The Sustainable Design Summit 2023 took place in London on Tuesday 28 November at the impressive Museum of London Docklands. The event, now in its second year, brought together many interior design companies for the aircraft cabin sector, as well as other industries. Designer delegates, together with many innovative suppliers and other industry stakeholders, shared a wealth of inspired discussions and thought-provoking insight during the summit and provided insightful answers to the many challenges of the design industry when it comes to sustainability considerations.
The agenda for the day included an opening keynote on sustainability progress, leadership and transparency, as well as breakout sessions on key issues such as materials innovation & collaboration in the supply chain and what kind of future do we want to see and design for, as well as common goals and collaboration in the aircraft cabin interior design.
Action points for a greener future
Several important findings were discovered during the one-day summit, which included discussions on topics such as material and product suppliers, waste, data and recycling. Just some of these findings at the summit are listed below.
• Suppliers: Asking suppliers to provide proof of their calculations on environmental impact means that decisions can be made on the exact numbers rather than industry averages.
• Waste: It’s important to be aware of and be creative with your waste streams – what happens to materials after the first lifecycle?
• Products: circular products and linear products have completely different ingredients; it’s not until we measure total cost of ownership/ true value that we can begin to compare the cost differences of the solutions which offer more sustainable outcomes.
• Data: Collection, sharing and transparency of data are all essential to circular output (as opposed to circular potential).
• Waste: Management solutions for waste include deconstructing & consolidating as well as recycling.
• Recycling: Consider the broader costs in recycling both for carbon and budget. Developing onsite facilities reduces transportation.
The event date for next year’s summit will be announced soon and if you’re interested in attending the event, you can register interest to take part here.
