14 September 2022
Sustainable Interiors has now met IRL for the first time and it was a success! Many wise words and ideas have been shared in the research library at the Academy of Fine Arts over the years and we pulled out all the stops last Friday with interesting discussions and reflections.
It was a nice gathering where we workshoped and reflected on important parts of the project's progress and got to see the results from step 2. An important aspect of the project is that we do not want to greenwasha and therefore we invited an expert in the field, Gustav Martner, Creative Director at Greenpeace Norden.
” In five years, other aspects of sustainability, such as social and financial, will also fit into the Hi logic”
Meeting IRL for the first time really set the mood for the workshop. We met in the Konstakademiens premises in central Stockholm, which exudes the same mentality as the project stands for: to preserve what has been built and refine it instead of tearing it down and buying new. Inspiring environment and rewarding meetings.
We brainstormed in groups about the obstacles and opportunities that lie ahead for the project and this resulted in many interesting reflections that will be taken into account when planning further work.
Some of these that we can mention in particular are:
New international requirements and regulations, both a barrier and a great opportunity for Sustainable Interiors. At the product level, there are a lot of new regulatory requirements coming up right now, and they are likely to come for environments as well. New requirements create new standards that then need to be complied with and this is where Hi comes in because it is not easy to comply with new standards. There is an opportunity here and a clear need if Hi certification is linked to the new standard, but this could also be a barrier if Hi does not link to the legislation and ends up on the sidelines.
For the new generation there is a great opportunity with the logic of Sustainable Interiors because young people today are tired of apps for sustainability, they are conscious, critical reviewers, know what greenwashing is, and they have ethical requirements. For them, it suits that there is someone who captures the whole process of an interior. Expanding aspects of sustainability to include social, ethical and financial sustainability is a good way to reach these future users.
We also see great opportunities for Hållbar interiör to create consensus and be a bridge between all the different actors and initiatives that exist today and show what sustainability linked to premises is.
During the day, we also looked ahead to the future and the continued existence of Sustainable Interiors, and discussed the likelihood of several different claims. One statement that everyone agreed on was:
“In five years, other aspects of sustainability, such as social and financial, will also fit within the Hi logic”
We look forward to taking this further in the project going forward.
The day ended with an inspiring talk by Gustav Martner, Creative Director at Greenpeace Norden, to hear about his personal journey from the advertising industry to Greenpeace and a lot of food for thought about greenwashing.
“In recent years, greenwashing and misleading environmental claims have increased dramatically and yet the Swedish Consumer Agency has only managed to issue one fine in ten years” Gustav Martner at Greenpeace.
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