How do you add sustainability to your creative solutions?

1 Define the problem and the impact

The first step to add sustainability to your creative solutions is to clearly define the problem you are trying to solve and the impact you want to create. This means not only identifying the needs and challenges of your target users, customers, or stakeholders, but also considering the broader context and consequences of your solution. How will it affect the natural resources, the climate, the communities, and the markets involved? What are the potential trade-offs, risks, or unintended effects? By defining the problem and the impact, you can set the scope and the criteria for your creative solutions.

2 Explore diverse perspectives and sources

The second step to add sustainability to your creative solutions is to explore diverse perspectives and sources of inspiration. This means not only researching and benchmarking existing solutions, but also engaging with different people, cultures, disciplines, and sectors that can offer new insights, ideas, or feedback. How do they approach the problem or the impact you are aiming for? What are their values, beliefs, or practices that can inspire or challenge you? By exploring diverse perspectives and sources, you can enrich your creative thinking and learning.

3 Generate and evaluate ideas

The third step to add sustainability to your creative solutions is to generate and evaluate ideas. This means not only brainstorming and prototyping possible solutions, but also testing and refining them based on the impact criteria you defined earlier. How do your ideas address the problem and the impact you want to create? How do they balance the environmental, social, and economic aspects of sustainability? What are their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, or threats? By generating and evaluating ideas, you can select and improve your creative solutions.

4 Communicate and implement solutions

The fourth step to add sustainability to your creative solutions is to communicate and implement them. This means not only presenting and pitching your solutions, but also planning and executing them in a way that maximizes their sustainability impact. How do you communicate the value and the benefits of your solutions to your target users, customers, or stakeholders? How do you involve them in the implementation process and ensure their satisfaction and loyalty? How do you monitor and measure the outcomes and the impact of your solutions? By communicating and implementing solutions, you can deliver and demonstrate your creative value.

5 Learn and adapt

The fifth step to add sustainability to your creative solutions is to learn and adapt. This means not only celebrating and sharing your achievements, but also reflecting and learning from your failures and feedback. How do you evaluate your performance and your impact? How do you identify the gaps, the challenges, or the opportunities for improvement? How do you update or modify your solutions based on new data, insights, or needs? By learning and adapting, you can keep your creative solutions relevant and sustainable.

6 Use tools and frameworks

The sixth step to add sustainability to your creative solutions is to use tools and frameworks that can guide and support you throughout the process. There are many tools and frameworks that can help you integrate sustainability into your creative thinking and practice. For example, you can use the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a global framework to align your solutions with the most urgent and important challenges facing the world. You can use the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) as a business framework to measure your solutions' impact on the three dimensions of sustainability: people, planet, and profit. You can use the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a scientific framework to analyze the environmental impacts of your solutions from cradle to grave. By using tools and frameworks, you can enhance your creative skills and outcomes.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?