Reflections on the Design for Planet Festival 2024

(22 November) Architecture and Design Scotland Chief Executive Jim MacDonald reflects and shares his key takeaways from attending the Design for Planet 2024 festival in Manchester earlier this month.

As I made my way across town, the conversations overheard were about what it meant: for us, for them, for the world. November 2024 may not be remembered fondly by anyone committed to tackling climate change. But last Wednesday, as the world woke up to the prospect of a second Trump presidency, the Design Council was offering us hope at the Design for Planet Festival in Manchester School of Art's wonderful Lowry Building.

The day's theme, appropriately perhaps, was how to preach to the unconverted. How do we convince the fashion industry to look beyond next season's collection? How can we persuade retail shareholders to sell fewer products? How can we make planet-friendly development the go-to, no-brainer option for investors? The answer is to work together to seek out solutions for change. 

Andy Burnham, Greater Manchester's down-to-earth but inspiring Mayor, described how he viewed the transition to net zero as the biggest economic opportunity for the city region since the Industrial Revolution and a way to improve people's lives.

Patrick Grant of The Great British Sewing Bee fame railed, entertainingly and passionately, against the insanity of consumerism and the forces that exploit the lure of the new. Others spoke of waste as a flaw in the design process, of moving from disposable to durable, and of the appetite for change from the boardroom to our communities.

However, there remains a strong sense that this appetite has not yet translated into behavioural change, and the planet has to deal with the consequences. So, what's to be done? And what can design do to help?

There was consensus on the power of design to drive change but perhaps less so on how to unleash its power. What was clear, however, was the need to promote the value of design to different people in different ways, that innovation needs to mean better, not just new, and leaving it all to consumers is simply not going to cut it, whether it is waste, consumption or emissions.

Reflecting on the takeaways for architecture and design here in Scotland, two things stood out. Firstly, the challenges we face – design skills being undervalued, user voices not being heard, systems thwarting ambition to do good – are shared across the wider design sector and beyond. Secondly, the participants in the room and worldwide represent an incredibly generous network, sharing support, learning, and inspiration.

Heading back across town, the conversation on Manchester’s streets seemed to have moved on. Reflecting on the day, I was reminded that everything moves on and, however challenging it appears to be, the world is full of brilliant, creative, thoughtful people who care about making things better and are ready to fight for the chance to do so. Yes, we can, as someone once said.

All images credited to Architecture and Design Scotland