Once you start thinking about circular design, it is possible to see everywhere. Consider the Circular Design Series itself, even. Soft launched by SAP in 2018 at London Design Festival, the Plastics Cloud was more of a provocation, aiming to inspire action around the challenge posed by plastic waste.
That evolved into a physical space for dialogue in 2019, created in collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The pandemic curtailed physical engagement in 2020, but supercharged the conversation and launched the Circular Design Project in earnest. The virtual talk series spanned a variety of subjects, from fashion and the built environment, to food design and material innovation.
Going strong two years on, Global Design Forum has now leaped across the pond to New York, with a renewed focus on plastics, and in particular, packaging.
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“In Europe there's already a good understanding and a good momentum,” notes Stephen Jamieson, SAP’s Global Head of Circular Economy Solution, “but North America is a different scene. There’s a different type of conversation and a different level of awareness. We felt it was critical to engage in that dialogue.”
So why return to plastics now? There’s the policy space to consider, says Jamieson, pointing to the UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution currently underway, and the huge leaps that have been made, for example in Spain with the plastics packaging tax. “The timing is now to really double down and focus on solutions.”
“Historically, the Circular Design Series has had a slightly broader agenda, and we will continue with that, but what's important now is that we really get into the details and topics that are relevant on a material-by-material basis and engage industry holistically.”
An integrated approach is critical, he adds: “No one business and no one designer is going to solve this, but it's the collective effort of multiple industries, multiple designers, multiple leaders, across those material types that ultimately lead to solutions.”
“Historically, the Circular Design Series has had a slightly broader agenda, and we will continue with that, but what's important now is that we really get into the details and topics that are relevant on a material-by-material basis and engage industry holistically.”
An integrated approach is critical, he adds: “No one business and no one designer is going to solve this, but it's the collective effort of multiple industries, multiple designers, multiple leaders, across those material types that ultimately lead to solutions.”
There is a unique conviction in Jamieson’s voice. In his mind, it isn’t a question of if it will happen, but when. “When you look at the technological innovations that are embedded in our daily lives today and how something – like using Zoom in and since lockdown – can just click, and suddenly there’s mass adoption and a challenge that seemed insurmountable has been solved. The plastics packaging tax in Spain has seen our customers adopt solutions at scale in a matter of weeks. And we can see how they are changing the way they are designing and managing their packaging mix. That change is tangible.”
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