Sustainability as it relates to ethics and design education involves finding opportunities in curriculum to allow the dialogue to begin between students and society.

The classroom seems a natural place where design educators can provide a environment for students and the public to participate in a project which fosters an understanding for how the design process can affect positive societal well- being.

To do so requires a design educator to  locate an appropriate project and partner (non-profit organization is preferred) which will allow introduction and use of best practice and sustainable design methods to identify and influence a desired change.

Three necessary guidelines for choosing projects are :

1.  The project must not take money or work away from professional designers;

2.  The project must fit into curriculum with attributes and a scope to allow:
– appropriate skill development

– opportunity for dialogue and feedback between the  partnership organization and students;

3.  The project must provide clearly defined goals and objectives which can demonstrate the positive impacts desired on education, health, culture or the environment to benefit society.

To assist in the search for suitable partnerships in the public realm, the following urls of government agencies in Canada define non-profit corporations and provide listings for charities, searchable by province:

http://www.bdc-canada.com/BDC/articles/Not-for-profit/What_is_a_Not_for_profit_Corporation.htm

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/chrts-gvng/lstngs/menu-eng.html

In a rare opportunity for those working in design, marketing, and advertising to have a direct impact on the way sustainability is projected in the marketplace, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is currently accepting public commentary on the Green Guides until December 10, 2010.

Re-nourish, together with partner organizations including the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC), has launched the Sustainable Design Auditing Project (SDAP), a public process to develop open-source metrics for measuring the environmental, social and economic impacts of the graphic design supply chain. The multi-stakeholder process is intended to provide the design supply chain with a more accurate, transparent way to manage sustainable decision-making across projects, companies, and the entire field.