More-than-Human Net Zero Futures : Disruptive Participatory Design for A Sustainable, Equitable Planet

Stead, Michael (2024) More-than-Human Net Zero Futures : Disruptive Participatory Design for A Sustainable, Equitable Planet. Revista Base - Diseño e Innovación. (In Press)

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Abstract

A rich tapestry of Design Research methods and practices are being advanced to accelerate environmentally responsible transitions across modern society. The collective aim is to push us beyond our unsustainable paradigm, the Anthropocene. From industry through communities to academia and policymaking, the prevailing discourse focusses on transitioning to a so-called ‘Net Zero future’. Central to this vision is mitigation of human-driven climate change through the decarbonisation of industrial society, principally via increased innovation and adoption of emergent technologies. This paper argues that while mainstream visions for Net Zero futures can serve as useful socio-technical imaginaries to create stakeholder awareness regards the critical need to reduce emissions, their technocentric ideals also perpetuate the hegemonic, carbonised design-innovation practices that dominate today. To positively shift away from these reductive, solutionist narratives, Design Research must pivot and develop a disruptive yet inclusive approach towards designing for Net Zero. Climate change is a complex, dynamic system rooted upon multi-scale and multifarious interrelations and dependencies between human, ecological (e.g., flora, fauna, climate) and technological (e.g., data, AI, devices) actants. In response to this complexity, this paper proposes a novel conceptual frame that helps designer-practitioners to challenge the unsustainable technocentric status quo. Built upon a confluence of Speculative, Participatory and More-than-Human-Centred methods, the paper outlines how this approach can stimulate close collaboration between designers and stakeholder networks. The paper asserts that, through this scaffold, designer-practitioners can reimagine Net Zero futures which are inherently More-than-Human, that is, sustainable and equitable for our planet’s human and non-human stakeholders alike.