FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4th September 2008

A fantastic mix of speakers to challenge the design industry on sustainability at The London Design Festival - from chemists to magicians, engineers to entrepreneurs.

The programme is announced today for greengaged, the festival’s sustainable design hub, running from 15th- 23nd September 2008, at the Design Council in Covent Garden, London.

greengaged will explore a different theme in sustainable design each weekday of The London Design Festival. It brings together free debates, seminars, workshops, excursions and exhibitions. Innovative and inspiring speakers include: scientists, engineers, designers, business people, educators, publishers, activists and architects.

The full programme is free to attend and open to anyone interested in sustainable design issues. More information and booking at www.greengaged.com

Highlights include:

• Breakfast launch with Design Council Chair, Sir Michael Bichard, with Juila Hailes MBE; Ed McCann of Expedition Engineering UK; Dorothy MacKenzie, Chair of Dragon; and Clive Grinyer of Cisco.

• Michael Braungart, world-renowned chemist and co-author of publication ‘Cradle to Cradle: Re-making the way we make things’ in conversation at the RSA.

• Debate on the challenges for delivering a sustainable Olympics with key players from the London 2012 design team.

• Rob Holdway (presenter of Channel 4’s “Dumped”) hosts a canal boat trip to a waste recycling centre to showcase the importance of ‘designing in’ re-use and recyclability.

• Seminars on best practice and innovation, with cutting edge practitioners in graphic and communication design, fashion and product design, and behavioural change

• Practical workshops on bringing sustainable smart thinking to design studios and projects; packaging, and sustainable print and paper.

• A night walk through London, “re-thinking the city” with artist and magician aladin.

greengaged will also feature an interactive collaboration between curators thomas.matthews and [re]design including an exhibition that will invite visitors to create a collective manifesto/movement towards sustainable design with a display of innovative seating that combine comfort, quality and style – with a passion for sustainability with a twist.

greengaged is set to be one of the highlights of this year’s festival: it will examine ecological imperatives, and political and social drivers for/against change; it will unpack new cross discipline sustainable design strategies, from product design to graphics, service design to fashion. The event aims to galvanise and equip designers to address a sustainable future, and will feature forward-thinking designers and innovators.

ENDS

For further information or images please contact:

Sophie Thomas, sophie@thomas.matthews.com 0207 403 4281
Sarah Johnson, [re]design 0208 406 4160
Nigel Campbell, Design Council 0207 420 5282 or email pressoffice@designcouncil.org.uk

Notes to editors:

Events are all free, but need to be pre-booked, and numbers are limited. Details and reservations at www.greengaged.com

Greengaged has been developed and organised by [re]design, thomas.matthews and the Sustainable Design Research Centre at Kingston University with Arup and Three Trees Don’t Make A Forest in association with the Design Council, Saint Gobain, Audi Design Foundation, Own It, Forum for the Future and Adnams.

GREENGAGED PROGRAMME

Monday 15 September: Big Problems, Big Ideas

8am-10am Big Bang Breakfast.
Welcome and launch of greengaged by David Kester, Chief Exec of the Design Council followed by a lively debate on sustainability and the role of design, chaired by Design Council Chair Sir Michael Bichard, with panel comprising Clive Grinyer of Cisco, Ed McCann of Expedition Engineering, industrial sustainability consultant Julia Hailes MBE and Dorothy MacKenzie of Dragon

2-3pm: Joined-up Living - integrated urbanism and cross disciplinary thinking for the future.
John Wood of Goldsmiths University and founder of Attainable Utopias in conversation with Malcolm Smith, Design Director for Arup Urban Design

6.30pm-8.30pm: Workshop: Imagine 2058 with London United
A visionary workshop by a team of entrepreneurs, designers and activists

Tuesday 16th September: Gauging the Green

9.20-1.00 pm Case studies of best practice and innovation

- Communication and Graphic Design with Sophie Thomas from thomas.matthews, Joshua Blackburn from Provokateur/We Want Tap and Anne Chick from the Sustainable Design Research Centre at Kingston University

