BEYOND DESIGN – Inclusive Innovations and Well-being

During the last 50 years, the notion of sustainable development has matured and is now in the mainstream. In 1992 UN Earth Summit placed worldwide conventions on climate change and biodiversity, as well as commitments on poverty eradication and social justice. Since then, however, global emissions have risen by 48%, agreed target in reduction of biodiversity loss by 2010 has not been met, the population has increased by 1.6 billion people, and the global use of natural resources has risen by over 40%. Despite a reduction in poverty, over a billion people still live in poverty and one in six are malnourished. While world's governments have again promised "a pathway for a sustainable century" in the June 2012 Rio+20 Earth Summit, a part of the world is getting more affluent leading to an explosion of consumption and a drastic increase in eco footprint, while the resource strain is in the horizon. The outcome of efforts towards sustainability (People, Planet and Profit) so far has been disappointing. Where is the promised Common Future? The current financial crises of the past five years in the West have in the meanwhile rekindled the interest to inquire whether economic growth can be automatically regarded as a self-evident good, with debates and measures focussed solely on the best means to achieve it. Business as usual focussing on economic growth is not leading to desired outcomes. A transformative change at the systemic level is urgently needed, at scale, involving multiple stakeholders: consumers, businesses, government, etc. Redefining progress, rethinking of economic growth and redirecting our attention towards increasing quality of life of people need to be on the agenda. To continue to provide a high quality of life for a predicted nine billion people on our planet, without exhausting the Earth’s resources or irreparably damaging its natural systems, global and radical solutions are needed. At the same time, the paths to arrive at are not straightforward. They are complex and wicked and the remedies are not clear. Design being one of the appropriate disciplines to address such issues, the current world context provides excellent opportunities for designs and innovations. Developing countries and emerging markets are fertile grounds for innovations due to enormous constraints, and provide extensive opportunities to learn from. Designers ought to be aiming at well-being of people and planet.

P.V. Kandachar

9/7/2012 1:00:00 PM