Natures Armour MA Journals

Saturday, 24 August 2019

Appendix XVI:Correspondence through organisations/questionaire

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Appendix XVI: Correspondence through organisations /questionnaires

Friday, 23 August 2019

Appendix XV: Future for Green Design

Appendix XV:The Future for Green Design

Country Living magazine Sept 2019

Country Living Sept 2019

Sketch book research from Country Living Magazine 2018

Sketch book research pages

Appendix XIIII: What motivates consumers to make ethically conscious decisions?

Appendix XIV: 22

What motivates consumers to make ethically conscious decisions?

A breakdown of how UK adults and Guardian readers approach sustainability

Jo Confino and Ozoda Muminova for the Guardian Professional Network

Fri 12 Aug 2011 14.08 BST First published on Fri 12 Aug 2011 14.08 BST

People shopping on Regent Street, in central London. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

There is a hunger for information from companies that are seeking to understand how to build their businesses on the back of being more sustainable.

Major brands in particular say they are keen to build trust in their products by becoming more environmentally and ethically conscious but are prepared only to invest if they can see it will add to the bottom line.

But while there is an enormous body of knowledge on how to encourage customers to consume more, there remains far less understanding about what motivates them to make more ethical choices, especially during what is likely to be a prolonged period of economic austerity.

This is why new ethical living research conducted in the UK by YouGov, and replicated by Guardian News & Media (GNM) among its own panel of readers, makes interesting reading.

One source of optimism comes from confirmation that the economic downturn has not dented people's desire to minimise their impact on the environment and their spend on ethical products.

What is also clear is that behaviour change is possible, with basic environmentally friendly actions, such as switching off unused lights, recycling and washing at 40 degrees or lower now deeply ingrained. For example, virtually all those over 16 years old undertake at least one environmental or ethical action regularly.

The purchase of ethical products with high awareness and broad appeal, like fair trade and locally produced goods, is also on the rise.

But the very scale of the issues that are being faced, especially around climate change, makes many individuals feel powerless and therefore reduces their belief that their own behaviour can make a meaningful difference.

Only 47% of UK adults believe that individual efforts to limit their own impact on climate change are worthwhile, although this rises to 70% of readers and users of the Guardian and Observer, who tend to be more eco-conscious.

The research further shows that 40% of UK adults think that pollution from other countries makes our efforts irrelevant, falling to 17% among the GNM audience.

The study mirrors other recent research that shows that consumers are not prepared to pay a premium for more ethical goods and services.

More than that, more complex or expensive purchases such as solar panels, electric vehicles, travelling by train abroad and ethical loans remain beyond the means or desires of the majority.

Given these limitations, how can companies generate demand and communicate their ethical messages more effectively?

One issue is paramount. Quality remains the main influencer of choice regardless of whether a product or service is ethical. Also key is the availability of ethical choices, with 69% of UK adults (93% of GNM's audience) keen to buy ethical clothing if it was more widely stocked.

What the research shows clearly is that while there are a few areas where there are similarities in ethical behaviour among a broad range of consumers, in the majority of cases there is no silver bullet; companies need to take a nuanced and tailored approach.

First the common ground. Waste has become an issue that even skeptics can embrace. There is also increased demand for more transparency and accountability from companies. For example, 86% of the GNM audience like buying products from companies that give something back to society and 84% think that companies should be penalised for failing to care for the environment.

But beyond these limited areas, there is a great deal of difference in consumers' approach to sustainability.

In an attempt to make some sense of this, the GNM survey of 1,000 readers and online users segments the respondents into four categories:

Committed 41% of GNM audience:

• Strong sense of personal responsibility in dealing with climate change

• Do everything they can to live ethically

• Have a strong sense of urgency

• Highly aware and understand environmental and ethical concepts

• Influence others

Followers 23% of GNM audience:

• Feel a growing pressure to change the way they live

• Believe in individual efforts in dealing with climate change, but think there may also be a bigger solution

• Undertake many ethical actions, but can be inspired to do even more

Confused 23% of GNM audience:

• They do what is asked of them, but feel they don't fully understand ethical concepts

• Not totally sure how much difference individual efforts make and tend to believe that scientists will find a solution to tackle climate change

• Feel responsibility lies primarily with the government and businesses

Questioners 13% of GNM audience

• Believe that individual efforts in dealing with climate change are irrelevant because of major pollution from other countries and businesses not doing enough

• Undertake ethical actions that benefit them and their immediate community

How can this breakdown of the data help companies? For a car manufacturer seeking to promote greener vehicles, for example, concerns over the environment will be the primary reason for the Committed and Followers, while of most significant interest to the Confused and Questioners will be fuel savings.

For a retailer, food provenance is important for the Committed primarily for environmental reasons, while Questioners are more concerned about supporting British farmers.

