What is the goal of the Designers Accord?
The goal of the Designers Accord is to bring the creative community together as a social and cultural force to create positive impact. We will do this by educating ourselves and our teams about environmental issues, and talking to each and every client and customer about environmental consequence. We will create sustainable products and services, and share information about how to do that with each other.

Why should I join? What's in it for me / my firm?
Adopting the Designers Accord provides access to a global community of peers who share passion and ideas around environmental innovation. Our reach and influence grows exponentially when we act together.

Who is eligible to participate?
The Designers Accord is for all designers - interaction, digital, industrial, graphic, communications, advertising, architecture, interior - and those involved in the design industry, including engineers, business consultants, researchers, writers, marketers, and educational institutions.

There are three ways to participate:

Adopter (design firms, corporations, educational institutions)
An organized group within the creative community who pledge to work through the guidelines.

Supporter (artists, freelance designers, students)
An individual who is making the guidelines relevant to their personal practice. Like adopters, we expect supporters to evangelize the movement within their communities.

Endorser (organizations)
Organization that adds awareness to the cause, and can provide infrastructure for education and outreach programs (like AIGA, IDSA, Cumulus).

What do I have to do to join?
The first step is to read and understand the Guidelines of the Designers Accord. There are intructions about adopting on the bottom of that page.

How will it be monitored? Do I have to "report back"?
The Designers Accord is primarily self-regulated. While we have defined this set of Guidelines (which includes a basic Code of Conduct), the Designers Accord is not a prescribed set of rules. There are too many of us, with too diverse an expertise, to create a one-size-fits-all approach. But the Designers Accord is not merely a manifesto either. Through your adoption, you have agreed to honor these principles. Some accountability is built in, but the expectation is that each of us with carry the spirit and intention of this movement forward. There are several activites that will be monitored by an impartial committee on an annual basis to ensure that all the participating firms are fulfilling the pact.

Can I use the Designers Accord logo?
We encourage you to publicly declare participation in this movement by placing the Designers Accord logo on your website. However, we currently request that you do not use the mark on other materials.

Download a hi-res tif here (zipped file, 27k):

General guidelines:

You may use the Designers Accord logo on your website.

You may reference the Designers Accord name, URL, and mission in your collateral and contracts.

Please do not change the orientation (lockup) of the badge and the type treatment, although you may use the badge without the type.

You may not use the Designers Accord logo on your printed collateral.

You may not put the Designers Accord logo or name on a specific product.

You may not put the Designers Accord logo or name on a specific service or offering.

You may not relate the Designers Accord logo or name to a specific event without written permission.

The Designers Accord is a statement made by the creative community. It is not a certification for products or services.

How do I measure my carbon/greenhouse gas footprint?
We have a recommended methodology that was created by sustainability consultant Natural Logic. It was published in our February 2008 Progress Report.

How is adoption recorded?
Design firm adoption is listed on the Core77-BusinessWeek Design Directory at designdirectory.com. Corporate and educational adopters will be listed on this site.

What's the web platform?
The web platform is being created to facilitate knowledge-sharing of best practices, methodologies, and case studies for the Designers Accord community. This online forum will allow designers to exchange information about projects, materials, and industries, and will enable an open discussion about ways to engage clients in conversation about environmental impact, how to demonstrate ROI, etc.

The goal of the platform is to let each of us build on the work of others. For this movement, knowledge is not the competitive advantage - it's the utilization of that knowledge. By bringing new information to the community, we hope to accelerate the adoption of the principles of sustainable design thinking and to increase the ability of each of us to create positive impact.

Under this model of cooperative competition, we believe there will be even greater innovation.

When is it going to launch?
The platform will launch in summer 2008, and it will be open to the public.