What does Green Design mean?

Posted on October 16, 2009 by itees

In the last few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about what being a “green” designer means. Of course I have been environmentally friendly for many years, but how does this tie in to being a designer?

A few weeks ago I received an email from Graphic Design USA, asking me if I’d like to be one of the featured designers in their October “Green” issue. I was thrilled and humbled of course, and realized it would surely send people to the cause I’ve been working very hard on, since May. My writing partner, Mary Jo Rhodes and I have been blogging about the Frog extinction crisis at (FrogsAreGreen.com), and our posts range from backyard habitats and deforestation to chemicals polluting the water.

GD USA had sent along a few questions for me to answer, and this opened a whole can of worms as Mary Jo and I discussed what the answers might be.

The main question that started this was, “What does being a “green” designer mean to you?

There are so many ways I can answer this question. Are we talking about whether I’m working on an assignment or company that projects “green” ideas, for example, the Frog blog or this blog.

Am I working on an event campaign where I might be designing invitations, envelopes, brochures, and postcards and will make sure it’s printed on eco-friendly, recycled paper, using soy or vegetable inks.

Or lastly, are we talking about what I do in my own studio to be eco-friendly, such as using a Brita water filter, recycling paper, posting information on my desktop, rather than printing it out, and so on?

I suppose it means all of it.

So I ask you, what does being a “green” designer mean to you?

(If you want to see what 12 designers/agencies answered, pick up the October issue of GD USA which should be out this month.)

Sugar Paper, a sweet idea for tree lovers

Posted on October 9, 2009 by itees

In reading about alternatives to paper made from trees, I’ve come across paper made from sugar fibrous residue which remains after sugarcane or sorghum stalks are crushed to extract their juice, known as Bagasse pulp. It is currently used as a renewable resource in the manufacture of pulp and paper products and building materials.

Sugar paper is susceptible to humidity for paper, and heat for cups and utensils (heat can cause them to stick together).

From Wikipedia:

“Around 5%-10% of paper production worldwide is produced from agricultural crops, valuing agricultural paper production at between $5 billion and $10 billion. The most notable of these agricultural crops are wheat straw and bagasse. Paper production is the second largest revenue stream from bagasse after electricity cogeneration; higher than ethanol. Using agriculatural crops rather than wood has the advantage of reducing deforestation. Bagasse has the added advantage in that it requires fewer greenhouse gases to collect, compared to harvesting of wood chips, as the fibre has already been transported to the factory for extracting the sugar. Due to the ease with which bagasse can be chemically pulped, bagasse requires less bleaching chemicals than wood pulp to achieve a bright, white sheet of paper. The fibers vary in length depending on the country and cane variety but are typically about 1.3mm to 1.7 mm long. Bagasse fibers are well suited for tissue, corrugating medium, newsprint, and writing paper.

Bagasse pulp and paper mills tend to be smaller than wood based mills although many world-scale factories exist, notably TNPL (Tamil Nadu, India) Century Pulp and Paper (India) and Ledesma Paper (Argentina).

From the site, WorldCentric.org:
(http://worldcentric.org/sustainability/manufacturing/bagasse)

From this site: Propal, S.A.(www.propal.com.co) If you need the text of this site translated into English, google has a great translation tool. (google translator)

Paper made from sugar cane fiber is listed internationally as “Friends of Nature” as its raw material, sugar cane bagasse, a byproduct of the sugar industry, rolling over short periods of time. Through the process of developing this fiber paper reduces solid waste and produces a fine paper, biodegradable and recyclable. For the quality of the papers and the environmental benefits obtained, the sugarcane fiber alternative source is the increased demand in the world.

PROPAL corporate policy involves the preservation of the environment, meeting at its plants 1 and 2 with the control parameters set by the Ministry of Environment, the Regional Autonomous Corporations and other relevant administrative bodies, making good use and reuse of natural resources.

