IN SYNC COMMUNICATION by Studio 1.25

Down at the riverbank she asked me; “Imagine the water resembles time and where we stand is the present…”

“Where would You say our Future is?”

The question is of existential  importance, at least in relation to how I think we should look at all the challenges we as mankind have to face. At least if we consider COVID-19 as a warning sign for our own destruction. As is with climate change, impoverishment of our soil and an end to useful raw materials, nutrients if you like.

As a conscious and thus aware species, we Human Kind need to disruptively integrate innovative transformations that can still offer the regenerative solutions, our offspring and therefor next generations can have a viable system on our Planet Earth.

Up- or downstream?

Would your answer be on your right hand side, – downstream – or your left hand side upstream? For some the answer is obvious and some will argue to first define the context. But for those who have read the great novel “The Eight Mountains” by Paolo Cognetti, either know the answer by heart or understand the writers’ choice. For it is not revealed in the novel.

My interpretation is that we as human kind would opt for downstream, for the water is passing by and time follows the stream downhill. But the water coming from upstream is less or not polluted yet. It’s richer in minerals, its nutrients full of life for flora and fauna and a look the flourishing riverbanks make us doubt if the right answer isn’t exactly opposite of what we so indoctrinated choose for. A 180° shift.

A choice I’ve witnessed a lot in the past 15 years in matters of sustainability, where politicians, policy makers and multinationals would like to come up with downstream or end-of-pipeline solutions, where climate fore-fighters, activists and inspired by nature organizations rather will advocate an upstream, start-of-pipeline project or design solution.

Studio 1.25 created the e-Transferium and Egoparking concept for Evoke², a cooperation I started in 2007 together with business partner Hans Havers. Evoke² became the worldwide first Satellite Partner for EPEA Hamburg, the scientific affiliate of renown Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart who created the Cradle to Cradle design concept and certifying standard.

A 180° shift

Our discovery journey in sustainability started at the time “Waste equals Food” as design paradigm shift and documentary started to hype and almost religiously took the sustainability community as a docile faithful group of hungry for knowledge pack of dogs. We discovered early on that it’s not about what C2C can do for you, but more the opposite what can you do with a rather easy to understand design protocol. For that’s what it is. No more and for sure no less. A 180° shift became the hardest to bring across to a devoted C2C fan club. The masterclasses I conducted always started with the one question; “How can your expertise add quality to the C2C mindset and implementation of the so admired circular economy?”

Conflicts of colliding Egos.

In 2014 Hans and I took a thought experimental road trip, for we encountered lots of conflicting interests within multi stakeholders co-operations. After 7 years we felt that we had to come with another eye-opener that could really evoke a transformational change in the behavior of the still to often green-washing and colliding egos. (In communication “Behavior” is one of the three important pilars a Corporate Personality consists of). We developed the e-Transferium Storytelling and project management tool and wrote the manifest “One Planet Jungle”.

What is it that determines a Corporate Identity?

Studio 1.25 believes that three factors are important when creating a Corporate Identity:

  • Visual Communication; Corporate Design
  • Language of Communication; Corporate Communication
  • Communication Behaviour; Corporate Behaviour
 

Together these three elements constitute the personality of the company (Corporate Personality), with its own self-image. It is only when the image, the overall picture of the company that an outsider has created inside his own head (Corporate Image), is in balance and harmony with the company’s own self-image (Corporate Personality) that we can speak of a Corporate Identity.

First and foremost, therefore, it is not the question “How are we seen as an organization? that requires an answer but rather the requirement “How do we want to be seen as an organization?” that must be met.

Communication always starts with the need that needs to be met.

Studio 1.25 believes that every project involving communication starts with two essential elements required for success. First, all those involved in the process must recognize the problem they wish to solve and, second, they must agree on how the solution is to be found. This means that the basis of every communication or design project starts with drawing up a correct description of the need. Budget, media, form and even content proceed from a correct description of the need. All these facets are subordinate to the aim. 

Studio 1.25 believes that the definition of a communication aim can be:

“The need that needs to be met”.

This definition also shows clearly that we must separate out and define two parts:

  • first, the need and then,
  • and only then second, the means required to achieve the need.

What defines true sustainability?

Experienced and with build up knowledge, we stated that the beginning of the journey in discovering true sustainability lies in the will to participate in cooperative partnerships that last. As cooperative partner, an independent partner we made visible the invitation to cooperate within an open dynamic network of experts that actively support the envisioned mission from a separable functionality yet respecting each other’s expertise to ensure reliable implementation.

From a well defined, first Cradle as an effective multiplier to the next. 

On both ends of most contradictory challenges we encountered, clashing egos often made it hard if not next to impossible for good ideas to really flourish. It’s time to park our ego, acknowledge that we are all on the same road of discovery, set our clocks alike and work from well defined shared points of departure. A challenging future lies ahead! 

Therefor we started to work on strategies that make visible and empower the innovative capacity of organizations that strive for solutions that ensure a defined quality. In accomplishing effective goals through co-creation with knowledge partners by enabling their expertise to become added value within a mutual cause. Not from a marketing perspective of the individual participant, but through cooperation deliver “e-transferium solutions that capture a shared roadmap for the implementation of effective economical and industrial solutions.

