Greener Gadgets 2009

I attended Friday's Greener Gadgets conference in New York, sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association.  I was impressed by the quality and diversity of the discussion, and got a lot out of it.  I want to share some of the key things I took away from the day, but first here are some links that summarize the day's events:

- Conference Liveblog (Summary)
- Design Competition Winners
- Key note by Saul Griffith

As with many conferences, one leaves with more questions than answers.  Here are a few of the bigger questions or insights that emerged for me:

Can an heirloom product culture be adopted?   Saul Griffith initially discussed the idea of heirloom consumer electronics.  His analogy was the Mont Blanc pen -- buy 1 and own it for life.  The idea was referenced throughout the day by various panelists.  Businesses throughout the value chain including manufacturers and retailers have business models and incentives to encourage a more disposable approach to product.  At the same time, consumer's desire for new, different, better, etc. drives the actions of business.  I don't know of one person (presenter or attendee) who sees a 25 year cell phone workable for any of the key constituents in the mobile phone business...

How does the developing world fit into the sustainability topic?  I was challenged by and enjoyed the panel discussion focused on "Design for Good" more than anything else.  Each of the panelists would have been entirely engaging individually, but as a group they provided a great balance to the rest of the day's discussion.  

Mark Bent of SunNight Solar offered a number of compelling stories about how his company's flashlights can change people's lives.  He shared the story of a farmer who had more live goats because of having a flashlight to be able to more quickly get to the aid of a mother goat in labor.   

Later in the discussion, they argued (especially Gadi Amit) that we are undervaluing intuition and aesthetics and overvaluing hard data when considering sustainability.  A beautiful product that has a more negative initial environmental impact may be better if it is something that is the purchaser is going to want to hold onto and continue to use for a long period of time.  

In addition to aesthetics, durability is a key attribute.  In Africa, a durable flashlight can free up money that would have otherwise been spent on fuel for a kerosene.  For manufacturers, the car industry has shown that vehicles with reputations for durability can demand a premium price.  

One of the more sticky aspects surrounding how we go about addressing climate change issues is the developed vs. developing world priorities.  In a nutshell, the US and others don't want to put too many constraints on their economies if the developing world isn't also going to be playing.  On the other hand, the developing world is trying to develop, and since the developed world created this issue, it is difficult argument for the industrialized world to be making.  Perhaps the issue of product durability and family sustainability is one area we all can agree on that will make the macro global sustainability discussion easier to have.

This is going to be difficult.  One of the more amusing, instructive and unplanned learning moments was during lunch.  The conference organizers were encouraging us to walk the green walk while we were listening to the green talk.  The plates and forks were compostable, and there were numerous bins for recycling.  In theory, there was very little that should have been going into the trash cans.  Unfortunately, this rather "green-leaning" cadre of conference attendees, was baffled by the trash/recycle/compost system.  You can imagine the questions that would arise as one approached the trash area... "Are napkins compostable?  How about uneaten scraps of meat?   What about recyclable?  Are the plastic cups recyclable?  They aren't at home, but maybe here in New York the are."  It only take a few people to just throw whatever into a bin for there to be a confusing feedback loop. 

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of this minor debacle, but it shows that even among a group of individuals who, on average, are more apt to be concerned with green issues, it is a challenge to get them to follow through.  I am picking on the organizers a bit with this point, but it is only to illustrate the point that behavioral design is an interesting/challenging topic. 

Overall, I applaud the conference organizers for a great conference. 

photo credits:  phones - Gaeten Lee (flickr CC) Mark Bent & Gadi Amit - inhabitat (flickr CC)

Comments

[Taobao auction]

He is a good friend that speaks well of us behind our backs.
*_*

[Coach Factory Store]

When the fight begins within himself, a man's worth something

[Shop taobao]

* be happy together is good enough. I am not asking for things that I could never get.

[Coach Factory Store]

People also perform better when motivated by the interest, enjoyment and challenge of the work itself, not by external pressures or rewards.

[order cigarettes]

This is really good article. But from Europe your blog are to slow:( I dont know why!

[UGG Amelie Suede]

I think not, for three reasons. The first is that even the adjustments that every economist would favor in principle, such as subtracting depreciation from market value, involve contestable judgments (there is a measure called Net Domestic Product that subtracts normal depreciation from GDP).