Terra Carta Design Lab announces second edition

The Terra Carta Design lab announces a second edition, once again inviting students to imagine high-impact, low-cost design solutions to address the climate crisis. 

The programme was originally launched in 2021 by His Majesty King Charles III, in his former role as HRH The Prince of Wales, with Sir Jony Ive. The project was part of The Sustainable Markets Initiative – an organisation created to address the threats posed by climate change and biodiversity loss. 

The Terra Carta Design Lab becomes international

The Terra Carta Design Lab is addressed to students and recent alumni (graduated within the past five years) from London’s Royal College of Art (the programme’s original partner), Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (UAE), National Institute of Design Ahmedabad (India) and Rhode Island School of Design (USA). Submissions will be judged by a panel of experts led by Ive, and the eight winning designs (two from each school) will be announced in autumn 2024, their designers to then be mentored by Sir Jony Ive and the Sustainable Market Initiative’s network, with the aim to develop and scale their ideas further.

‘Through the Sustainable Markets Initiative and the Terra Carta Design Lab, we aim to inspire accelerated action on the world’s sustainability targets while illustrating a vision of what is possible,’ says Jennifer Jordan-Saifi, CEO of the Sustainable Markets Initiative. ‘Cross-disciplinary engagement, creativity, and design provide a unique opportunity to co-create and discover new paths that can drive the sustainable transition we so urgently need.’

The decision to expand the Terra Carta Design Lab to a global scale was driven by the desire to expand the initiative’s search for groundbreaking design ideas, and reach a wider number of next-generation creative leaders. ‘Multidisciplinary collaboration has never been more important,’ adds Ive. ‘It is incredibly rewarding to see an even broader group of students use deep creative collaboration to develop thoughtful ways of tackling the multifaceted challenges of the climate crisis.’

The 2022 Terra Carta Design Lab winners include Aerseeds, Amphico, The Tyre Collective and Zelp, who together have already raised £18 million in investments and grants, and have been supported in their development by InnovationRCA, the RCA’s centre for entrepreneurship and incubation. Additional participants to the 2022 edition also saw some important results: now crowdfunding for a pilot reef, Resting Reef was noticed for its eco-memorial service design, while Shellworks, one of two highly commended entries, is working with Hæckels to create naturally biodegradable packaging for the brand.

‘I'm incredibly proud to be part of the Terra Carta Design Lab and the momentum it has built over the past two years,’ adds Ive. ‘The mission of addressing the climate crisis is more relevant and urgent than ever, and I'm very excited to see the ideas these international design students will have developed by next autumn.’

For more information on the Terra Carta Design Lab, visit sustainable-markets.org