• here’s what happened so far at cop26, and what lies ahead. tune in to this 4-minute listen from npr’s dan charles to check in with the conference’s progress, published at the halfway mark of cop26.

• the cheap and easy climate fix that can cool the planet fast. at cop26, more than 100 countries signed the new global methane pledge with the goal of cutting 30% of their methane emissions by 2030. but why are methane emissions so harmful, and how big is the problem? what fixes could be done to reduce their effects? this article answers all your questions with easy scientific explanations and interactive graphs.

• 16 companies that are rethinking packaging. today at cop26, unilever is holding a panel on sustainable business practices, from biodegradable material in packaging to responsible business practices that respect natural ecosystems and reduce waste. food tank highlights 16 food and beverage companies to exhibit the industry’s various approaches to sustainable packaging.

check back tomorrow for more info on what is being explored at cop26 — and good reads to keep you informed!

asia pulp & paper, or app, a pulp and paper manufacturing company based in indonesia, has created a set of water-based packaging products that are both compostable and recyclable to better serve a wider variety of people and resources.

the company has partnered with villa chicken, a fast food chain based in peru, and has succeeded in maintaining the quality of the food in delivery while still holding onto its sustainable assets. if this product continues to succeed, it may change how restaurants package food moving forward.

it is essential restaurant stakeholders continue to invest in sustainable alternatives to reverse the environmental damage exacerbated by the plastic industry.

“initially, i reached out to katie mckenna in carleton’s dining service, bon appétit, like, i want to talk about reusable to-go containers and what they would look like in sayles café,” said farias, an environmental studies major who works both as a sustainability assistant in carleton’s sustainability office and with the food and environmental justice cohort in its center for community and civic engagement. “i’m still astounded by how far the program has come.”

farias has been involved in a number of sustainability and food projects on campus, including the swipe out hunger initiative, where students donate a meal swipe to benefit peers who experience food insecurity. as a member of the waste team in the sustainability office, reducing material waste in campus food services had long been one of his goals. he originally meant to run a pilot project in spring term 2020 with 100 students and 25 faculty and staff opting to use exclusively reusable containers in sayles café. then, the start of the covid-19 pandemic shut campus down, and plans were abandoned. but the carleton student association had already funded the purchase of 300 reusable clamshells, and there were 280 students still on campus. so farias and his team thought: why not try the project anyway? 

“a lot of students did not want to eat in the dining hall—they were scared,” said katie mckenna, the dining services manager with bon appétit. “they just wanted to take food out, and we were going through a lot of disposable clamshells every week. it was frightening, the number with only 280 students on campus.”

for the last week of spring term, a revised pilot program ran in sayles and one of carleton’s two dining halls. farias and sustainability program coordinator alex miller served as project managers, with mckenna running bon appétit’s end of the program. bon appétit student sustainability ambassadors karen chen ’21 and ella hein ’23 were brought on to represent a student perspective and market the project. chen took the lead on designing posters and a green2go exchange card.

on-campus students were each given a copy of the card, which they could trade out for an ozzi brand reusable clamshell at a meal. after eating, they were expected to rinse out their container and return it at their next meal, either for a card or another container. according to farias and mckenna, the program was informative and an overall success.

then the college decided to bring 1,500 students back to campus in september, and they realized that the time for a full-scale green2go program had come.

“when we were talking about this fall, my options were throwing all this money into one-use containers that were just going to fill the compost bins on campus, or trying to do this green2go rollout,” mckenna said. although compostable containers were already the default, they are still produced with disposable material and take a long time to biodegrade. 

“the other concern was there being a shortage,” farias added. “with so many other schools relying on these compostable containers, we wouldn’t have been able to supply any more of them. instead, we might have to turn to something like styrofoam, which in my opinion is my worst nightmare.”

so farias reached out to jesse cashman, the director of auxiliary services and client manager for carleton’s contract with bon appétit. cashman had dealt with the funding for the disposable containers during spring term; with about 2,100 meals per week at $0.26 per clamshell, they had been spending $546 every week. that would have gone up to 16,000 meals and $4,160 a week come fall term. comparatively, a green2go container that can be used upwards of 300 times is only $4.10—the equivalent cost of 16 disposable containers.

“when we looked at what the cost was to get the product in here, it was pretty easy to arrive at,” cashman said. “we’re going to return our cost here within 3-4 months of this operation, which is pretty astounding.” 

thanks to cashman’s advocacy, the college purchased 3,500 green2go containers in july, and 1,000 more in september, with money set aside for covid-19 expenses on campus. because it wasn’t just about sustainability; without a pandemic, carleton would never have needed this many to-go containers. it was about safety.

during new student week, all meals were packaged in disposable to-go containers. but starting on the first day of classes, with many students taking their food out in green2gos, bon appétit has been able to set up limited and distanced seating in the dining halls and cafés.

