Designers, let's stop doing harm and design for people, profit and planet

It's time to look inwards. Just because something has already been designed doesn't make it better. As designers, we've participated in fuelling un-sustainability and been a part of the problem. But no more. It's time to stop creating things like single-use plastic products that pollute the oceans or social media services that damage young people's mental health. Instead, let's start designing for the good of humanity and the planet. 'Do no harm' and make ethics integral to the work by always considering the ripple effects of what is put into the world.

Design has come a long way in the last decade, gaining prominence in boardrooms and C-suites. But with great power comes great responsibility — and accountability must follow.

Yes, design has already started contributing to sustainable development. For example, in an interview with Wired, Melinda Gates said, 'Human-centred design is the innovation changing the most lives in the developing world.' But the potential to do more is enormous.

Here’s how to stop doing harm and start doing good:

1. First, let's rethink how we see ourselves: product designer, service designer, brand designer. Why do we design? We design to make a certain impact on the world. So, essentially, we're impact designers. It doesn’t matter what we design. It could be a tiny behavioural nudge or a new circular business model, as long as it creates the impact that we seek — without harmful side effects.
2. Once this new mindset is in place, we need to set the triple bottom line as the default framework for design value: for people, profit and planet. Without all three in place, there's no sustainability. It does require a big change, but done right, it doesn’t necessarily require big sacrifices. Research shows it's possible to make money, meet the needs of people and society, and be planet positive at the same time. In fact, more than 50 studies make it clear that companies that are leaders in environmental, social and good governance policies are financially outperforming their less sustainable peers. For example, removing waste often decreases both cost and environmental footprint. Sustainability can mean better business — if taking a long term, big picture approach.
3. To do all this with accountability and precision you need to always measure impact. Designers need to have an intimate, long-term relationship with the outcomes and consequences of what they design. You need to make sure there's value beyond the single user or business you're designing for. Both quantitative and qualitative measurements need to become core tools for designers and you should look to models like the MultiCapital Scorecard to define sustainable performance metrics that go far beyond economic efficiency and shareholder value.

There are steady signs on the horizon in the business world that these philosophical changes are working. Many companies have expanded their leadership to include a role called CSO (Chief Sustainability Officer), whose job is to make sure that sustainability is folded into every corner of an organisation. Designers can be a huge part of this process. So, let’s create change, not harm.

Do you want to make the world a better place? Then take charge and learn:

1. Quantitative and qualitative methods for measuring impact on people, profit and planet — because there needs to be accountability for what is put into the world and adjusted based on actual outcomes. The gold standard for measuring impact is Randomised Controlled Trials. This is like an A/B-test but often not digital. This is where you expose a treatment group (with randomly assigned participants) to your design or intervention and compare it against a control group in a real-life environment. There are also ways to do an 'RCT lite' (as coined by Alexandra Fiorillo, who highly inspired this article) or other experiments with at least some scientific validity and reliability. These measurements should come in addition to the regular qualitative tests and staged feedback sessions.
2. Systems thinking to understand ripple effects and root causes of wicked problems requires increasing the scope of design from being about interfaces to including economic, social and environmental systems. For example, some of the core problems of pollution often start early in the supply chain, so larger systems and business models need to be redesigned too. Read more about this holistic mindset here.
3. Behavioural economics to nudge more sustainable behaviours — because you don't need new sustainable solutions, but new habits. 'Build it, and they will come' has never been true. People need to make different decisions and build new behaviours if they're going to get anywhere. And they need to consume differently and adopt new solutions that are coming to market. Thankfully, there is a science dedicated to achieving behavioural change — so go learn from it. Find out more on how to use behavioural design for sustainability and well-being.