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Rethinking Design,
Sustainably Designers have an impact with the choices they make — they are inherent problem solvers who challenge perspectives and assumptions. But designing solutions that use fewer resources to limit their impact on climate change is daunting.

These complex problems require people in many different roles working together and challenging each other — rethinking traditional ways of doing things and re-examining processes to build new systems that lead to better, more sustainable futures.

IDEO, the design and innovation consultancy, inspired many design professionals with its framework for three lenses of innovation: desirability (a want or need), viability (profitability) and feasibility (a product that can be created meeting certain criteria). Today, the climate crisis calls for another lens — responsibility. “Responsibility is our moral and ethical obligation to society, to think about the environment in everything we create, consume or use,” says Michael Held, Steelcase vice president of global design. “We are constantly evolving how we develop products because there are hidden costs to us as a society behind every innovation.”

Responsibility is not a new consideration in design, but adopting the practice of continuously looking at the impact of each decision – big and small – leads to new discoveries. Steelcase designers, engineers, scientists, operations and more are pushing toward continuous improvements in a sustainable product design process. As they learn, they’re deeply committed to sharing new ideas or approaches that can help us collectively make a difference. Mika leads a team responsible for setting, measuring and achieving sustainability goals. They work cross-functionally on a long-term journey that requires weighing each design and engineering decision with robust guidelines.

Since 1912, sustainability has been part of the foundational values at Steelcase and woven through the product development process. “Our experience is that doing good for the planet is also good for business, which is why we’re sharing what we’re learning with our suppliers, partners and other stakeholders,” notes Allan Smith, Steelcase chief revenue officer. “It creates value through new opportunities for innovation and streams of revenue, which allows us to better serve customers making business decisions around this issue, and, at the same time, benefit the greater global community.”

So, what does this look like? How are long-established processes, like those used to design products, being reimagined in the climate era? “Our overall sustainability strategy is three-pronged,” says Mary Ellen Mika, Steelcase director of sustainability. “Reduce our carbon footprint, design for circularity and choose and use materials responsibly. All of the day-to-day choices we make need to be consistent with, and make progress toward these three goals.” New Priorities New Steelcase global research suggests leaders are more committed than ever to thinking differently — employee wellbeing, diversity and inclusion and sustainability are emerging as top workplace decision-making factors. These issues are all interconnected and influence the choices of employees, investors and customers. Decision makers want to work with companies that invest in strategies and technologies to not only be financially successful but also to preserve natural resources and aim to be more regenerative in their approach, including product design.

“Using the least amount of material necessary is just smart design,” notes Held. While many of us grew up in the age of abundance — bigger homes, cars, meals — Held points out earlier generations were more frugal because of greater scarcity. This led to innovative ways of using resources which can be applied today. “Whether it’s a product, a building or even when designing a city, it takes a different mindset to create something highly functional using fewer materials or resources,” says Held.

Steelcase product development teams begin by asking: How can we achieve the same or better performance than products currently on the market using less materials to reduce our carbon footprint? Held says cross-functional teams are assessing the weight of products more than ever. Steelcase Karman® is the outcome of this approach — weighing just 29 pounds, it required new thinking – design, engineering and materiality – to create one of the lightest task chairs in the industry that’s also incredibly strong. In Europe, teams working on the Migration SE height-adjustable desk figured out how to make it lighter than most other desks, yet just as durable. Each time teams innovate, they carry that learning forward to the next project and challenge others to think differently. Reduce Our Carbon Footprint Less weight and fewer materials means less fuel for transport, fewer resources for production and less environmental impact. An innovation in materials science in 2018 led to the Steelcase SILQ chair which responds to movement without mechanisms. Designers used learnings from SILQ to create Steelcase Karman, which is just 13 kilograms.

“It takes a different
mindset to create
something highly
functional using
fewer materials
or resources.” Michael Held
Steelcase Vice President of Global Design Steelcase Karman is designed with the fewest components necessary to reduce its impact on the earth.