- Product and Fashion Design with Cyndi Rhoades from Worn Again, Simon Terry from Anglepoise and Cressida Granger from DeWeNe

- Behaviour Change with Luke Nicholson, More Associates Fiona Bennie, Forum for the Future Andrea Koerselman, IDEO and Lea Simpson from ‘unchained’

2.00-3.30pm Workshop: Greening your studio. Tips and guidance from Three Trees Don’t Make a Forest

6-9pm: [re]Quiz - Legal Quiz on Re-using and Recycling Design, with Own-It

Wednesday 17th September: The Power of Design

2.00-4.30pm Workshop: How far can we go green? All the way: is there another option?
A thought-provoking call to action from Tim ‘Mac’ Macartney and Toni Spencer of Embercombe.

6.30-9pm workshop: Designer as agent of change.
With Pio Barone Lumaga, editor of LOFT the Nordic Bookazine, and Tyler Moorehead, Director of GreenUnlimited and former publisher of the Ecologist Magazine

Thursday 18th September: Material Matters

9.30am-1.30pm: ‘Wasted Talent’ barge trip to Powerday Waste Recycling Plant on the Grand Union Canal. With Rob Holdway, Giraffe Innovation and presenter of Channel 4’s “Dumped”

2-3.30pm: Materials Masterclass
With Kate Goldsworthy, Chelsea College of Art, Colin Williamson, Smile Plastics and Chris Pett, Pli Design. Chaired by Jakki Dehn, Kingston University

3.30-5pm: Packaging Masterclass - Sustainable packaging design: Policy, design and business. With Jane Bickerstaffe, Director, INCPEN, Helen Hughes, Client Director, Design Bridge and chaired by Anne Chick, Director of the Sustainable Design Research Centre, Kingston University.

6-8.30pm Debate: Delivering a sustainable Olympics through design
Chaired by David Kester, Chief Executive of the Design Council, with Daniel Epstein, Head of Sustainability and Regeneration, ODA; Sarah Weir, Head of Arts and Cultural Stratgegy, ODA; John Tebbit, Head of Industry Affairs, Construction Products Association; Jonathan Smales, Director, Beyond Green.

Friday 19th September: Walk it, Talk it

10-11am How Do You Create Value from Sustainability?
Masterclass with Peter Madden, Chief Executive, Forum for the Future

11-12pm Chemists and designers working together: Reducing the impact of the products we buy
Masterclass with Dr Mike Pitts, Manager of the Sustainable Technologies Priority for Chemistry Innovation Knowledge Transfer Network

2-5pm Workshop: Print processes and sustainable paper
With Three Trees Don’t Make a Forest, and Richard Owers, Beacon Press

6.30-8.30pm Debate: Should we believe the hype? Green Marketing, spin and substance
With Ed Gillespie, Futerra, Sophie Thomas, thomas.matthews, Richard George, Plane Stupid, Chris Sherwin, Forum for the Future. Chaired by Lucy Siegle, The Observer

11pm-1am Night Walk: Re-thinking the City
An inspiring walking tour of London to imagine how design can reshape the city of the future, with artist and magician aladin

Monday 22 September: Tomorrow’s Designers

10am-12pm How can design education prepare designers for tomorrow’s challenges?
With Tracy Bhamra, Loughborough University, Ian Capewell, Practical Action and Emma Dewberry, Open University. Chaired by Anne Chick, Director, Sustainable Design Research Centre, Kingston University

4.30-6.30pm Towards Tomorrow’s Designer
Jonathan Sands, Elmwood and Vicky Richardson, Blueprint

6pm-9pm Professor Michael Braungart in conversation with Philip Ball
Materials assessment, waste and energy balances and life-cycle design.
In association with Design Council and MADE at the RSA.

Tuesday 23 September: Green for Go

2-5pm A menu of conversations: Designing for a future. creative brainstorming chaired by Dr Kate Fletcher, London College of Fashion, with Nic Marks, New Economics Foundation, Michael Pawlyn, Exploration Architecture, Alison Tickell, Julie’s Bicycle and Toni Spencer, Embercombe.