“Paper made from sugar cane fiber is listed internationally as “Friends of Nature” as its raw material, sugar cane bagasse, a byproduct of the sugar industry, rolling over short periods of time. Through the process of developing this fiber paper reduces solid waste and produces a fine paper, biodegradable and recyclable. For the quality of the papers and the environmental benefits obtained, the sugarcane fiber alternative source is the increased demand in the world.”

Sample product using Bagasse:

How Green is the Valley?

Posted on October 1, 2009 by itees

Yesterday, I came across a link to the Apple company’s “Apple and the Environment” website which reports the latest news on what Apple is doing to be “greener” as well as complete transparency in the life cycle of their products. As someone who has used their computers since the early 90s, this got me thinking about the computers I’m currently using (Desktop, Mac Mini, & iTouch) as well as the back up desktop behind me. I keep it around just in case something goes wrong with one of these, but because they make a wonderful product, nothing ever goes wrong.

I also have a Dell laptop (so I can see what the PC world sees), so I decided to look into what these companies are doing and here’s some of my findings. I suggest visiting the websites for the complete picture.

“Apple reveals complete life cycle analysis of greenhouse gas emissions.”

“With a complete life cycle analysis of greenhouse gas emissions, Apple sets a new standard of full environmental disclosure. We’re the only company in our industry that considers the environmental footprint of every product we make. And we’re the only company to add up all our greenhouse gas emissions and tell you how they are distributed across — and beyond — a product’s lifespan.”

2009

All Mac notebooks and desktops earn EPEAT Gold status.
The new Mac mini, iMac, and Mac Pro meet the ENERGY STAR 5.0 specification.
Apple updates the MacBook Pro family to include built-in batteries that last nearly three times longer than typical notebook batteries.
iPhone 3GS ships free of BFRs, PVC, arsenic, and mercury and includes a power adapter that outperforms the strictest global energy efficiency standards.

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Dell and their website “Environmental” section:

“Dell’s committed to becoming the “greenest” technology company on the planet. For more than a decade, we have built environmental considerations into every stage of the product life cycle — from development and design, to manufacturing and operations, to customer use and end-of-life product disposition. While we’re proud of the significant progress we’ve made so far, we know there’s still much more to do.

Above all, we’re building a partnership with members of the ReGeneration – people of all ages who care about the environment. Through programs like Energy Smart, we’re designing energy-efficient products that reduce power requirements, which in turn, help to offset carbon dioxide emissions. We are also working with our commercial customers to design and retrofit data centers to reduce energy use. Through “Plant a Tree for Me” and “Plant a Forest for Me,” we are helping customers reduce their climate footprint. We’ve also worked to reduce the climate impact of transporting our products through improved shipping procedures, better routing, and sitting facilities close to our customers.”

“The founding members of “Plant a Forest for Me” include Dell, ABN AMRO, Ask.com, AMD, Salesforce.com and WellPoint. Each company has committed to offsetting part of their carbon output by purchasing trees for Plant a Forest.”

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HP and their “Eco Solutions” website:

Our Commitment to Sustainability
“Our efforts to reduce our impact on the planet are industry-leading as reflected in our holistic approach to product design, operational management, and recycling and reuse.”

Environmental Management System

HP’s longstanding commitment to environmental management and employee safety is an integral part of how we do business.
HP is working towards reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 16% by 2010, compared to 2005 emissions.
HP’s emissions to air from our facility operations are relatively small, and we have equipment and processes in place to control those that do occur. Though there is little impact in this area, we will continue to report what is legally required.
HP strives to reduce the amount of hazardous and non-hazardous waste we generate, and continue to recycle, find alternative uses, and dispose of necessary waste in an environmentally responsible manner.
HP is minimizing water consumption, and has installed water saving technology in our cooling systems.
HP is committed to conducting sound environmental operations and addressing any concerns caused by our business activities. Full legal compliance is HP’s minimum requirement for environment, health and safety.