Practical Sustainability Design and Business Tools

A collection of mainly free sustainability tools, templates, workshops and resources to support environmental, social and circular design, businesses, startups and growing awareness. If you’d like advice or support with any then just get in touch.

Design Focused Toolkits, processes and frameworks

• Design with Intent – Requisite Variety – Dan Lockton
• EAST Framework – Behavioural Insights Team
• DIY – Development Impact and You – Social Impact toolkit (Nesta)
• Experience flow – PHILIPS
• Human Centred Design Toolkit – IDEO
• Empathy Mapping 
• Horizons Tool – Innovate UK and Forum for the Future
• AEIOU Framework –  User research framework by Doblin
• Double Diamond, Design Methods – Design Council

EcoDesign & Sustainability

• EcoDesign Strategy Wheel – Delft
• 5 steps to Ecodesign – Granta
• Ask Nature – Opensource search tool looking at Nature’s designs
• Embodied Energy and Carbon – ICE Data base – Circular Ecology
• The Natural Step toolkit and back casting thinking
• BSI – Sustainability Standards Navigator
• Global Goals SDGs – World’s Largest Lesson teaching resources
• Centre for Humane Technology – Humane Technology requires that we understand our most vulnerable human instincts so we can design compassionately to protect them from abuse

Circular Economy

• Circular Design Guide – EMF and IDEO
• OSCEdays  – Open Source Circular Economy – Community platform
• Nike Circular Design Guide
• Circular Design – Unschools
• Circulab – toolbox
• C2C – Cradle to Cradle Framework – MBDC
• C2C Certification and standards
• Circular Office Guide – Business in the Community
• Materiom – Open Source Material Reciepes for a CE

Mapping 

• Recycle Now Locator – search what to do with different items in the UK
• Zero Waste Near Me – look where you can buy bulk and products without plastic packaging
• re3cyclopedia – App for the Reading, Braknell, Wokingham recycling partnership on recycling
• Terracycle – Company specialising the collection of under recycles waste steams via private collection points
• Recorked UK – UK wide cork recycling programme
• Open Apparel Registry – an open global map of aparel facilities (Fashion)
• AppyMaps – a growing map of social enterprises
• CEC Circular Cities Mapping – A global database of Circular Economy associated organisations

Sustainability Audits & Calculators

• Open LCA – open source Life Cycle Analysis tool
• Carbon Trust – Energy usage tools and more
• WWF Environmental Footprint Calculator – Your footprint is a way of showing your carbon emissions, compared to other people and other countries. It’s your impression on the planet.
• Global Footprint Network – Measure your Ecological Footprint
• Water Footprint Calculator – The water footprint measures the amount of water used to produce each of the goods and services we use
• Earth Overshoot Day – When we have used more from nature then our planet can renew in the whole year
• Julie’s Bicycle – Event & Festival sustainability

Impact & Evidence

• Measuring Impact – WBCSD
• Standards of evidence – Nesta

Business Modelling and Processes

• Business Model Canvas (Strategzer) – BMC
• Social Business Model Canvas
• Value Proposition Canvas (Strategzer) – VPC
• Team Canvas – For aligning teams
• 16 Personalities – A free personality test to help you reflect on your strengths and potential weaknesses
• DFSS – Design For Six Sigma & DMAIC
• A3 thinking