Design Activism

Road Warriors of Sustainability A workbook proposing sustainable ways of business travel Barbara Belsito Jeff Catania Wan-Ting Huang

Problem The corporate “green� movement towards sustainable business practices has varying fronts. The decreasing use of material in packaging, lowering levels of CO2 and pollutants in manufacturing processes, and the implementation of appropriate recycling programs have played major areas of focus in limiting the impact of business on the world environment.

However, the problem of the traveling worker goes beyond corporate jets and fuel usage; the entire experience of business travel leads to unsustainable living. Barr et al. suggest that while individuals are willing to lessen their environmental impact at home, they are unwilling to translate this practice in travel. We have chosen a particular aspect of the business sustainability practice, business travel, which we feel that human-centered information design can help mitigate: the effect of the traveling road warrior on the environment.

Eli Blevis defines ten important categories for sustainable interaction design in Sustainable Interaction Design: Invention & Disposal, Renewal & Reuse, which are (1) Disposal, (2) Salvage, (3) Recycling, (4) Remanufacturing for reuse, (5) Reuse as is, (6) Achieving longevity of use, (7) Sharing for maximal use, (8) Achieving heirloom status, (9) Finding wholesome alternatives to use, and (10) Active repair of misuse.

We started to ideate our directions based on these ten dimensions in our problem space.

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Insights from research Aside from literature reviews, we conducted three semi-structured interviews separately and did an affinity diagram to restructure all insights generated from each session. The following is the overall insights we got: - Food is over consumed on business travel - Lack of cooking supplies and abundance of money to spend on meals - Personal comfort is more important in business travel than in usual travel - Stay at expensive hotels and buy personal gifts - Convenience is important for business travelers - Overuse disposable products - Activities are highly repeated in business travel - Per-diem account versus expense reporting - Point systems and perks are important 05

Insights from exemplars We refered to existing sustainable technologies to explore possible solutions.

The aspects the exemplars focus on could be broken down into several categories: raising environmental awareness, sharing systems, incentives, recycling, and reuse, etc. Based on those, we started to generate concepts by pushing them further to fit into our problem space.

Pimped train travel

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/businessclass-trains-by-aleksandar-dimitrov

Amovens

http://www.amovens.com/

Carbon footprint calculato http://www.nature.org/greenliving/ carboncalculator/index.htm

Drinking fountain

http://www.good.is/post plastic-bottle-with-this-dr

Hot choice

http://www.hotchoice.com

or

n app

t/thirsty-ditch-therinking-fountain-app/

Frequent flier miles

Swapping vending machine http://www.good.is/post/at-this-vendingmachine-swapping-is-the-new-buying

Eco-friendly bamboo toothbrush

http://inhabitat.com/smile-squared-launches-its-buyone-give-one-eco-friendly-bamboo-toothbrush/

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Concept 01: Cubicle train Finding wholesome alternatives to use Personal comfort and convenience is one of the main reasons that people resort to private transportation rather than public transportation. Instead of open-spaced layout of seats like most of today’s train, designing the seats on a train having their own cubicle could allow business travelers to have their own working space. Travelers could make phone calls and use their laptops without being interrupted by others. This design is intended to raise road warriors willingness to choose public transportation.

Exemplar: Pimped train travel

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Concept 02: Carpool system Sharing for maximal use If a taxi is the the most convenient and common way for business travelers to get to their destination, how can we adjust a current system to make it more economical?

Sometimes business travelers’ schedule are similar. For example, heading out from hotels to visit clients in the business area in the morning and going back to hotels in the evening. The taxi carpool system is designed to take advantage of this phenomenon and increase the number of passengers in each ride. Business travelers can enter their own schedules into the system. Then the system will group people with similar schedules together, creating a ride request to a taxi. For taxi drivers, they could serve more people in each ride and earn more money. For business travelers, they can reduce their commuting cost by carpooling with others.

Exemplar: Amovens 10

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Concept 03: Greener option Finding wholesome alternatives to use Most of the time, employees who travel can arrange trips by themselves under a certain budget limitation. Therefore, employees’ environmental awareness determines how green a trip can be. A company could give rewards to employees who choose greener ways of traveling by point systems or perks to encourage sustainable behavior. Greener ways of traveling include booking green hotels, taking public transportation, and choosing ground rather than air transportation, etc.

