IKEA, Tiffany,
PolarTec Among Time's Green Design 100
What's the greenest company you can think of, from a design
standpoint? Odds are, Time Magazine's list of the Green Design 100
has that company covered.
The list looks at innovative new companies, well established firms
going green, and everything in between, with a goal of highlighting
the many ways that design can be used to change the
world.
"Call it responsibility or accountability. Or simple popular
demand. The rarefied world of design is embracing the environment
as never before," the editors write in the introduction to the
list. "Top architects are implementing revolutionary methods.
Fashion and furniture mainstays are manufacturing products using
sustainable materials. And luxury empires are establishing credos
on issues their customers are still waking up to. Behind the
scenes, trailblazing executives are taking big risks to make it all
happen -- beautifully."
There are multiple categories of winners, almost all of which also
contain companies, but among the companies that made the
company-specific list -- chosen, presumably for a corporate-wide
embrace of green -- are Ikea, Nike,
Mayc's PolarTec, Tag
Heuer, and Tiffany
& Co.
IKEA is a very green company, to be sure; in addition to its
innovations around flat-packing, packaging reduction, plastic bag
reduction, and heavy investment in renewable energy, the company is
also taking a close look at its entire supply chain.
From the write-up in Time:
For Ikea,
that means prohibiting the use of harmful substances in its
products and only using wood from responsibly managed forests. The
Swedish home-furnishings retailer also plans to replace its entire
selection of electric outdoor lights with solar-powered models,
starting this summer.
Nike, too, is a hugely innovative company. We have profiled the
company nearly 200 times in the past 9 years, often focusing on how
the company is using design to boost business goals, reduce waste
and save money all at the same time. From Time:
Since the launch of its Reuse-A-Shoe program in
1990, Nike has
recycled more than 21 million pairs of athletic shoes to create
public basketball courts and athletic tracks around the world. Its
new Considered Design approach aims to reduce waste and eliminate
toxins from its factories, further reducing its carbon shoe
print.
When I think about jewelry giant Tiffany
& Co., sustainability is not the first thing that comes to
mind. But the company has long been a leader on cleaning up the
resource-intensive jewelry industry. Time writes:
A pioneer in the eco-gold and ethical-mining
movement, Tiffany
& Co. is also a leader in energy conservation. The
jewelry company installed two solar-power systems at its
distribution plant in New Jersey. The panels generate about 1.4
megawatts of power annually, making up 35% of the plant's
electricity needs.
Time Magazine's list literally goes on and on, and there are far
too many admirable companies on it to do it justice. So go check
out the full list of the Green Design 100, while I ask you: what
companies are missing from this list?
Right off the top of my head, the companies that are unjustly
absent are:
• Method, who continually impress me with the depth and scope of
their commitment to use environmentally friendly and non-toxic
materials for producing their broad line of cleaning
products;
• TerraCycle, who takes innovation to eye-opening new levels with
turning trash into useful products;
• Timberland for
both its innovative product designs and its overall-solid climate
strategies;
• and REI, whose design and renewables projects earned it a spot on
the EDF's Innovation Review last month.
By Matthew Wheeland