MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Working in BMW 22 years ago brought sustainability pioneer and Umeå Institute of Design professor Daniela Bohlinger face-to-face with the big questions that ultimately defined her career path. With work that left behind a significant carbon footprint, she had to ask herself how big a part she, as an individual, played in this. Her eventual solution? Working with the automobile manufacturer on developing more sustainable technologies for their products.
At the 7th International Design Conference last September 14 and 15 at the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez, CCP Complex, Pasay City, Daniela shared an insightful address on how one’s impact on the bigger scheme of things starts with the way one’s mind works.
“We designers speak a different language. It’s not only about material substitution. It’s about a holistic change. We need to think different. We don’t think, ‘A car.’ We think, ‘Mobility,’” she said.
She further added that while big changes may start in how people think, achieving sustainability in all societal systems and processes requires removing humans as the focal point of everything. It’s not just about people, she says; nature is a stakeholder in all human decision-making. It is necessary to think farther ahead, speculate on possible pivotal events based on the information available now, and tether present decisions to visions of the future.
Watch Daniela Bohlinger’s full talk at the 7th International Design Conference here:
