de Velde
OVAM, partner of the Henry van de Velde Awards
OVAM has been a partner of the Henry van de Velde Awards since 2008. Why? And in which way OVAM itself is committed to sustainability in design? We talked about that with Werner Annaert, Administrator General of the Public Waste Agency of Flanders (OVAM) and Brigitte Mouligneau, Transition manager Circular Economy at Flanders Circular and jury member of the Henry van de Velde Awards since several years.
You have been a partner of the Henry van de Velde Awards since 2008. Why did you decide to join the awards back then?
Werner Annaert: The OVAM has been monitoring eco-design since 1990. In 2003, we made this concrete by setting up an eco-design operation. The realisation that an end-of-pipe approach can only have a limited positive impact prompted policy measures upstream in the production chain. If designers consciously consider the environmental impact when making design decisions, the environmental impact can be drastically reduced.
How does an organisation like the OVAM reach the target group of designers?
Werner Annaert: Flanders DC has been an indispensable partner. The Henry van de Velde Awards seemed the perfect tool to take our eco-design to a higher level. We are very satisfied with this partnership that was established 16 years ago. Eco-design started as a separate category in the Henry van de Velde Awards and grew into an established criterion as part of good design practice for all categories.
“If designers consciously consider the environmental impact when making design decisions, the environmental impact can be drastically reduced.”
How is OVAM itself committed to sustainability in design?
Brigitte Mouligneau: In addition to our partnership with the Henry van de Velde Awards, which are aimed at professionals, we organise an annual Eco-design Award for design students. Final projects are judged in different categories by Design Museum Ghent, Dott Achilles, Studio D, Knack Weekend, VITO and Flanders DC. We also organise two-day eco-design challenges in which students search for creative solutions to a concrete challenge.
In 2024, we launched a project call from within Circular Flanders to support innovative projects in eco-design. Partnerships of designers, local authorities, companies, research institutes and organisations will receive grants to set up experimentation, demonstration, and dissemination projects.
With the Close the Loop tool, we are working with Flanders DC to guide fashion entrepreneurs through the basics of circularity. The platform aims to encourage the industry to move away from a linear system and embrace the circular model.
What role can designers play in the transition to a circular economy, the development of circular business models, and systemic thinking?
Werner Annaert: Designers determine 80% of a product’s environmental impact and 90% of its production costs. Therefore, it is important to encourage them to make the right choices. They can design products and services that last longer, that are easier to repair, and that can be easily recycled at the end of their life. Designers also design business models that focus on preserving value in cycles. This can be done, for example, by designing products for reuse, offering services, and encouraging sharing platforms. Designers help think systemically to understand and optimise the complex interactions within a circular economy. Designers can also design products to encourage consumers to behave sustainably or to connect with them emotionally. By making sustainable products user-friendly and attractive, designers can make it easier for consumers to make sustainable choices.
