Meet the Sustainability Designer
We have spent a year working as a HI advisory team in the field of circular economy and circular design. Along the way, we came to the realization that what we do can be summarized in a single concept – sustainability design. We are proud to call ourselves the first sustainability designers in Estonia.
What is the value of sustainability design? A sustainability designer combines practices from design and behavioral science. The goal is to create products, services, and systems whose environmental and social impacts are considered from the very beginning of the concept – and which are at the same time economically viable. We help companies apply circular economy principles in such a way that production, delivery, and consumption generate as little waste as possible, while existing resources remain in circulation for as long as possible.
We see systems. A sustainability designer is not only concerned with developing a single product or service – they look at the bigger picture. When we start mapping an enterprise’s value chain and the lifecycle of a product or service, it almost always becomes clear that there are many stakeholders involved. The success of new circular business models depends largely on how well we understand these stakeholders’ needs and account for them already in the design phase. In addition to empathy, systems design is crucial here: it enables us to see connections and interdependencies across the whole system and to identify the most impactful win–win–win collaborations.
Behavior is changing. Sustainability often means that the current logic of consumption cannot continue unchanged. The designer’s role is not limited to rethinking products or services, but also includes influencing consumer behavior. Nudging towards green behavior means the ability to shift habitual patterns, to persuade and educate users so they make choices that are better for the environment and society. We are already seeing these changes: ownership is increasingly replaced by rental models (scooters, cars, tools), disposable cups are being replaced by reusable ones, waste sorting has become commonplace, and the culture of repairing is making a comeback.
Business is future-proof. An important part of a sustainability designer’s work is strategic thinking and business understanding. No sustainable solution can succeed if it is not economically viable. This means the ability to align environmental and social goals with a company’s business strategy and to create new business models that work for customers, partners, and owners alike. A sustainability designer is therefore not only a creator of innovative solutions but also a strategist and a catalyst for change.
Collaboration emerges. Ultimately, a sustainability designer combines multiple disciplines, covering technical, strategic, and social skills. The field of design has been moving towards addressing increasingly complex and “wicked” problems, and sustainability design is the logical next step. But it is also clear that no single person or designer can embody all the necessary competencies – sustainability design is collaboration across stakeholders, and our role is to lead and facilitate it. At HI advisory, we complement each other with our expertise: Jane brings behavioral science, Maarja contributes value chain knowledge, and Dan adds systems design tools.
As sustainability designers, we work to:
create solutions that restore the environment and use fewer resources (Environment),
support responsible consumer behavior and societal awareness (Society),
and do so in a way that is economically sound, backed by a fully engaged HI, Human Intelligence (Governance).