“because there are so few seats in the dining halls, because the occupancy limit is so low, having these green2gos really allows people to get out of the dining halls,” farias said. “i see them on carleton’s quad, the bald spot, i see them all around campus. it allows people to eat in a socially distant manner.” even as colder weather arrives and students eat outside less often, they can take their food back to their rooms rather than crowding the dining halls.

and so far, it’s working. mckenna was initially concerned about whether students would return the containers, given a poor track record for reusable programs in the past. “we tried it once before with the reusable cups,” she said. “students were taking soup in them and not washing them for days. they’d come back full of mold. they just didn’t care. we went through six thousand cups in the first three weeks of fall term, which is insane for a campus our size. they just weren’t returning them. but they’re returning these green2gos.”

hein had similar concerns at the end of spring term. she was worried that students wouldn’t understand how the program worked or would just hoard the containers in their room.

but being back on campus, hein has been pleasantly surprised. at the beginning of october, she conducted an inventory of the containers that showed the dining halls had the right number at meal times. sometimes, she said, she even feels like all of her friends have adjusted to the program more smoothly than she has.

she has a theory as to why. “i think everyone came in with an ability to adapt to all of the changes this fall,” she said. “if the green2go program had been the only thing that was changing, if it was a normal campus year, it might have gone worse. it’s a different system, but because there are so many new systems across campus, people were just aware that they had to adapt.”

mckenna summed it up. “in an odd way, i think covid-19 has helped this program with student awareness. i can talk about reducing waste all day long, but it really has to be something that the students buy into. they wanted to be able to eat out of the dining hall, and how could we do that successfully? the clamshells were the answer.”

now that bringing green2go containers back and forth from the dining halls has become the social norm, mckenna has high hopes for future sustainability projects. her ideas include reusable to-go silverware, small containers for sides at sayles, weitz, and schultze cafés, or a revamp of the reusable cup program. the rest of the team is right behind her. “i think this is a great example that with community participation, student participation, we can accomplish these sustainability efforts on campus,” cashman said. “so it just opens the door to make more improvements down the road in all of our other areas that we’re using disposables.”

there’s also the possibility for the green2go program to spread beyond the carleton bubble. some institutions, such as macalester college and bemidji state university, have their own reusable programs, and others are in the process of developing them for the covid-19 crisis. carleton’s unique success story can provide an example of how to do it well. farias is currently writing a case study about the project for the post landfill action network, a resource for colleges that are working to reduce their waste. chen has written about the program in the bon appétit magazine, bravo, and the two of them are also presenting to a cross-campus sustainability group of student environmental organization leaders. 

“i think we’re an example of an institution that is doing something right and is taking advantage of the special opportunity that the covid-19 situation has presented,” said chen. “our model could be used as an example for other institutions to follow in step, and that would be a really awesome way to expand our impact and promote sustainability outside of just this campus.”

meanwhile, the green2gos are getting an evaluation back on campus. in economics professor mark kanazawa’s environmental studies research methods class, one student research project is focused exclusively on the containers. karah haug ’21 and alle brown-law ’21 are conducting a survey of students, faculty, and staff about how the program has been going. they developed their questions, both about perceptions and usage of the green2gos, with help from miller and mckenna. in an instance of truly reciprocal research, they’ll report their findings back to them to be used in adjusting the program for terms to come. 

“i chose this project (and alle would echo this),” said haug, “because i am interested in waste habits on campus and i wanted to find out if the green2go program implementation has been successful. if it has and people have relatively positive responses to it, we will be one important step closer to reducing waste and the carbon footprint of the campus.”

from farias’ perspective, the program has indeed been successful. he’s on campus but off-board this term, so he hasn’t used a single green2go container himself, he said with a laugh. but he’s been asking his friends, and they’ve had positive reactions. and just looking around is enough to show why. 

