Voice_Issue

The Sustainability Buzz

The media attention on climate change has been exponential since the release of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and the Stern Report. What we’re hearing is largely bad news. Still, I am heartened by the up-swell of people taking personal responsibility for their environmental impact.
When I started to cycle to work about three years ago I was often the only cyclist on the road. Now, it doesn’t seem to matter what time I head out, I’m joined on the road by a crowd of other pedal powered commuters.

We powered down for Earth Hour along with more than 1,800 other Sydney business and 50,000 individuals and families. People threw BBQs, picnics and community get-togethers to celebrate their involvement.

Professor Dexter Dunphy from the University of Technology recently spoke about the opportunities available for businesses who are willing to take on the challenge of doing more with less. You can listen to his talk on-line. And Fortune magazine’s latest edition profiles 10 giant corporates taking up the sustainability challenge along with the founder of the outdoor clothing company Patagonia – it’s an inspiring read.

I don’t know if it’s just because we are passionate about sustainability and so meet people with the same passions but I seem to be meeting more and more people who want to work in and create businesses that operate sustainably (on a environmental and personal level).

It excites me that it’s people like you and me who are making the difference. When corporations, businesses and governments change, it’s the people working within and outside that make that change happen. We can each make choices and take actions every day that will have an impact.

As Martin Luther King Jr said,“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

Elaena

Up for grabs

We hope Lulu from Futerra and Gaye from Islandstate are enjoying their copies of Cubicle Commando.
This issue we have another treat for subscribers.

Dumbo Feather is an absolute jem. Published four times a year, the ‘mook’ (a combination of magazine and book) is fuel for the imagination and inspiration for your entrepreneurial soul. Each issue profiles five unique people who are doing business their way – but in a way that harnesses creativity, passion and integrity. The photography and graphics are breathtaking. We love it. And we have six to give away!

All subscribers as of May 15 go into the draw.

turtlegreen challenge

turtlegreen produces Australian games and stationery using sustainable papers and printing techniques.
We love working with them. Late last year, Kribo Ackerman, turtlegreen’s owner, brought us a challenge.
She wanted a simple sustainable system to display her games and stationery in retail outlets.
Sustainability meant the system needed to be:
> made from recycled materials
> easily recyclable or biodegradable at the end of its life
> planned in a way that minimized the use of resources, and
> constructed without using glue or tape.
The design needed to:
> display a range of differently sized items – a range that would change from shop to shop and over time,
> fit into a range of shelf sizes, and
> communicate the turtlegreen branding but not overpower the products being displayed.

Our solution was a small interlocking half box that could sit on a counter or within a shelf system. The display box, made from 100% recycled board, is delicately patterned with a sea fan and silhouettes of a turtle, starfish, octopus and seahorse. Environmental messages run through the pattern.

The design uses just one sheet of corrugated board and the printer we used recycles their off-cuts to produce more board (as well as recycling their inks).

A tip if you work on a similar project: We found the absorbency of the 100% recycled board resulted in an unexpected translucency in the ink. As a result, you can see the board corrugations through the ink and there is a softness to the edges of the pattern and any copy. While this did not impact on the legibility of the design, it is something to be aware of and it may be best to avoid small text or fine lines.

Clean up, opens up eyes

In January, about one million people across Australia took part in the 18th Clean Up Australia Day at more than 7000 sites. Active Voice, our families and our office buddies 3R Design tackled Commonwealth Beach. This tiny jewel of a beach, wedged between the runway and the old traffic control tower on Botany Bay, is popular with dog walkers, plane spotters and fisher folk.
The clean up job was dirty, hot and a times disheartening. Most of what we picked up were tiny bits of plastic – thousands and thousands of tiny bits of plastic. Most of it was unrecognisable – though we could tell that there were many broken down straws, bottle tops and plastic bags.

The day was a real eye opener. We really understood the notion of the earth being choked by garbage .It made us all more aware of how detrimental plastic waste is to our environment. We’ve made a commitment to say no to drinking straws (really, why do you need them?) and we are now much more conscious of non-recyclable plastic packaging.
Not all plastics can be collected in curbside recycling in all areas. A small step you can take is to make sure that the products you buy have packaging that can be recycled in your area.