Powering social sustainability with Design Consciousness

Last month I began to decode the idea of Design Consciousness (DC) as a mindset that connects everything and, therefore, helps us find solutions that improve our future. It does so by creating awareness, advancing sustainability and factoring in affordability.?

Of course, any improvements become sustainable only when we integrate them into our social fabric. The practice of Design Consciousness helps us become holistically aware of the cause and effect of our everyday decisions on our environment and ourselves, and act from that knowledge. This creates ‘social sustainability’: where the regular choices and habits of society result in infrastructure that supports social and cultural life, amenities, systems for civic engagement, and space for people to evolve. In a nutshell, our everyday decisions move government, companies and communities.?

How does this actually work in real life? If little steps have large footprints, let’s start small. On a typical day in our life, shall we take a moment and think:

1.????How much waste do I produce? E.g. a disposable water bottle, a takeaway coffee cup, an apple wrapped in clingfilm or the packaging of online orders - the list goes on and on.?

The UAE is one of the largest producers of per capita waste. Why? Is it just the convenience of things? A 2018 article claimed that, on the average mall trip, shoppers in Dubai generated half a kilo of waste per person (about a loaf of bread). They also used an average of 511 kWh per square meter of energy (enough to run a freezer-fridge for a year) as well as 10.86 liters of water (Farnek). That doesn’t seem a lot until we think of the sheer numbers of shoppers we encountered on our last trip to the mall. In fact, “an average resident in the UAE generates nearly 3 kg of waste every day, almost double the amount of an average person in Europe” (Gulf Business, April 2022).?

With our DC Lens on, we could ask: If I reduce the creation of such waste, what resources would be freed and where could we better deploy that time and effort?

2.????How much energy do I use? E.g. using the air conditioner all the time, running frequent washing loads or just ignoring the many lights that my office building keeps on at night.

In 2021, the UAE’s per capita electricity consumption was the 8th highest in the world at 13MWh, largely because of air conditioning in buildings and electro-intensive industries (aluminium). The total energy demand in Dubai increased 6.3% year-on-year in the first half of 2022. Sure, we returned to the offices, construction is going on full swing on new projects and tourism is ramping up again. But in the current climate, it would be worthwhile to put on our DC Lens and ask: what if people like me just did not use so much energy? Would our future roads, malls and hotels be designed differently??

3.????How much water do I use? E.g. taking baths, in fountains, in car washes or in swimming pools.

The UAE's water consumption is among the highest in the world – approximately 500 liters per day, 50% above the global average (The National). Ground water, a primary source in the UAE, is depleting rapidly with population growth and urban development. Today, 42% of the UAE’s water comes from desalination plants but, for now, such plants are energy-intensive and often detrimental to the environment.?

Water supply is a complex dilemma that requires multiple solutions and while the government focuses on new water technologies and plants, I ask myself the DC question: what if I cut my personal water consumption (not drinking) by a quarter, would I age peacefully under the shade of urban green parks breathing in clean air?

4.????How many greenhouse gases do I release? E.g. while choosing to drive more often than not or consuming products with high food miles.

Passenger cars were cited as the biggest contributor to on-road GHG emissions in 2020 (Fueleconomy.gov). The US Department of Energy estimates that highway vehicles release about?1.4 billion tons of greenhouse gases (GHGs) each year. Now think of the hours you and I spend in our individual cars speeding up and down the highways in our own city, especially since offices reopened. With my DC Lens on, I wonder: if I utilize/consume less GHG emitting resources and we have fewer cars and?goods transport, how would our communities change??

Constantly asking what the cost of my utilization of any resource actually is to me and to our planet - this is how a DC mindset creates social sustainability that will actually improve our future. These are small things which most of us are aware of. But, if we bring this simple awareness to our daily lives, how would each action move big companies to strive for change?

Thankfully, a growing mindset around such DC questioning is already driving our governments and businesses to plan and construct more responsibly. Like buildings having certifications like LEED, BREEAM, Estidama, etc. to assure that key measures have been taken towards sustainability. (Of course, for these certifications to have true value, end-users need to be aware of them and what their contribution is to our wellbeing.)?

Similarly, the DC mindset is driving careful consideration into daylight factors (to optimize energy consumption) and products that off-set the carbon footprint as well as an awareness that certain products used in the building may not be recycled in the region (a clarion call for actual end-to-end sustainability in our ‘designed’ lifestyle).

I leave you with this simple thought: you and I are critical influencers of social sustainability. So, the next time you pop into a gas station for a bottle of water, consider how that simple choice is setting off a chain reaction that shapes the future health and happiness of our family, community and planet as a whole.

?

#future #sustainability #UNSDGS #designconsciousness

Indu Varanasi is a veteran architect and interior designer, and founder of IR Design, a full service Design Consciousness firm and advisory.