Green? It’s BLUE sustainability now
by VISI BLOGGER Pieter-Ernst Mare
We’re all familiar with the term "green sustainability". For some, it’s part of their designs, corporate identities and households. Others suffer from "green fatigue’".
The fact is that the word “green” has been slapped around so often and pushed into every marketable product associated with sustainably that it was time for a new take on things. The term is now officially outdated and will be replaced with “BLUE sustainability” (always in caps) instead.
Coined by Adam Werbach, a well-known and respected environmentalist, BLUE sustainability will hopefully breathe new life into the sustainability concept. It can loosely be explained in the same way as the pay-it-forward system. We’re expected to change small habits in our immediate lives to have a knock-on benefit on the environment. BLUE is a cultural awakening.
Too often sustainability becomes the sole responsibility of designers and large companies without serious input by consumers. BLUE sustainability, instead, asks consumers to make small changes to contribute to a better personal life – a move that will build better communities in the long run.
What I like about the idea is that I don’t have to buy gimmicky stuff to be BLUE. I can stop buying dry foods that are made with regular eggs, for example, and ask my grocery store to stock lasagne made from organic eggs instead. Steps like this can increase the need for organic egg farms, which will in turn lead to more job creation. More jobs in my community means more money for a better infrastructure. Now communities can build their own schools without the red tape associated with government. And so it goes on and on.
As BLUE sustainability is still a new concept in South Africa, it will be exciting to see how we apply it to our lives. What will it mean for architecture? Will sustainably now start with a clear brief from the client who lives BLUE instead of being the responsibility of the architect or designer?
Think BLUE. What will you change to impact your immediate community?
About Pieter-Ernst:
Pieter is an architect from Melville, Johannesburg, and is currently employed by Lupini Architects:http://lupiniarc.wordpress.com/
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