Conscious capitalism
by Brandon SchauerAs designers and researchers, we’re all part of a very critical point in the production process for goods and services. Not only do we shape how desirable, effective, and usable the result is, but we also influence what materials will go into or support the offerings we design, what process will be used to support them, and the impact the offerings have in the lives of the end users. 80-90% of an offerings life-cycle economic and ecological costs are determined during design*, baked into the good or service in a way that’s much harder to change later on.
This Wednesday evening, I’ll join a great panel of speakers at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco to discuss Conscious Capitalism: Resolving the conflict between consumerism and progressive innovation. (There should still be room for you to make reservations online.) This is a conversation I’m really interested in diving into with the panelists—addressing how an understanding of humans and sustainable business practices are both requisite for a real 21st century business strategy.
As a warm up to the panel, check out the story of stuff and then come join us at the Commonwealth Club!
*Hawkins, Lovins, and Lovins, Natural Capitalism
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January 27th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
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January 27th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
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January 27th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
This sounds like a great event and I look forward to hearing what stands out to you in the conversation.
The shift from products to services represents an amazing opportunity for businesses to reorganize themselves around more sustainable models. Instead of consumption aimed at the accumulation of goods, service providers offer competing experiences.
It seems to me that the balance between business and sustainability is a world where not owning is a status symbol. In this new world, we’ll brag about our favorite car sharing services to the poor saps who still own an SUB. We won’t, as Alex Steffen always points out, own a garage full of power tools, we’ll share them as a community mediated by service providers who manage the logistics.
The luxury of not owning piles of stuff seems to me to be the future of business in a world where the environmental and ethical costs matter more and more.
February 11th, 2008 at 11:26 am
So how did it go? I’ve been looking for a recap or something, but not finding much. I unfortunately live in Arkansas, so wasn’t able to attend. (Well, unfortunate for not being able to attend, not unfortunate for living in AR - most days anyway…)
February 11th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Thanks Dave for the request. I’ve been waiting for the video recording of the panel to be posted at fora.tv, which I’m told should happen latter this week. That way I can add my reflections on the panel, but then you can draw your on conclusions as well.
As a preview, I enjoyed the panel but it didn’t focus on all the issues I thought it could have. (Limited time, various points of view… it’s the nature of any panel). I’ll try to share some of my own thoughts in my follow-up post.
Thanks for keeping me on my toes!
February 27th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
[…] couple of weeks ago I participated on a panel on Conscious Capitalism at the Commonwealth Club of California. We covered quite a bit of ground in an hour, from how […]