We have some bad news: things are not going to continue as before. Resources are becoming scarcer, social injustice is increasing and global competition is getting tougher. But we also have good news: nothing is more constant than change. And no one is more successful than those who adapt to this change in good time.

From the book "Who Moved My Cheese" by Spencer Johnson we know: "The cheese will be in a different place tomorrow. Always." And we know from Albert Einstein: "You can never solve problems with the same way of thinking that created them!"

As obvious as these findings seem to be, we also seem to find it difficult to take them to heart. We know that up to 80% of a product's environmental impact is determined during its design phase. We know that resource efficiency thinking helps companies to save costs and initiate revolutionary innovations. We know that consumers are increasingly striving not only to fulfill their own needs, but are also asking the question of meaning. We know that the funding pots for ecological product design are full. And yet we are still bobbing around in the old ways, doing the same old thing, just with a few less_{CO2 emissions}.

One looks at the other and waits for them to move. You could give yourself a competitive advantage - don't fix it, if it ain't broken. And while you're watching and waiting, nobody notices the few players who started looking for the new cheese a long time ago and are already nibbling on it with relish. And their "catalysts" are only whispered about behind closed doors.

These "catalysts" are creatives who do not dwell on the current debate about their new role as creative enablers of the ecological revolution, but who have simply got down to work - and are thus exploiting a competitive advantage that others are still discussing. With a cool head and at lightning speed, they are expanding their skills as product designers to include environmental science expertise and/or forging strategic alliances with engineering firms. And together with agile companies, these creatives are shaking up the market, competing with traditional sustainability consultants and playing hedgehog and hare with their colleagues and the rest of the market.

The fact that eco-design doesn't necessarily have to mean "unsexy" is best demonstrated visually. A few bright spots can be found on the WILDDESIGN Pinterest board Ecodesign, which is constantly evolving.

eco-design on pinterest

Nevertheless, eco-design is not a fashion. Ecological design is an urgent necessity in a changing world and a modern market. Ecodesign redefines value creation. Ecodesign is good design - and good design saves the world. Help save it. And take advantage of new market opportunities.

About the author: Susanne Volz is the owner of ecocircle concept, a consultancy and partner for ecological product design. With the ecodesign-to-go program, she shares her environmental science expertise with product designers (such as those at WILDDESIGN) and offers them further training to become certified ecodesigners.

The WILDDESIGN team is delighted with the increase in expertise in our network. In conjunction with corresponding design support programs (e.g. the JUMP Tool of the Efficiency Agency in Duisburg), eco-design has become a current topic for us, even though we have been applying the principles for many years.
-> further blog post about resource efficiency with the JUMP TOOL

-> interesting article about funding opportunities