Transforming a Carbon Neutral RIT-ID

As industrial design education transforms itself into a sustainable environment, many institutions are exploring ways of integrating responsible practices and addressing issues that affect a discipline that creates new products on a daily basis. The department of Industrial Design at Rochester Institute of Technology recently began working on becoming a carbon neutral unit, aligning itself with RIT’s pledge to be a carbon neutral campus by 2030. A series of three posters illustrate three key stages of RIT-ID’s work in this area thus far: first, a survey that collected impressions and practices in sustainability from the department’s community; second, an assessment that quantified the department’s current environmental footprint; third, a series of explorations and brainstorming sessions around important topics for design education, such as materials and processes, student environment, recycling practices, etc. While RIT’s Industrial Design Department still has a long way to go before achieving carbon neutrality, the steps taken so far are fundamental for the future of design education and practice, leading to a profession that not only produces sustainable solutions but also operates in that way.