Ego-parking, e-transferium and e-roadmaps offer organisations a clear insight and perspective goal – safe, responsible and accepted – because all build up knowledge and expertise is respected. Working from Shared Points of Departure, companies will become part of the solution.

Within reach of their own potentials, innovative capacity and appropriate speed to act.

Excerpt From: Frans Aerdts. “e-Transferium-How-It’s-Build”. Apple Books.

IN SYNC COMMUNICATION

Communication in the Circular Economy
Nature’s core business enabled!

Business as usual with visionaries, leaders, managers, but working from a new perspective of quality with all kind of new business concepts like products of service, take back systems, intelligent material pooling, all based upon the shared point of departure to keep nutrients, in a continuous flow. A social and cultural change within the whole system is needed to not only make people aware of the need and the means to fulfill this need, but even more so to act upon it.

Driven by the companies’ DNA, drivers, natural talents and ambitions, companies start to play jazz instead of a classical strictly to be followed composition. With e-Transferium storytelling a next phase will even more improve this movement from a brand experience based identity owned by the companies, towards a brand experience based identity owned by the public (created by industrial communities).

 

  • A "People’s Brand"!
  • e-Transferium
  • Best Choice
A “People’s Brand”,

is a brand name of an industrial community that supports open source knowledge between industrial partners challenging to open NDA's and exclusivity matters. First, for the people’s interest in a broad market for "Best-Choice" products and secondly to really be able to establish an intelligent material pooling and nutrients flow throughout industries.

Material flows based on a commonly agreed upon and transparent set of environmental criteria describing the final goal of environmental optimization as well as the achieved current status can form the basis for management systems based on quality; Quality of life. Core is to obtain defined material flows, in which the content is known and positively defined to be save for nature and environment in order to effectively close nutrient loops. Feasible for industries, supported by government and accepted in society. This suppresses the need, next to material flows, for also defining energy flows, creativity flows, awareness, social flows, and not the least economical flows. A call for a system change; one might call it progressive, ambitious, even complex. We call it Nature’s core business enabled!

Building an e-Transferium Family of valued partners.

Communication therefor needs to focus on the development, safeguarding and integration of these communities. Apart from the community of pioneers and sustainable front runners, what other communities need we to establish in order to have all parties for closing the material loop?

In a fast moving and ever changing field of digital and social media solutions we need to have web based tools to support the needs of our communities and have them communicate for us. Not only to share the experiences (on the IVO-platform for example) but also to find and support each other within the projects they work on.

The Customers' Best Choice"!

Customers can buy or better in some cases lease for example a chair that has a "Peoples Brand"-label of guarantied quality with an insurance that after its useful life the chair as a raw-material resource can be taken back by the collective partners to use within new and other products. The mutual responsibility that we than need from our customers can be created if they will be rewarded for safeguarding the product for its re-deploy-able materials.

Imagine an industrial organization to be the pioneer within a certain market and ready to invest in Cradle to Cradle design concepts. Most of the time these companies want to have, during the time period of the contract, an exclusive cooperation for their market place. Immediately they also acknowledge the fact that if they really want to build a cradle to cradle based overall economy that their competition should change their businesses as well. To really get the resources, raw materials, that are products being used by customers back, not only the design for functional life cycle should be different but also the design for recovery of your resources should be implemented in the design of the product but also in the design of the process management. Take back systems, closing the loop concepts and community building will become a necessity to build a critical mass. Allowing and even stimulating your competition to do the same is within your own branch is critical for realizing the flow of nutrients that you need to keep production running. Furthermore your products are likely not only sold within a few kilometers of the production facility. It would not be good to have Herman Miller's furniture shipped back to the US after its useful life is over. Therefor a critical mass for material loops must be locally sourced by business partners or manufacturers working with the same sort of raw materials. Arend for example in the case of Herman Miller.

Furniture that, after its functional lifecycle, can be send back to the collective partners, to be re-utilized as raw materials for the production of new products. The level of quality  will be protected by shared points of departure. The level of quality that is represented to the public by the brand name “A People's Brand"  by…”. Always stating the pioneer Producer, the Technology Innovator and the approved by government Scientific partner.

If all producers would acknowledge and commit to best practice quality, the choice of the customer can be with all of them, if only “A People's Brand name” Best Choice!

Frans Aerdts

frans@studionepointwentyphive.nl

+31 (0)6 12990384

 

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“One will find the meaning of life, if All will live meaningful to life itself.”

 

Frans Aerdts

Copyright & License CC: Attribution – Non Commercial – NoDerivs. Creative Commons: You cannot modify our work or distribute it commercially, but you can share it as long as you credit Studio 1.25.

© Copyright & Privacy Policy, Bahia Holding B.V. All rights reserved 2014 – 2020.  Studio 1.25  is a trade name of Bahia Holding B.V.

International Viability Organisation (IVO) is an initiative of 2evoke b.v. IVO, beHolders, egoparking, e-transferium and all its derivatives are copyright owned by Studio 1.25 as in all conceptual & design appearances and are proprietor to Bahia Holding B.V. Any use of these concepts and or its derivatives must be in cooperation with, and written approval by Bahia Holding B.V.