This year is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and it just so happens to coincide with a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic. There’s an interesting phenomenon happening while the majority of the world’s human population is staying at home: we’re driving less, flying less, and consuming less; and as a result the earth is getting cleaner. This may be the first time in our lives that we can see how action on a massive scale can have an immediate, real impact on our environment. Perhaps COVID-19 presents an opportunity to hit the reset button on production and consumption practices that cause damage to the planet. One way designers can make an impact is by helping us move to a circular economy — an economy where our resources are in a closed loop, so we take materials once, make and consume, and then those resources are repurposed, then repurposed again and again in a closed loop. To discuss we’re joined by Bergen Hubert, Manager for Built Environment at the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, a global nonprofit that certifies products within a circular economy; and Roxane Spears, VP of Sustainability in North America at Tarkett, and innovative flooring manufacturer with a number of Cradle to Cradle certified products.
https://designmuseumfoundation.org/003-the-big-reset-on-production/