“around campus during new student week, i would see trash cans piled high with all of the bon appétit to-go containers,” farias said. “i can’t imagine what that would look like every single day, for the rest of the term and maybe even the year. i think that was a helpful visual representation for me to think, oh, maybe i am doing some good here.”

there’s definitely much to unpack within the sustainability movement of design, and it’s becoming increasingly important for designers to open dialogues surrounding what role they play in this movement. throughout my research, i’ve had the opportunity to engage in many such dialogues. in one, i was able to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for both sustainable design practices and the designer’s ethical responsibility. this conversation was with prisca vilsbol, a copenhagen-based fashion designer and researcher who champions sustainable design from two perspectives — the technical research side and the designer’s outlook. i first met vilsbol when she guest lectured during one of my classes. throughout her presentation she encouraged students to dive deeper and question the makeup of what they were designing and the source of where those materials came from. vilsbol’s big picture thinking of justifying every material inspired me to closer examine the intersection between packaging, sustainability, and ultimately the designer’s role. vilsbol’s consideration of both materiality and design provided me with greater insight into the types of questions i should be asking before approaching my own design projects. 

this project aims to provide designers with a basic understanding surrounding sustainability as well as serve as a field guide that designers can use to better integrate as well as advocate for sustainable solutions within their own projects. by unpacking these issues and raising awareness about the more systemic concerns related to sustainable package design, this conversation is just the beginning of a much needed, societal shift.

q&a with prisca vilsbol, sustainable fashion designer and researcher

vilsbol is a copenhagen-based design researcher and consultant who works primarily in fashion. with her former company, vilsbol de arce, she created strong, sculptural and handcrafted collections, worn by the likes of lady gaga, rihanna, and peaches. she has made it her mission to accelerate the implementation of sustainable and innovative processes in the field of product development. whether working with textiles, clothing, wearables or mycelium, her fusionist approach to the technical, theoretic and aesthetic challenges of the medium at hand lead to poetic and futuristic translations of complex processes.

website: https://priscavilsbol.com

q: when did you first start working in sustainable research? how did you become interested in working in this field?  

a: i got into fashion primarily because of the magic of what it could do; the beauty that was in it, but then i soon realized the “unbeauty” of the industry and it “freaked me out.” 

with my fashion brand i analyzed “more about how every piece has an excess that had to be justified and every piece i created had to have a justified role.” i like this idea that everything has excess and designers should ultimately justify each piece’s role.

q: was it hard to make the change from designer to sustainable researcher?

a: yes, it was a hard change to make – when working in fashion “i had always been interested in production techniques and how things work.”

i’ve always been curious about these things, new materials and new technologies, such as 3d printing. “i have a sort of engineering mind, when it comes to these things.”

there’s definitely a big gap between research and the design land, and we need to work on bridging this gap. i was able to combine my two passions by expressing myself through design and fashion, as well as the more technical side of things. 

q: how have you seen the field of sustainable research change over the last 5 years? 

a: yes, big time, it has come into foreground. before it was impossible for sustainability research to get any traction. now everybody wants to know about it and knows that it is important. there is a big change in interest surrounding the field of sustainability. now there is more funding and research within the field as well as a larger focus on bio-materials and biomimicry.

brands like officina corpuscoli and ecovative (using mushrooms to make products) are interesting to follow. 

q: do you think the term “sustainable” has become a buzz word in the field of design? if so, how can designers push past this and start advocating for real change?

a: by being clear about what’s possible and what’s not possible. people say it’s a sustainable product but nothing is a sustainable product. how and what are we doing now and what we’d like to do, being clear about your direction and what is tangible is very important. 

it is important to give the other side of the story — we can do that — by giving both sides of the story about what’s being done and not done. also we need to get away from this is how things have been done and start making people say it’s more complex and there is not a simple answer. people can deal with more complexity than we give them credit for.

q: do you think designer’s have an ethical responsibility when it comes to package design? 

a: definitely i believe there is an ethical responsibility from all sides of the product. there is a sudden focus for sustainable materials — but that is only one tiny piece of the puzzle and  it should also include business models and communication. we need to rethink systematically about how we do things like looking at leasing models versus selling models. it’s not just one company — we need packaging solutions for a bunch of different products.

q: where do you see package design heading in the next year? and 5 years?

a: two directions: one looking into what actually needs packaging and the other to be clear about what can be thrown away especially with food. is it entirely compostable?

q: should designers be solely responsible for creating products that drive sustainable change or do consumers also have a responsibility to advocate for this change? 

a: everybody has this responsibility and this is one of the biggest excuses used in industry right now. big companies like nike and h&m use this excuse and say that consumers want sustainable products but they aren’t willing to pay the price. however, these companies need to realize that they are the ones that created this demand for low prices in the first place — “80% off can’t always be sold and should not be the norm.” blaming the consumer for wanting cheaper products should really be placed on these bigger companies for systematically changing the way consumers see the market. if these companies really want sustainable change they need to be on the forefront of making systematic changes and consumers will respond accordingly. big brands have a responsibility in guiding but designers also have the ability to communicate complicated things in an attractive simpler way — this is a huge part of the switch that needs to be done. designers also have the ability to spark huge systematic change and create something that is easy to use and hopefully has the right kind of incentives and reward systems. 

