OUR BACKSTORY
Our guidance is based on the current British, European and ISO standards and seeks to provide clarity for designers and created by subject matter experts. The guidance is always evolving but based on three core principles:
- Design to Reuse
- Source to Reduce
- Report to Revalue
CARBON EFFICIENCY
The guidance established the need for a standard approach to carbon reporting that encapsulated not just the carbon footprint of a product, but the value of carbon.
‘Carbon Efficiency’ has been created to allow end users to report the value of circular design, and help them see carbon as an asset to be invested and reused.
We’re then committed to standardised, simple reporting.
Design Conformity, or dc was established in 2017 to help display furniture manufacturers apply circular design standards to their manufacturing. We began with an electrical design standard that reduced operational carbon, and enabled reuse, this was adopted by Boots, M&S, Next, and other high street retailers.
Before long we were being asked to assess the carbon footprint of complete fixtures and furniture; the question remained – how do we reduce carbon impact without comprising design creativity? The answer, circularity. Our first Circular Design Guide was created in 2021 and now over 1,500 products from more than 50 international manufacturers have now been certified to comply with the dc guidance.
OUR CORE TEAM
OUR TECHNICAL COMITTEE
OUR CORE TEAM
BEN DAWSON
BETH GROVER
IRENE ZENG
ADAM HAMILTON-FLETCHER
Circularity
Certification
Operations
Strategy
Supporting clients to develop circularity strategies. Ben has 15 years of experience in the interior fit-out industry.
Leading our analysis and product certification. Beth is an award-winning product designer and software developer.
Leads our company and circular operations. Irene has double Masters degrees in Environmental Engineering and worked at Ernst & Young.
Leads growth and strategic development with our collaborators. Adam has 15 years of experience in the product design and manufacturing industry.
OUR TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
OLIVIA ASPINALL
KATIE FURMSTON
BILL JONES
LEIGH HOLLOWAY
HELENE CARPENTIER
Materials
Learning
Design
ISO Assessmnet
Circularity
Olivia is a materials & circularity consultant who has specialised in material composition & data for over 10 years; going from creating her own solid surface materials to consulting with interior designers, architects and brands to help them understand material data. Olivia is currently building a materials database for designers.
Katie has worked within the industry for 10 years, predominantly on the education side with 7 years teaching at NTU. Katie is currently studying in the final year of her PhD which looks to investigate and improve the sustainability of fast furniture.
Bill is the former Managing Director of the one of the UK’s largest retail fixture manufacturers and co-founder of the industry’s first independent retail design consultancy focused on sustainability. Bill has 30 years of retail design and manufacturing experience.
Leigh is a specialist in eco design and resource efficiency with over 20 years experience who has lectured at Sheffield University and Nottingham Trent University.
Hélène is a facilities and sustainability innovator with over a decade of experience embedding circular economy strategies across global workplaces. Formerly Global Circular Economy Lead at CBRE, she now runs Circular Workplaces, advising on zero waste and circular procurement, and serves on GBCI’s TRUE Zero Waste Advisory.
DAVID IRWIN
MARK HOLLOWAY
Design
Eco-Design
David has designed for renowned British brands such as Another Country, Case Furniture, Deadgood and Bute. His work is defined by sustainable materials and innovative manufacturing processes. He is also an Assistant Professor at Northumbria University's School of Design.
Mark is a sustainable designer with 25 years experience working in retail design, as a designer, design director and agency owner. Mark brings a grounded, independent perspective, connecting great design with doing the right thing.
INNOVATION
CIRCULAR EVOLUTION
We’re committed to listening to manufacturers, suppliers, partners and collaborators to ensure we reflect their interests through innovation.
The Carbon Efficiency methodology has become the foundation of more than one good idea. Since 2023 we’ve developed:
CARBON EFFICIENCY RATING
CIRCULAR PRODUCT DECLARATIONS
CIRCULARITY PASSPORTS
FF&E CARBON REPORTS
INTEGRITY
ReINVESTMENT
We’re committed to supporting organisations that seek to invest and support in social enterprise. Companies like RAW Workshop are creating new and second opportunities for people from challenged backgrounds, proving champions can bring about real change.
WASTE NOT WANT NOT
We’re committed to helping manufacturers and suppliers ensure that end of life doesn’t mean end of value. By partnering with charities and organisations, we encourage landfill avoidance.
If you are interested in a sustainable partnership or feel we can support you, please get in touch.
DIVERSITY
CIRCULAR KNOWLEDGE
We’re committed to sharing our knowledge with the next generations of designers. By making our guidance and software available to students and apprentices, we create opportunities for both our manufacturers, ourselves, and our wider collaborators.
EMPOWERMENT & ENTREPRENUERSHIP
We’re committed to championing women in the circularity and design industry, within our board, our team, our technical committee and our dc agents.
BIO-DIVERSITY
CREATING IMPACT
See that little leaf on our logo? Circular design implementation results in biodiversity for us.
We’ve teamed up with Forest Carbon to plant a tree for each product that is dc certified. The site we’ve picked to support is in the stunning Isle of Mull. Croft 4 Fanmore is a small but highly impactful woodland creation project set within the wild coastal landscapes on the Isle of Mull, overlooking the Sea of the Hebrides. By establishing a diverse mix of species – including Downy Birch, Hazel, Oak, Aspen, Alder, Holly, Rowan and Willow – the woodland will provide valuable shelter for livestock, enhance landscape structure, and in time offer opportunities for coppicing and woodfuel. A small watercourse borders part of the planting area, adding riparian value and further boosting habitat variety accross the site.