Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change
Whilst many in the design sector appear to hang on every word of the Cox Report to seek funding and justify initiative after initiative, there was little in it that one could identify as creative or innovative, with most of what was reported looking like an agenda or at best a strategy for the Design Council.
The figures, although interesting, provided a stark reminder that design’s contribution to GDP was diminishing, a fact aptly expressed in the despondently titled Keep British Design Alive consultation.
By contrast the review published on October 30th 2006 by Sir Nicholas Stern has much more relevance to the design sector and although it provides gloomy reading it also offers the design profession challenges and opportunities that it should readily embrace.
Stern calculates the cost of taking action now against climate change at an average globally of 1% of GDP. He calculates the cost to GDP of not doing anything to be 5%, with opinions ranging to 20%. Even on Stern’s figures, an investment today will produce a 400% return by 2050.
Even 1% is an ambitious amount but design can play a role in lowering the initial costs of our high carbon economic growth and so that a balance is achieved of levying taxes and lessening energy use.
As a profession we influence products of all sorts and buildings and the energy they use. In design development and service design we are also able to reduce the energy used in delivering them.
But in order to do so the designer must posses the knowledge needed to deal with such matters. This will involve collaboration, new working methods, knowledge transfer and a new attitude to design research.
If Stern is taken seriously then designers will see new opportunities for their services, they will need to adopt a business language in order for design to become embedded in the range of businesses strategies and to take a seat in the boardroom, and they will enter new overseas markets which need to invest in products that allow them to trade in carbon emissions.
For those economies that are loathe to invest the figure suggested by Stern for fear of inhibiting their rapid economic growth, design and innovation will be paramount in ensuring they are not disadvantaged.
And for those who argue that any action is irrelevant due to the behaviour of India and China, well consider the influence our profession could have on their designers of the future, many of whom are being educated at UK universities or studying on UK franchised courses.
For our part, CSD will be presenting to government and the design sector at the Dragon Design Festival in Qindao next week when our theme is the role and responsibility of design in driving and accelerating economic growth.
In a major new educational initiative to be launched in November, CSD will also be promoting sustainability and energy conservation to students and already these items are part of the Design association accreditation programme and are delivered as modules in the recently launched DA Diploma in Design Business Management.
We hope and believe that the Stern report carries integrity and that the tax raising initiatives will fund more than political initiative.
If the figures turn out to be wrong in 2050 and there was no threat, then we can relax and enjoy the fruits of our labours in having created economic growth, cut energy emissions and established fundamental role in business for design practice.
Sir Nicholas Stern stated in his presentation that this could not be left solely to government and that individuals would not take it seriously if business did not play its part.
We firmly believe that the design profession has a greater role to play than most and the Society will endeavour to ensure that it does.
