measuring sustainability, point by point

[Image from Energy Points website]

I recently posted my 3 Keys to Big Picture Sustainability, a wholly qualitative set of evaluations. Energy Points is an attempt at the opposite- a methodically quantitative set of measurements that accounts for a wide variety of sustainability issues. According to their website, Energy Points' "platform translates all resources into primary energy for direct, one to one comparison of domains such as electricity, water, and fuel." 

A huge problem in understanding sustainability progress, as founder Ory Zik points out to Fast Company's Co.Exist blog, is that the metrics don't line up. Comparing savings in water, electricity, and other resources overlaid with information about the location can be incredibly powerful information for building managers, homeowners and more. When investing money in improvements, these individuals want to be able to make informed decisions and tools like Energy Points give them the ability to do so.

Is this a good thing? On the surface, yes. For buildings managers? Definitely. For designers?  Not always.

Designers need to be able to do the difficult balancing of sustainability themselves. The tradeoffs are about more than energy used. For architects and interior designers, a building's function cannot be measured only in its use of resources but in performance for its users. Energy Points is a useful tool, but for designers cannot be the only measure of sustainability. 

3 keys to big picture sustainable design

[Provenance Trivet and package design]

Sustainability is a buzz word, and has been for years now. It feels like the Next Big Thing, yet alternately feels like little has changed and the debates over what is and isn't sustainable rage on. Nitpicking frustrates me. I'll admit, incremental change can frustrate me. It's important but frustrating. As designers, we can tweak our designs and tweak materials, but truly sustainable design comes from focusing on the big picture. After all, as Steve Jobs said, design is more than the veneer. Design is everything.

The three keys to big picture sustainable design:

[Underground house by De Matos Ryan connected to historical stone tower]

1. Sustainable design has permanence.
Sustainable design lasts. We have to get back to designing durability. We have to get back to designing products, buildings and experiences that we want to keep. More than just designing out planned obsolesce, we have to design in quality that users will want to keep.

[Jelloware by The Way We See The World]

2. Sustainable design has adaptability.
Either in the original form or as a series of parts, sustainable design can adapt to changing needs. Either it can be broken down into its parts to be updated or the whole product can be used for an additional purpose. If the item must disappear, it can do so without a trace.

[Anti-fly Sphere by Jose de la O]

3. Sustainable design performs.
The product functions as required so it does not need to be replaced, and, equally important, it is a joy to use. If you delight the user, they will value your design and therefore preserve it.