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Concept 04: CO2 footprints Finding wholesome alternatives to use People tend to be less sensitive to what they consume during business trips than at home, because someone pays the bill for them on their trips. This design proposes a carbon calculator to visualize how much CO2 people produce per day on business trips and contrasts it with the amount in normal days, which could quantify the basis of comparison and give people a sense of how much their behavior impacts the earth.

Exemplar: Footprints calculator

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Concept 05: GPS for water fountain Finding wholesome alternatives to use Disposable plastic water bottles are common in meetings, conferences and hotels. People take those disposable bottles because their nondisposable water bottles are not on hand or they run out of the water in the bottles. This concept is a water bottle with GPS on it, which beeps or flashes when it gets close to water fountains. The design could remind people to refill their water when a fountain is accessible and reduce the chance of relying on disposable bottled water.

Exemplar: Water fountain app

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Concept 06: Recycling machine Recycling A vending machine is convenient for travelers to drink beverages or eat snacks on their way between destinations. By the same token, it creates the issue of disposables. The design proposes a vending machine selling products made of recyclable material and provides an openning for recycling of its own products. Whenever a person recycles one thing, it will provide a discount to the person for the next purchase. The design is intended to encourage recycling behavior and reduce problems of disposables Exemplar: Swapping vending machine

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Concept 07: RollerCharger Remanufacturing for reuse People on business trips usually bring gadgets with them. RollerCharger is a suitcase which generates electricity while the wheels are rolling. It could provide power to frequently used electric equipments, such as cameras, cell-phones and laptops, during business travel.

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Concept 08: Degradable Disposables Recycling Due to convenience and reducing weight of luggage, travelers tend to use disposables in hotels when they are accessible. Plastic disposables create environmental issues.

For example, over 50 million pounds of toothbrushes are tossed in the trash each year in the US alone. (http://inhabitat. com/smile-squared-launchesits-buy-one-give-one-ecofriendly-bamboo-toothbrush/) To alleviate the impact on the environment but still maintain the convenience of travelers at the same time, the concept proposes that hotels could adopt daily-used disposables made by biodegradable materials, such as the biodegradable and compostable toothbrush in the exemplars.

Exemplar: Degradable bamboo toothbrush

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Concept 09: Personal Drawer Finding wholesome alternatives to use The personal drawer concept is to address the problem of traveling business people who have to use many disposables due to airplane’s restriction on liquid amounts.

For people who travel to the same city regularly, they will be given a drawer in a hotel room bathroom where they can store large bottles of liquids such as shampoo, hair products, toothpaste, etc. People are rewarded with a drawer for booking the same room frequently. It can be accessed by scanning something similar to a QR Barcode on the drawer which will be synced to them and they can unlock the drawer to access their belongings Exemplar: Frequent flier miles

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Concept 10: Portion Size Reward Finding wholesome alternatives to use This concept addresses the insight of food overconsumption on business trips. It allows users to scan their receipts to automatically receive points which are tracked online (accessible in an app). People are rewarded more points for ordering smaller portion sizes at a restaurants – not based on price at all‌ just on the portion size of meal.

They earn more points for smaller portioned meals and can use those points even when not using the company credit card. This saves the restaurant from making more food than someone is capable of consuming in one sitting and is an incentive for people to order smaller portion sizes.

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Small Appetizer: 20 points

Small Entree: 15 points

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Concept 11: Expense Tracking App Finding wholesome alternatives to use This concept addresses the insight that travelers with expense reporting tend to spend and consume more than people on per diem accounts because there is less incentive to save with expense reporting. This concept is an application that tracks each person’s spending on business trips and makes that information public if it is expense reporting.

The person who spends the least amount is rewarded.

NYC Trip 04/25/2012 Traveler 01 Flight - $200 Food/Beverage - $150 Hotel - $250 Total - $600 Traveler 02 Flight - $200 Food/Beverage - $100 Hotel - $250 Total - $550 Winner!