The YouGov and GNM surveys suggest that ethical behaviour will grow, as people are willing to look for more information on ethical living and seek more sustainable alternatives. The most effective way brands can support this movement is by providing availability, visibility, affordability, quality and clear communication around ethical products and services.

If you would like more information on the YouGov and Guardian research then please contact ozoda.muminova@guardian.co.uk

(https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/motivates-consumers-environmental-ethical-decisions.accessed 22/08/2019)

Appendix XIII: Visual Research Through Pinterest

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Appendix : Visual Research through Pinterest
(https://www.pinterest.com/originalsampe.accessed Aug2019)

Sketch Book Research

Sketch Book Moodboard

Mind map from sketch book

Sketch book with fabric choices

Appendix XII Anthropcene The Human Epoch

Appendix XII: Anthropocene:The Human Epoch

The Anthropecene;Making sense of the climate change

“A good short definition of the Anthropocene is the epoch where human component of the earth system is large enough to affect how it functions. When the scale of human impact is that large, the corresponding solutions to major human problems will often end up being large and so may have unintended consequences for the Earth system and for us. This is a key draw back of using geoengineering techniques such as reflecting some of the Sun’s energy back to space as a way of solving our emission problem. But even under the hopeful scenario of meeting the Paris Agreement goals, the planet would be further transformed to the detriment of some of the world’s most diverse habitats. The main stream positive and progressive storyline of solving climate change substitutes one disaster for another. The delay-climate-action-and-make-nature-pay-later story is not a wise one to tell ourselves. In essence it is still the old religious idea of human dominating nature rendered in mathematical equations. Much less destructive pathways are possible to limit global warming, but within the norms of the current consumer capitalist mode of living they are too easily discarded as “unrealistic”, so the public and the policy makers never even ever hear them. These difficulties suggest that for a global network of interconnected cultures to thrive in the Anthropocene a suite of much more radical interventions may be required.(P399, The human Planet.How we created the Anthropocene. Lewis.S.L,Maslim.MA.Penguin.2018)

Appendix XI Sabastian Copland.

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Appendix XI : Environmental list and photographer

Sebastian Copland

" Sebastian Copland is a photographer and environmental advocate using messages of urgent global significance for the world to revue and understand. His book Antarctica which he produced with Sir Richard Branson won him a Professional Photographer of the year award in 2007. Sebastian has been an international speaker of climate change crisis for many years. He has been warning of systemic transformations taking place in the polar regions from anthropogenic activities and their geographical consequences.He is also an explorer and has been listed in the worlds top 50 explorers globally. Copland has led expeditions across the Artic sea, Greenland and Antarctica and has reached both poles on foot. He has also produced documentary films including the North Pole and Greenland.

Human induced climate change is being researched by numerous scientists across the globe recognising the volume of the shrinking ice cap and “feedback effect” of melting ice caused by warming trends

The indigenous populations of the polar regions have been effected by climate change, their way of life and culture is under threat in the same way in which animals are being effected by the reduction of ice in the region.

“For the Artic’s population 4,000 years of adaptive evolution have proven no match for the carbon economy’s global impact. The Artic was an ecosystem which worked in harmony, relying on a balance of behaviour, hunting cycles and seasonal migration. The poster child for climate change in the Artic may well be the polar bear and for good reason: the spreading retreat of the sea ice is challenging this magnificent preditors survival skills faster than it can adapt, endangering species the enevitable conclusion.

The Artic is one of the more hostile environments on Earth and it is also one of the more fragile.

While the loss of culture and biodiversity may seem like a sentimental tale and the price of doing business -it is really a cautionary one as the Artic foretells changes for lower latitudes. The polar regions act like an air conditioner for the world. Warmer temperatures and the melting in the Artic is already creating a feedback loop across our planet, with increased heat waves, droughts, and fires. Meanwhile, the melting of land ice and resulting sea-level rise is having consequences across the globe. On Nedar island, my Caribbean home, shifts in Ph balance of the ocean and rising sea levels add to the existing environmental stressors in marine environment. Climate change is affecting all areas and all people”. (Sir Richard Branson)

"Sustainability is about redefining the business landscape so that it works for the future. Since the start of the industrial age, growth has come at the expense of nature. But building wealth comes from learning how to work with nature and celebrate it. On the balance sheet, that means recognizing the well being of people and the planet in equal parts: one should not exist without the other. Our responsibility today is to acknowledge the warning signs and fundamentally redefined our attitudes towards nature and our actions, before they are redefined for .(Sir Richard Branson)

Ocean Theme

The oceans contain a huge variety of life recent estimations conclude their are up to 2 million species found in and around coral reefs, the sea produces around half of all oxygen we breath( thanks to phytoplankton, tiny single cell ocean plants). The ocean also sequences large amounts of dangerous carbon dioxide. The ocean regulates our climate, cool waters soak up heat from the sun, they are a big part of our life support system. It is estimated that that 8 million tonnes of plastic waste is dumped in our oceans and it is set to double by 2025