UG design education for sustainability: designing for planet and for life

Boehnert, J ORCID: 0000-0002-8990-0325 and Dewberry, E (2025) 'UG design education for sustainability: designing for planet and for life.' In: Clemente, V, Gomes, G, Reis, M, Félix, S, Ala, S and Jones, D, eds. Learn X Design 2025, 22-24 September 2025, Aveiro, Portugal. Design Research Society.

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Abstract

There is a clear need to augment and expand Design for Sustainability (DfS) and the ecological design thinking that supports it. In the UK, the Design Council’s Design for Planet and the Royal Society of Arts (RSA)’s Design for Life programmes both support this agenda. As design educators who have spent our careers advancing ecological and sustainability literacies in Design Education for Sustainability (DEfS), we enthusiastically welcome the momentum generated by both programmes. The Design for Planet mission aims to upskill 1 million UK designers in green design skills by 2030. The RSA’s Capabilities for Life Framework presents life-centric mindsets that navigate different perspectives, knowledges, and competences. The Design Council’s Design for Planet has been highly visible in the online design ecosystem and is the theme for the World Design Congress London 2025. We suggest that this prominent institutional attention to DfS and DEfS with strategic visions for transformative learning can help design educators carve out the necessary space and time for sustainability in the curriculum. In this paper, we signpost key aspects of a prospective undergraduate DEfS programme with reference to Design for Planet and Design for Life. Learning is scaffolded by iteration of key DfS concepts and approaches as students journey through three years and become more capable of engaging with complex problems. DEfS is a process of continually revisiting themes, going a little deeper and wider each time. Students develop capacities to make informed decisions with ecological design knowledge and ecological design thinking alongside other critical green skills. DEfS creates foundational knowledge to mitigate against further environmental harms to reduce both extraction of natural resources (with associated disruptions to ecosystems) and pollution (including greenhouse gas emissions) while simultaneously adapting to environmental challenges and ecological crises.

Item Type:	Book Chapter or Section
UN SDGs:	Goal 1: No Poverty Goal 2: Zero Hunger Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being Goal 4: Quality Education Goal 5: Gender Equality Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production Goal 13: Climate Action Goal 14: Life Below Water Goal 15: Life on Land Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Keywords:	sustainability, undergraduate education, Design for Planet, green skills, ecological literacy
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GF Human ecology. Anthropogeography
Divisions:	Bath School of Design
Date Deposited:	27 Mar 2026 19:51
Last Modified:	27 Mar 2026 19:51
URN:	https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/17642

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