TORONTO—At its November meeting, RGD Ontario’s board of directors voted to endorse the Sustainable Design Charter created by Ontario’s Design Industry Advisory Committee.

DIAC developed the charter to address the critical role designers can play in improving the environment. All of Ontario’s professional design associations have been asked to endorse it on behalf of their members. DIAC plans to promote the charter through cross-disciplinary Design Green and Design for Sustainability seminars and initiatives.

DIAC SUSTAINABLE DESIGN CHARTER

Members of the Design Industry Advisory Committee will:

1. Raise awareness of the critical role that designers play in creating a Sustainable Ontario.
• Encourage policy-makers to acknowledge the potential of design to reduce negative environmental impacts.
• Play a leadership role in furthering sustainability initiatives in local communities.
• Champion the early and continuous involvement of designers in public sector sustainability action plans.

2. Model the principles and best practices of sustainability in professional practice and in design education.
• Enable design association members to demonstrate sustainability best practices within the design studio.
• Teach the principles and values of sustainability to association members, other design colleagues, and students.
• Communicate success stories and promote the value of sustainable design.

3. Empower Ontario’s design workforce to help all clients reduce negative environmental impacts.
• Promote the business case and social value of sustainable design practices on all projects.
• Help designers to enable their clients to develop and implement strategies to minimize environmental impacts in products & services, process, communications and the workplace environment.
• Encourage the client world to progress from incremental to systemic change in integrating sustainability into all activities and organizational design.

4. Develop Design for Sustainability research initiatives with DIAC colleagues in partnership with industry, government and education.
• Work with DIAC board members to develop and articulate next generation strategies for sustainable design.
• Educate and inform public and private sector stakeholders on the benefits of taking a sustainable design approach.
• Champion further change, and encourage the engagement of qualified professional designers in the public realm. Contact: www.diac.on.ca