Multinationals and Entrepreneurs Come Together to Share Challenges and Opportunities

We've brought the curtain down on our second annual Greener by Design conference, and it was a huge success -- nearly 200 designers, product managers, sustainability professionals and other industry leaders came together for two days of in-depth discussion of the issues around the theme of "Greener products for leaner times."

 

 

GreenBiz.com editors Matthew Wheeland and Jonathan Bardelline covered the keynotes, panels and breakout sessions along with blogger Amie Vaccaro; you can read all the blog posts and Twitter feeds below. Be sure to read about Bill McDonough's keynote on nature's rights; Plastiki, the ocean exploration vessel, built by David de Rothschild; our profile of eight small but innovative companies; Marc Gunther's look at how Method is evolving laundry detergent; and Tom Szaky's goal to recycle all waste, everywhere, into cool stuff.

• Greener By Design Field Reports
• The New Normal and the Need for 'Radical Evolution'
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    GreenBiz.com launches our second annual Greener By Design conference today. The focus this year is on how companies are transitioning to greener product design amid rapidly changing, but still economically troubled, times. And a key thread will explore how firms should operate under what is being called "The New Normal."
  • Nature's Right, Nutrients and Quality Design
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      "Design is the first signal of human intention...What is our intention as a species and how do we go about thinking about that," William McDonough asked during his keynote speech at Greener by Design 2009.
    • What Will Better Design and Success Look Like?
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        Joel Makower, founder and executive editor of GreenBiz.com, kicked off Greener by Design 2009 with a look at what has changed, and what hasn't, since the first Greener by Design conference last year.
      • Why and How Innovation Matters
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          Steelcase, Method, HP and others are taking environmental innovation to the next level, and at Greener by Design, they shared their thoughts and experiences with making greener products and better products.
          
          Watch the Video: Greener by Design 2009: Innovation Matters
           
        • A Metrics Driven Approach to Sustainable Business
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            Sustainability is losing its meaning to me these days, as I hear it everywhere. At today’s Greener By Design Conference, leaders from Wal-Mart, Sustainable Minds and Clear Standards discuss how they are translating the concept of “sustainability” into success metrics and tools that drive sustainable packaging, design and environmental impact reporting.
            
            Watch the Video: Greener by Design 2009: The New Metrics of Design
             
          • How Intel and Frog Design Remade the Cash Register
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              Intel is a company that makes computer chips, not cash registers. So it was a leap into new territory when a team within Intel started developing a point-of-sale system after some quick research found they could cut the energy use of cash registers by 70 percent with just some repurposed computer chips.
              
              Watch the Video: Greener by Design 2009: When Designer Meets Client: A Conversation Between Intel and Frog
               
            • Big Ideas from Small Companies
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                The GbD Innovators' Showcase highlighted cutting-edge ideas from startups, small businesses, and students.
              • Terracycle's Ultimate Solution to Waste
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                  Tom Szaky, the founder and CEO of waste-to-product company Terracycle, demonstrated how waste is nothing more than poorly managed resources, and the many benefits of turning trash into products.
                • What's Driving Green Design?
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                    When does green design become more than just a "nice to have?" What is driving the many advancements in environmentally friendly product design? A panel discussion at today's Greener By Design conference brought together experts on carbon regulation, product toxicity, and sustainable product certification to discuss.
                    
                    Watch the Video: Greener by Design 2009: The New Drivers
                     
                  • Reducing, Remaking and Eliminating Packaging
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                      The "Packaging Outside the Box" panel at Greener by Design 2009 showed how HP, Frito-Lay and Jedlicka Design are rethinking what packaging should be, with widely different results.
                      
                      Watch the Video: Greener by Design 2009: Packaging Outside the Box
                       
                    • Can We Build Efficiency Into Products and Systems?
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                        The final panel discussion at Greener by Design 2009 explored how energy efficiency can be an obstacle and benefit to the design process, from the product level to the systems level.
                        
                        Watch the Video: Greener by Design 2009: Designing for Energy Efficiency