Host Introduction: Darian Stibbe

Sustainable Design Summit (SDS) is pleased to announce its 2023 host, Darian Stibbe, Executive Director at The Partnering Initiative (TPI). Darian is a strong believer that collaboration is the key to reaching sustainability goals and creating a better future. At TPI, he works towards the organisation’s ambitious vision for a new era of systematic, effective collaboration across societal sectors to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals. He is the lead author of the United Nations’ SDG Partnership Guidebook, a practical resource to help build high-impact multi-stakeholder partnerships.

Having worked across various industries and stakeholders, from international down to community level, Darian can provide a wide-scale perspective on sustainability. At TPI, he is driven by wanting to deliver an impact, something he is eager to see Sustainable Design Summit delegates achieve by collaborating across sectors and building lasting partnerships that will help address their industry’s specific challenges.

Darian commented on the significance of collaboration in combatting climate change in design, giving us a teaser of what he will bring to the conversation:

“Shifting industry practice and achieving sustainability can only be achieved through collaboration. By collaborating, we can exchange ideas and knowledge, learn from each other and spark innovative, sustainable solutions across the product cycle from ‘cradle to grave’. Through collaborating within and outside our industry, we can demonstrate our leadership, collectively setting new industry standards, and working with, not against, regulators in a race to the top. And by collaborating vertically within the supply chain we can together find commercially viable pathways supporting the necessary investment in new products, new manufacturing, new sourcing.”

An opportunity for cross-sector collaboration

Thought leaders who will speaking at Sustainable Design Summit this year also agreed that collaboration and partnership are fundamental in working towards a more sustainable future both for their own industries and other sectors. Lukas Kaestner, Co-founder at Sustainable Aero Lab, commented, “transforming into sustainable businesses and operations will be a defining endeavour for aviation, hospitality, and cruise alike. It is a generational challenge that will push everybody out of their known segments and comfort zones. On this journey, forming and maintaining partnerships across industries and stakeholders will be paramount to succeed.”

Speaking from a cruise perspective, Mirja Rasi-Mäki, Sustainability Specialist in Product Development at Meyer Turku added that “partnering and collaboration in sustainability issues are essential in addressing the unique challenges of the maritime industry; bringing together diverse expertise, ensuring regulatory compliance, maximising resource efficiency, adopting innovative technologies, and promoting a positive passenger experience while minimising environmental impact. Through collaboration, the different stakeholders can contribute to making the cruise industry more sustainable and environmentally responsible.”

Want more of this?

Eager to learn more about sustainable design and spark climate change? Sustainable Design Summit provides a year-round global platform dedicated to making sustainable choices easier for interior designers working in the hospitality travel interiors sectors. Find out about the next event here.

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