Blog Archive

September 7, 2010: eBay's New Sustainable Packaging (0 comments)

This is the kind of advance that seems obvious when you see it, not to mention a long time coming but that shouldn't take away from the thoughtfulness and usefulness of the solution: http://www.fastcompany.com/1686645/ebay-launches-reusable-box-shipping-program...

May 31, 2010: Are you as sick of Sustainability as I am? (0 comments)

It seems that everywhere you turn these days, Sustainability is the hot topic. While this is a good thing--and a needed one--people are already getting "green fatigue." To make matters worse, this isn't the first time that these issues have...

February 2, 2010: How can Apple be sustainable? (0 comments)

I get this question every so often so it's probably worth an explanation here. First of all, nowhere in the book or in my talks do I say that Apple is perfect or that their approach to sustainability is the...

October 28, 2009: The DITP wordle (0 comments)

In playing around in Wordle, this is what the text of the book generated....

August 31, 2009: The Presidio Model (0 comments)

This year, I've been working with Presidio Graduate School (the new name for Presidio School of Management) to develop an online introduction to Sustainable Management. The course won't be available until the end of the year but out of this...

June 13, 2009: Intuit's new GreenSnapshot (0 comments)

Intuit has just released an addition to its QuickBooks personal accounting software. The GreenSnapshot analyses your spending and offers tips on how to lesson your environmental impact. greensnapshot.homestead.com...

June 2, 2009: Strategy, Sustainability, and the Future: TheNextCards (2 comments)

I just got my deck of The Next Cards, a set of business stories as an oversized deck of cards and keyed to an innovative business strategy process that flows from sustainability trends. I'm blown away. In fact, there's much...

June 1, 2009: HP eliminates excess laptop packaging (0 comments)

HP's entry to the Walmart packaging competition is an original approach to packaging. Instead of shipping the laptop in a box with foam inserts, they propose to ship the box, and all the dongles and other parts in a messenger...

June 1, 2009: Sustainable Minds Tool (0 comments)

It's still only in beta but if you're looking for an easy-to-use tool to assess the environmental impact of your product, Sustainable Mind's latest tool is fantastic. It's still evolving, of course, as you would imagine. Over the next two...

May 27, 2009: Webinar slides on Slideshare (0 comments)

Today, I posted the slides from the Design is the Problem Webinar onto the site Slideshare: www.slideshare.net/NathanShedroff/design-is-the-problem-webinar Some of the diagrams in the slides are updated from those recorded in the webinar. These reflect a new arrangement of the three...

April 9, 2009: Designing Through a Depression (0 comments)

Allison Arieff's commentary in the NY Times yesterday, Designing Through a Depression, has spurred a nice conversation about the role design plays in both the causes and the recovery from an economic downturn. Perhaps, the most important design project of...

April 5, 2009: My Great Advisors (1 comments)

Now that the book is out, I wanted to thank my advisors who have helped me guide the material. I am fortunate in having some world-class thinkers and practitioners in both sustainability and design on this team: John Thackara, Visionary...

April 3, 2009: Interview on Core77 (0 comments)

Just two days ago, Core77 published an interview with me regarding the book. Allan Chochinov is one of the most conscientious writers in the entire design world. He read the book cover-to-cover more than a month ago and his questions...

March 25, 2009: What does this have to do with User Experience Design? (1 comments)

Or, for that matter, with creating software? These are two, common questions I get and they're important ones--that has several answers: • First, one of the most important design strategies for sustainability is to make things useful, usable, clear, and...

March 25, 2009: Webinar Questions (0 comments)

To all of those on the Webinar this morning/afternoon, thank you for attending. We had some bad static on the line at the very end and I went a little over anyway so, I'd be happy to answer any questions...

March 25, 2009: The book is finally available! (0 comments)

The book is finally shipping as of today! I'm really excited as it's been a long journey. The book looks fantastic (if I do say so myself) as do the two PDFs. This is the first of Lou's books to...

March 12, 2009: Webinar on Sustainable Design (1 comments)

On March 25th, I'll be giving a live webinar on sustainable design, speaking about some of the highlights from the book, Design is the Problem, but also including some other topics. The webinar will be available after that date as...

March 7, 2009: What about Water? (0 comments)

One of the increasingly important developments in sustainability is the focus on water. Some are even going so far as to develop "water footprint" calculators to track the use of this vital resource and draw greater attention to water use....

March 3, 2009: When "Biodegradable" Isn't (1 comments)

One of the topics we didn't explain much in the book (there was no clear place to put it as it fell outside the main arc of the material) was why materials simply being "biodegradable" isn't enough. The reason is...

February 25, 2009: Book Images up on Flickr (0 comments)

Thanks to Lou and team, all of the images from the book are now available on Flickr. You're welcome to use all of the diagrams in presentations--with attribution, of course. Some of the photos we've used with permission (noted in...

February 23, 2009: ComPostModern (0 comments)

This past Saturday was the ComPostModern conference, hosted by the San Francisco chapter of the AIGA. It's probably the best conference on sustainable design right now and not only was this its fifth year, but it was the best one...

February 23, 2009: A Shrinking victory (1 comments)

Today, Lou informed me that a question I've had about our distribution has caused him to make a new policy at Rosenfeld Media. That is, RM's books will no longer be individually shrink-wrapped (saving untold amount of plastic and even...

January 18, 2009: Unintended Reuse (0 comments)

One of the sustainable design strategies discussed in this book, is Reuse and this can be both intended and unintended. In addition to the examples already in the book, this exhibit at the Mad Museum, Second Lives, explores more Unintended...

December 9, 2008: Testimonials and an update (0 comments)

Hi; Lou Rosenfeld, Nathan's publisher, popping in here to let you know that while it's not finished just yet, Nathan's book is already garnering some great testimonials. Have a look; if you like what you see, consider signing up to...

November 4, 2008: Rickshaw Bags (0 comments)

Two weeks ago, Mark Dwight, founder and CEO of Rickshaw Bags came to talk to my DMBA program about his new company. Mark and his company are an incredible example of sustainable products, from the process through to the solutions....

October 1, 2008: What are your biggest questions? (4 comments)

In formulating the FAQ for the book, we're trying to anticipate what the most common questions designers will have about this topic and how specific to get. Lou, in his infinite wisdom, suggested we crowdsource the questions and he's absolutely...

August 2, 2008: The Sustainable Process Chapter (1 comments)

As I sit here working on the chapter on Process (not usually the most exciting chapter in a book like this), I have to say I'm getting more and more excited by the things rolling out onto the page. In...

July 28, 2008: Sustainability Frameworks (4 comments)

There are many ways to look at sustainability. In particular, there are some defined and popular frameworks floating around the sustainability world. Some are geared more towards the evaluation of current products and services while others are more useful for...

July 23, 2008: Digging Deeper (1 comments)

Last night at an IDSA event here in San Francisco, Digging Deeper, one member of the audience asked an interesting question, essentially: "What is the designer's role in consumerism--either promoting it or dispersing it?"...