LEED for design?
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- sabatizer
Anyone know of any attempts to create a LEED style certification or rating system for the design industry?
I know there's a lot of disparate certifications already: FSC, recycled content, etc. but nothing all encompassing in a bigger-picture kind of way that looks at whole processes and not just the paper or the inks that were used.
I know architecture has much bigger budgets that allow for a small percentage to be put toward (and fund) certification programs, and most design doesn't really have the budgets to allow for this, but I am wondering if there has been any thinking or working towards doing something along these lines.
Do you know of any past or current attempts or initiatives?
- lvl_130
solar powered laptops and wind powered design shops?
I mean other than working in a LEED certified building , environmentaly friendly printing procedures, etc. what more would you want/ expect?
- sabatizer0
"What more would you want/expect" - exactly the question I think many in the design industry are scratching our heads about.
I'm not sure what else to expect, but I know it goes beyond just paper and printing choices which seems to get all the attention. For example paperless offices. Digital distribution models. Sourcing vendors closer to distribution (avoid shipping). Responsible use of imagery. Cradle to cradle analysis. Who knows what else... basically anything to help model a best-practices scenario on environmental or social stewardship across the full design process, not just in manufacturing.
The issue that I see is not only designers wanting more clarity on this outside of just paper/printing, but also I see clients, vendors and partners who want to tout their values more through their marketing materials. A LEED style system for design seems an obvious path to take, I'm just not sure what efforts (beyond Nathan Shedroff's www.revealinfo.com program) have been attempted.
- johndiggity0
do you really think the increased overhead costs associated with certifying the greenness that just about every interaction anybody who touches a project is worth the piece of mind? i mean, why not take into account how far my commute is to the office to do the work? where do you draw the line? and what good is that line?
- exactly what I was getting at. Where is the line? And when the line is (if) reached are the benefits really that great? Or does it have..lvl_13
- or does it become more of a hinderance for the employees?
Not sure...lvl_13 - i don't think it helps. it makes sense for an industry like architecture, or car manufacturing, where the final product is pretty concrete. the design industry is way too diversejohndiggity
- product is pretty concrete. in the design industry it is way too diverse. the printing industry and paper manufacturers should be and are the ones leading.johndiggity
- are, and should be, the ones driving this.johndiggity
- agreed.lvl_13
- meffid0
LEET
- akrokdesign0
better just do it your self, and stand out. unique selling points.
- lowimpakt0
I'm not aware of a single certification for graphics/printing – I’ll look into it though. Print has such a high turn around a full-life cycle/sustainability certification system would be very difficult. It may seem odd as it is a relatively simple process compared to manufacturing. More and more printers are moving towards ISO 14000 certification - which is a reputable international environmental cert. Generally companies that have ISO 14000 apply responsible practices in other aspects of the business.
There are print related guidelines and checklists - lots coming from the packaging sector - http://www.sustainablepack.org/d… - http://www.sustainablepackaging.… - http://www.wrap.org.uk/retail/th… - http://www.lovelyasatree.com
In Europe there are various eco-labels that cover various aspects of the process and the British Standards Institute are currently developing a standard for sustainable design (this is primarily focussed on manufacturing of product/service) - They already have certifications on sustainability management (BS 8900:2006) , environmental management, integrating environmental aspects in product design (TR ISO 14062)
You could be proactive and work with your industry organisation/trade bodies etc to try and develop a common certification. We were working with a medium scale office furniture manufacturer recently around cradle-to-cradle certification and carbon footprinting etc. The problem is that there is no common certification so lots of their competitors are getting away with Greenwash. This company is now working with the main trade body to develop a common standard for the sector.......
- lowimpakt0
this lot ran workshops on sustainable print at the London Design Festival a few weeks back and they seem to be developing some simple checklists - http://www.threetreesdontmakeafo…
http://theideafeed.com/greengage…
I also came across this widget a while back but haven't tried it as I'm not using mac these days - http://www.apple.com/downloads/d…
- lowimpakt0
if you come across any industry led initiatives let me know....
- formed0
It sounds like you are asking for certification for a business, not a project.
LEED certification is for the building, not the architect's business. Each project is unique and addressed independently. It also costs $$. While the building we are designing/developing will be 'green', we will not seek LEED certification because of the cost (and at 7 townhomes, not a tiny building).
This is the big difference. I do not know of any certification for running a 'green' business.
- sabatizer0
I'm asking for anything you may have heard of towards either individual pieces or toward a business.
Personally I think this wouldn't be for businesses, I would assume it would be mainly for individual major design pieces (i.e. annual reports, corporate brochures, etc.) put out by major corporations. Many already have 6 or 7+ figure marketing budgets toward communicating their environmental values, so I don't think this would be a stretch - especially if the certification would be as well-promoted as LEED, in which case certifying something would have a return on investment based on a degree of PR value. Of course the difference is developers use LEED to help market buildings to investors, whereas design pieces need less of a sell to shareholders or consumers so there is less incentive.
The power of this though is that those larger corporate budgets would help fund the creation of a benchmark scenario that smaller companies can aspire to (without everyone necessarily having to certify every minor piece). Much similar to a developer using sustainable best-practices for their 7 townhome development without chasing a LEED cert.I'm not convinced that this would work - or is even a good idea, but I do think it is defiantly worth discussing, and therefore wanted to start by seeing what has been tried or discussed before.