Traveler 02 Awarded $50

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Options: Subway 40 points Taxi 5 points You earned 40 points = $40

Concept 12: Sustainable Points Finding wholesome alternatives to use This concept is based on the insight that people traveling for business usually choose convenience over cost and sustainability. This concept is based on a point system based on the environmental friendliness of decisions made in order to make people more aware of the impact of their choices on the environment. They are rewarded with the money saved. Ex: taking a subway will be less money than taking a taxi and the cost will be calculated and the person will be rewarded with the money saved which they can spend on anything they want – even after the trip has ended. This is similar to per diem accounts, but is used for expense reporting cases.

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Money Spent

Month-to-month

Year-to-year

By Department

Business Traveling 32

Consumption

Environmental Impact

Concept 13: Company Impact Tracker Finding wholesome alternatives to use This concept comes from the insight that business travelers are not concerned or aware of how much their company actually spends for business travel or of the overall impact of the company's travel on the environment. This concept is an applicatin or website where employees of a company can go to view the companies combined spending on business travel, consumption during travel, and effects on the environment. It won’t show individual, but rather focus on the company as a whole broken down by departments and track from month to month and year to year.

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Concept 14: Sharing Products App Sharing for maximal use This concept addresses the insight that business travelers overconsume disposable toiletries due to airline restrictions on liquids. This concept is an application that travelers can use to see if anyone else in the hotel wants to pitch-in on or share shampoo, etc. It is a sharing system for travelers.

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Sheraton Midtown Hotel - Times Square 326 West 40th Street, New York City, NY 10018

Traveler01: I have a half bottle of men's shampoo/conditioner combo - $5 for the remainder Traveler02: I want it Traveler01: Ok, I'll leave it at the front desk for you by 5pm.

Traveler02: Thanks, I'll leave $5 at the front desk for you.

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Concept 15: Utilities Card Tracker Finding wholesome alternatives to use This concept is based on the insight that business travelers staying in hotels are less conscious about electricity and water usage than when they are at their own homes.

This concept is an application tied to their room key that tracks water and electricity usage – they have to scan their card in order to turn on lights and start the water and then it tracks their usage and is displayed for them to see.

Exemplar: Room keys in Japan are often needed to turn the lights on; therefore, people do not leave their rooms without turning their lights off because they need their room keys to re-enter.

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Scan Sink to turn on water.

Scan light switch to turn on lights

Usage Since Check-in: Sink - 5 gallons Shower - 40 gallons Electric - 5 hours 37

Option 1 Subway $2.25 VERY Sustainable

Option 2 Taxi $45 Not very Sustainable

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Concept 16: Transportation Awareness Finding wholesome alternatives to use This concept is based on the insight that business travelers who are not from a city may not be aware of their options so they take a taxi because it is the only option they are aware of. This concept is an application that shows all possible options, times, routes, environmental impact, and cost of transportation to and from airport, hotel, and office, etc.

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Concept 17: Milk fountain Finding wholesome alternatives to use Convenience dictates decision making for the road warriors. Along with ice and vending machines on each floor, hotels will also deploy milk dispensors to provide convenient access to fresh milk. The guest will bring a Nalgene container found in the cupboard and swipe their hotel key card to charge their room. The fountain will charge the guest for only the milk that they dispense. This will mitigate the need for hotel guests to purchase a large quantity of milk that they may not finish by the end of their stay. By having convenient access to milk on the floor, it becomes more convenient for the guest to use the milk dispenser then buy plastic containers of milk.

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Concept 18: Recipe Vending Machine Active repair of misuse The vending machine is filled with fresh produce and spices stored in a temperature and humidity controlled environment. A hotel guest will browse and select a recipe they would like to cook based upon price, complexity, time of cooking, and type. Upon recipe selection, the machine will dispense the exact ingredients necessary to cook the meal. The ingredients will be packaged in a reusable plastic bin with compartments for each individual ingredient. These bins will be left in the room after the stay.

Exemplar: Hot Choice

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Concept 19: Sustainability band Active repair of misuse Users wear the sustainability band around their wrist. A virtual vine with leaves wrap around the band. When the user awakes on a given day, all the leaves are on the band. Throughout the day, the user takes photos of their itemized receipts for expense reports using Expensify or OneReceipt.

A database matches items purchased to an enivornmental impact score. When the user purchases a disposable bottle of water, a leaf on the vine will wither and die.