as designers we have the ability to move something and communicate to the masses by thinking through complex stuff and boiling it down to something that is more accessible to everyone. throughout this discussion about who is responsible, we often mix up responsibility and blame — responsibility is not blame. therefore, we should not blame designers, because there is often more than just one group involved. however, designers do have the ability to do something compared to others — how you see the world can have a large impact — therefore designers have this responsibility.

q: in regards to corporate responsibility, how can designers push companies to take sustainable business risks? is this already happening? if so are there any examples you can give?

a: it depends on which designers and businesses — some designers that are in a place of extreme power and others just have no power at all. for example designers from h&m and ask me all the time about what they can do. but in reality there is an army of people drawing with little power — which can be extremely limiting. however, it is important to note that any one person in a company can be an activist and ask questions surrounding their company’s mission. criticism can often lead to opening people’s eyes and raising awareness about an issue or topic. 

create a list of questions to ask your boss or the company you work for… who made my clothes? where are these materials coming from? and can we more ethically-source these fabrics? the more people that ask these types of questions the more that people are aware. then after the 150th person asks that same question it becomes a lot more pertinent. it is a little bit of ‘snowball’  effect here — every little bit/push in the right direction helps. it is also important for designers to inform themselves and be curious. 

in regards to package design — graphic designers can research on their own — ask questions like what is this packaging made of? can i put in compost afterwards? what resources went into making it?  so ultimately consumers can make the right choice when they are in the store purchasing these products. who knows what can happen when designers take initiative, inform themselves, and start proposing alternative solutions.

a  lot of people in companies feel that it’s not my job or place to ask these questions. i can’t change this it’s too big — but in reality the tiniest person that asks what something is made from — can lead to a much larger subject or discussion. it just takes one person asking a simple question to ignite a larger conversation.

q&a with keely wachs, zume inc., vp of communications & sustainability 

keely wachs oversees zume inc.’s global communications and sustainability agenda for food waste, climate change and ocean conservation. before joining zume, keely worked as director of company affairs for clif bar & company. zume inc. is building a technology infrastructure designed to make the food supply chain smarter and more connected to help brands move food closer to demand, improve efficiency and reduce waste.

website: https://zume.com

q: where do you see package design heading in the next year? and 5 years?

a: i see a lot of nature inspired packaging. at zume we are looking at agriculture waste as a source of packaging material, as well as advanced manufacturing technologies with the goal of driving cycle time and cutting costs. the more you produce in a minute is how to leverage your assets. also, the packaging industry is going to keep expanding. more and more we are consuming especially with the rise of brands like instacart, uber eats, and seamless. packaging helps retain the quality of food as well as the experience. take for example a pizza box — it needs to retain heat as well as keep moisture out. here is a huge opportunity for designers to design packages that can separate the crust from grease. the future of package design lies in these elements that can have a functional benefit.

q: should designers be solely responsible for creating products that drive sustainable change or do consumers also have a responsibility to advocate for this change? 

a: yes, both have a responsibility. some water companies are moving from bottles to cans. one company, loop, discusses using all reusable packaging. however, this is asking a lot of behavioral change from consumers. this idea of a milk carton being delivered everyday goes back to an old methodology of thinking. 

q: considering that packaging is an essential part to every brand, how can designers start raising awareness to promote sustainable packaging?

a: they can start by designing sustainable packaging that gets consumers talking about the product. branding products with color and design elements is harder — and many sustainable packages struggle and resort to using “greyish colors.” sustainable dyes are expensive for companies to use in manufacturing. there is an opportunity to think about a brand’s packaging and for companies to differentiate themselves. packaging is very much a specialty and there is a huge opportunity that ultimately could also have a large environmental impact. 

***

special note

i want to give a big thanks and shoutout to prisca vilsbol and keely wachs for allowing me to interview them and for informing and framing my research for my senior capstone project.

sources

https://priscavilsbol.com 

https://zume.com 

https://informaconnect.com/green-by-design/speakers/keely-wachs/ 

images

http://ciid.dk/education/visiting-faculty/full-faculty-listing/prisca-vilsbol/

https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/retail/robots-and-pizza-didnt-mix-what-doomed-zume-to-pizza-boxes-103005 

founded by a pair of engineers, the company is working to make not only a replacement for styrofoam “peanuts” but a variety of other materials from home insulation to kitchen counters. the company has found some high-profile customers, making parts for ford and packaging for dell computers.

josh also takes us into the woods to see why mushrooms could be nature’s perfect packing, and to ecovative’s labs to see how a few cottonseed husks and some mushroom cells can grow into something useful and beneficial for the environment.