I recently had the pleasure of watching William McDonough give talk on his new philosophy of design. He’s been called a “Hero of the Planet” and has numerous other such honors. McDonough, an architect who focuses on building in sustainable ways, is on the leading edge of the movement to basically, well, waste less. Or, preferably, not at all. He says people shouldn’t aim to be ‘less bad’ (oh, it’s ok if I have trash, I recycle a ton), they should aim to be GOOD (no trash). And business should be sustainable. A key example he used was his work with Herman Miller, the furniture supply company (Cradle To Cradle Herman Miller). They not only helped Herman Miller design a factory that people actually wanted to work in (lot’s of sunlight, access to nature, co-mingling of the administrators and workers), they helped the company take apart its design cycle and create a product that is not only not bad for the environment, but that will also potentially be put back into the production cycle (i.e. recycled), making this a no-waste process.

McDonough’s big argument is: Why not everyone? Herman Miller discovered that they increased productivity by building a more sustainable building, making them not just morally better, but also improving the bottom line. Why can’t sustainability be a win-win situation? It was for Ford Motor company, who spent $15 million putting a ‘living roof’ on one of their factories to handle storm water instead of the $50 million it would require to build a conventional roof to EPA standards. All because: “Rather than trying to balance concerns to reduce the negative impacts of the site, the project team aimed to maximize economic, social and environmental value with every design decision.” So they got a natural drainage system, bird habitat, extra insulation, mitigated the ‘urban heat island effect’ AND saved money. Well duh, sign me up. This seems to be not just good business sense in the good old fashioned capitalistic way, it sounds like a good way to lead your life.

To how many other areas of our lives can we apply the philosophy of “don’t just be less bad, be GOOD”?