There is good money in sustainability. And its economic future looks bright. Sustainability and sustainable design can only continue to grow as a business in the future. That is the assessment of futurist Jesper Bo Jensen.

 
“Today, sustainability and sustainable design are the responsibility of businesses. In the past, it was the consumer who thought about sustainability, but today, it is businesses who concern themselves with sustainability more and more. And that is a conscious choice, because there is good money in it. Both because one can sell more units to customers and allow oneself to charge a higher price – and thereby earn more money, but also – or perhaps especially – because one can save money”, says futurist Jesper Bo Jensen of Fremforsk.  

Energy and recycling

“For example, the focus is more and more on production through the use of more and more diverse resources, including the use of energy. At the same time it is important, that customers can dispose of the product in a sensible and cost-effective manner when they are finished with it. The more of the product which can be used again, the better it is economically for the company, for the customer and for society”, explains futurist Jesper Bo Jensen.

Sustainable design can, for example, be to think in simple and cost-effective production processes and that the product can be separated into its separate parts so that as much as possible can be reused afterwards.

”It can also be both sustainable and economical to construct a more expensive building, if, throughout its lifetime, it will actually turn out to be more cost-effective in the long term due to lower running and maintenance costs. It is also important to think about the easy interchanging of building components and that materials should be cheap and easy to dispose of after their use. The more that can be recycled, the cheaper it is to get rid of used materials,” says Jesper Bo Jensen.

The car industry
 “For example, the car industry has been very good at working with sustainable design and therefore lowering the use of resources and achieving the greatest possible recycling of parts. That is something they have simply been forced to do to stay competitive and because of environmental legislation.”

“Sustainable design is also relevant in the design of not just cars, but also planes and ships, so that they use the least possible amount of energy. It is also the thinking along the lines of products weighing as little as possible, so that they are cheap to transport. That is cost-effectivity.”
 

Even more interesting
“Energy prices will no doubt rise as a result of the increased global demand. The cost of disposing of materials which cannot be reused will also rise through even more environmental fees. On the other hand, we can expect the price of materials which can be sold for reuse to rise. This will only make sustainable design an even more interesting prospect in the future,” says Jesper Bo Jensen.