（ material
weight × carbon
intensity ） + other
embodied
carbon = total
embodied
carbon Embodied carbon and the carbon footprint of a product both refer to the total greenhouse gas emissions created through the entire lifecycle of a product. This includes everything from acquiring materials, manufacturing, transportation and end of use. But the largest contributor is when materials are transformed into product parts. To understand the embodied carbon (or carbon footprint) of a product, measure the weight of each material used in a product, multiplied by its carbon intensity (carbon emissions to produce the materials and transform them into parts), then add the other embodied carbon created throughout its life. What Is Embodied Carbon? This shows how using less new materials, more recycled content or materials with lower carbon intensity changes the math and can help reduce the overall embodied carbon of a product.

The “right” material used to be mostly about purity and performance — creating a new object without flaws. “Customers and designers care about quality and durability, and also value materials with more recycled content — ones that are easily recycled and safe for people,” says Mika. “So our goal of choosing and using materials responsibly means exploring options that might not have been considered or available in the past.”

The Steelcase Flex Perch Stool is the outcome of exploring a new type of plastic with BASF, made from a diverted waste stream generated during electronics production. The material performs like virgin plastics, is 100% recyclable and keeps electronic waste out of landfills.

Knots, contrasting streaks and other natural markings used to be discarded. But today, more sustainable materials celebrate nature’s unique “imperfections.” Sustainably-sourced woods and naturally- derived fabrics contribute to a more regenerative approach to making products. “Our teams are exploring fast growing natural materials such a flax and hemp combined with organic binding agents,” says Held. “These fibers are inherently circular and grown without much water. By experimenting, we find new ways of creating.” Our goal of choosing and using materials responsibly means exploring a broad range of options that we might not have considered or weren’t available in the past.” Mary Ellen Mika
Steelcase Director of Sustainability Loop to Loop by Designtex* captures and upcycles the company’s own textile waste. More examples of the reuse model include Intersection*, made with ocean-bound plastic and Gabriel Group’s Beyond Loop and Renewed Loop in Europe which is projected to annually use 17 tons of material scraps from the Steelcase Sarrebourg, France plant. Choose + Use
Materials Responsibly Textiles and paint powder previously bound for landfills are being recovered and reused to create new finishes. Recycled scrap fabric creates the New Black collection* by Steelcase. Reclaimed paint is now applied on internal junctions of the Answer panel system*.

Designing for circularity is an inherently complex goal. It’s a new way to think about quality. Instead of only focusing on how a product performs during its life, all parts of the product’s lifecycle are considered — including how much energy is used to build it, how it’s shipped and what happens at the end of use.

“Too many products that could get recycled don’t,” notes Held. “Some products are theoretically recyclable, but effectively they aren’t. So we focus on designing for easy disassembly, which makes it easier to repair or refurbish and extend the use of the product, and to get it into the proper recycling stream if necessary.” Design for Circularity Everwall™*, a prefabricated wall system, is designed for modularity with the ability to adapt as workplace needs change. Its components are created as a kit of parts, made with recyclable materials such as glass, steel and aluminum and it’s 100% reusable. It arrives partly assembled which means less cutting, dust and waste, and faster installation.

Steelcase Flex Active Frames, for example, is designed so it needs just one simple tool to make assembly and disassembly faster. Many of the parts click together and don’t need a tool at all. In Europe, Steelcase Flex Active Frames is designed to be shipped in a flat pack with optimized parcel logic which groups everything you need together in one unit for easier installation. Depending on the size, it can take just 20 minutes or less to put together. Flat boxes means more products ship at once, lowering carbon emissions. When you need to move it, you can take the pieces apart. When its useful life is over, easy disassembly means it’s more likely to be recycled. Sustainable design requires team thinking across all aspects of a product’s lifecycle and working with a broad range of partners to find new technologies, materials and processes. Sometimes what feels like a small change can have a huge collective impact. It’s a journey of ongoing experimentation, learning — and being open to sharing — so we can make a difference. Together. *Product availability varies by region. In Europe, designers and engineers figured out how to create Divisio Acoustic Screens with zippers instead of glue. Made with recyclable PET infill and hand-sewn fabric, Divisio is easy to disassemble and more likely to be recycled.

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