3 reasons why we need design thinking for sustainability

1. People are failing to use environmental products and services.

There are many times we see products and services in the environmental sector that fail because they are used by people. A light rail with no riders. A solar system with no subscribers. An EV infrastructure with inaccessible charging stations. A DIY kit that’s never used. In each of these situations, the technology exists; however, we are missing the people component.

There is a clear need to shift these failures into successes— and to do this quickly to rapidly address our climate crisis.

2. Design thinking uses empathy, which spurs uptake in environmental services.

As environmental advocates, we often assume people will change their behavior for the good of the environment. Unfortunately, if you talk to people, you will quickly realize many people do not have sustainability driving their day-to-day actions.

To effectively design for people in the environmental sector, you have to learn about the other drivers that motivate people. Maybe it’s family, community, school, sports. To uncover these motivations, you need to talk to people through interviews, immerse yourself in the lives of others, and learn from experts.

Through empathy and understanding motivations, you can creatively shift products and services into something people will use.

3. Design thinking is a fast way to address climate change through rapid prototyping, testing, and iteration.

Many times we know we have a great idea that can mitigate climate change. We hold onto this idea for months mulling it over in our heads. We become attached to it, but we don’t take the next steps to bring the idea to fruition. Maybe we are held back by the limits of our team size, the immenseness of the idea, or the limited time in our work day we have to carry out the idea.

Design thinking challenges these limits by embracing rapid ideation, prototyping, and testing. We can overcome these hurdles by detaching from our ideas and embracing experimentation. We can embrace rapid iteration and understand that we create doesn’t have to be perfect on the first try, but it can get there. Through user feedback and testing, we can craft something revolutionary that people will use. This approach of rapid iteration is what’s needed in the sustainability sector if we want to curb emissions as quickly as possible.