Ethical design – design that strives for greater societal good – should be fostered. Commercial pressures can influence the ability of designers and innovators to pursue environmentally sustainable products and processes. In order to support design with a positive environmental and social impact on the planet, there need to be mechanisms that address those commercial pressures. This event, held in the form of a discussion between a panel of industry leaders, brings together different perspectives on ethical and sustainable design and shares with the audience how it can be supported and grown in Victoria with intellectual property fostering collaboration.

The discussion will cover a variety of issues including:

• Whether protecting ideas can be a driver for ethical design across the sector;

• The frameworks for supporting ethical design, such as investing in greater product longevity, sustainable materials and sustainable manufacturing;

• How to facilitate investment in new, sustainable methods of production and keep these methods and techniques in Victoria;

• How to facilitate collaboration between individual designers and larger companies while protecting the ideas each party ‘brings to the table’; and

• How to maintain the integrity of the design (e.g. anti-counterfeiting) and the design process so that it increases the value of the design and production industry in Victoria.