On 25 September 2023, The Circle for Human Sustainability President Catherine Loke delivered some hard truths to a packed audience who were attending the Design Futures Forum 2023 at the Drama Centre Theatre, organised by the DesignSingapore Council.
With the converging realities of planetary boundaries, energy decline and mineral constraints, the key takeaway is that we need to de-energise, not de-carbonise. But far from being a doomsday prophet, Catherine offered valuable insight into how designers should design to the right Design Brief, to enable us to live enriched lives even as energy declines, through a Balanced Economic System that also values priceless occupations. She shared her experience in how permaculture can offer a profoundly simple design approach that keeps us within planetary boundaries whilst providing a strong social foundation, effectively linking the inner and outer rings of Kate Raworth’s Doughnut.
Her presentation was followed by an engaging forum discussion with fellow presenters in the Design for the Future of Sustainability segment, Prasoon Kumar and Wendy Chua, ably moderated by Joelle Chen.
Key moments in the video:
0:59:04 Start
0:59:18 Design Brief
0:59:42 Nine planetary boundaries
1:00:09 Fossil fuel bonanza
1:01:19 Singapore’s reliance on fossil fuels
1:01:56 Oil & natural gas left in the world
1:02:56 We need to de-energise, not de-carbonise
1:02:58 Oil is used to make 500,000 products
1:03:32 Mineral realities
1:05:34 The Jetsons or The Flintstones
1:06:21 Doughnut Economics
1:07:00 Balanced Economic System
1:10:32 Healthy planet through permaculture
1:13:49 M.a.D. Gardens
1:15:59 How should we approach design?
See more photos here.