Exemplar: Nike fuel

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Concept 20: Potluckr Sharing for maximal use Hotel guests sign up on the Potluckr website with the schedule for their stay. Guests at the hotel may post that they are planning on cooking a specific meal on a specific night. Other guests may sign up to pay for the host to cook extra for them to consume. Ratings and reviews help the users find the best hotst. The hotel guests gather together and share a meal without having to go to restaruants where they would overconsume.

Exemplar: Airbnb

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Concept 21: Liquid Marketplace Sharing for maximal use Liquid-based personal hygiene products pose a major problem for sustainable travel. While the products individuals prefer are highly unique, they are unable to travel with large quanities due to airline regulations. Furthermore, liquid products are usually stored in plastic containers instead of paper-based products. For this concept, convenience stores will be set up at airports. Flyers will travel with empty and reusable bottles. They bring the bottles to the convenience store which has a large selection of personal hygeine products, such as shampoo and hair gels. The individual will then pay to fill her bottle with a small quanity of the preferred liquid product, eliminating the need to buy disposable shampoos.

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Concept 22: Public Transportation Competition Sharing for maximal use Using GPS and public transportation cards, business travelers log when they use buses, subways, and bike sharing programs. The system will then log the number of miles, multiplying the bike travel by 10. The company can then have internal departmental and individual contests to see who traveled the most using public transportation for a given month.

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Concept 23: Singing Recycling Bin recycling Taking a cue from the Volkswagon Piano Staircase where "the best way to change behavior is to make it fun", music may encourage recycling habits. When a user places an item in the recycling bin, the item is scanned to determine the type of material and size. Depending on the material, the bin plays a different note. For instance, recycling a soda can will play a C# for 1 second. However, recycling a 2-liter plastic soda bottle will play a D for 2 seconds.

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Concept 24: Garbage Mural Recycling Throughout the week, the user takes photos of their itemized receipts for expense reports using Expensify or OneReceipt. When the user returns home, all of the purchases that he made will be shown in a mural on the wall. The mural is a collection of all of the physical goods the traveler has consumed over the week. The style of this will be similar to Chris Jordan's "Running the Numbers" collection. By having this large installation, the user may see the impact that his personal consumption patterns has on the environment.

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Concept 25: Mobile kitchen Finding wholesome alternatives to use The mobile kitchen is to address the issue of overconsumption of food in the traveling business person’s life by increasing the level of convenience of cooking food. When a traveling business person books a hotel room, they also rent a food care package which contains groceries, cooking supplies, and a portable range. When the business person checks into the hotel, these items are waiting in a box. When the business person leaves, they leave the box behind with the cooking supplies and portable range inside.

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Image Sources ■ Mileage bank - http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalleboo/3434048005/ ■ Plane over Moema - http://www.flickr.com/photos/things-i-like-i-sp/467076388/ ■ Train seats - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwolson/4034300982/ ■ Green hotel - http://www.flickr.com/photos/40648063@N06/5134429307/ ■ Footprints - http://www.flickr.com/photos/videocrab/5288811363/ ■ Vending machine - http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgmckelvey/4420026802/ ■ Toothbrush - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremybrooks/4149617602/ ■ Bathroom - http://www.flickr.com/photos/maisonbisson/11635813/ ■ Small portion - http://www.flickr.com/photos/bokchoi-sno-pea/4774691878/ ■ Money transaction - http://www.flickr.com/photos/annnna/2724013387/ ■ Subway platform - http://www.flickr.com/photos/andyatzert/6019438175/ ■ Line chart - http://www.flickr.com/photos/27682549@N06/4268270760/ ■ Shampoo bottles image - http://www.flickr.com/photos/gebug/3611869171/ ■ Running water - http://www.flickr.com/photos/bungcayao/4252769237/ ■ Room key - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cote/4324876673/ ■ Map - http://www.maps.google.com ■ Milk - http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3041/2994921461_36e68e1c0d_b.jpg ■ Vending machine - http://farm1.staticflickr.com/71/195441270_e5f856b26a_b.jpg ■ Bracelace - http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4083/5197559983_562801f063_b.jpg ■ Cooking - http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1425/4609858025_a8e9c57a58_b.jpg ■ Supermarket - http://farm2.staticflickr ■ Gyre - http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4081/4884960573_3a9bbbbac3_o.jpg

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Barbara Belsito Jeff Catania Wan-Ting Huang Š Bloomington 2012