric production was organic." Susan's is a partnership between US-based designers/importers/wholesalers and Thai village co-ops that have a tradition of silk production. The village co-op raises the silk worms, spins the silk and dyes it, all by hand with natural dyes. This prompted the question about using local hand workers and a lament for the (mostly) lost sewing arts in the US. Susan described a dream of a "sewing network community" in depressed Philadelphia neighborhoods, where women would be given sewing machines and training, could earn money and make clothing for their families.

Designer and Author Alina Wheeler sparked a lively discussion around the proliferation of eco-related symbols and certifications. Which ones are credible and who should be in charge of policing these signifiers of sustainability, recycling, energy efficiency and green building materials? Wheeler is finishing up the Third Edition of her book and shared a two-page spread of over 40 certification marks. Wheeler asked if any of the 50 assembled guests had seen a taxonomy of these symbols: No. So look for it in her new book, publishing August, 2009. "Symbols are vessels of meaning. We depend on them. It's not just creating the symbol...It's ensuring that they really stand for something," said Wheeler.

Bringing us home, Elysa Soffer and Chris Evans, Bresslergroup's in-house green leaders, walked through the process of calculating the 20-person firm's carbon footprint and developing a plan for reduction. Bresslergroup aims to cut its 116 metric ton footprint by 20% next year. One attendee offered to bring her own wine glass to the next Town Hall event!

There was consensus that environmental change can come from within corporations, but mostly at the urging of consumers, pounding on the gates. And these consumers are getting "greener" by the minute, spurred on by the economic downturn, which makes less the new more.

I started the day reading a Philadelphia Inquirer article about the steps some "dark green" families and businesses are taking to reduce their carbon footprints. Steve Carnwath, a computer programmer: "People have this belief in a place called away. You throw things away. They just go somewhere else. It has no bearing on you. But away doesn't exist."

Some notable Philadelphia-based resources: www.Innovationphiladelphia.com www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org (Philadelphia Green, urban gardening & farming) www.sbnphiladelphia.org (Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia) www.aid-creative.org (Association for the Advancement and integration of Design) www.designphiladelphia.org www.bresslergreen.com