Terra Carta Design Lab announces finalists

HRH The Prince of Wales and Sir Jony Ive’s Terra Carta Design Lab has announced the 20 finalists chosen to develop design-led solutions to the climate crisis. Launched in July 2021, the Terra Carta Design Lab was spearheaded by Prince Charles and Jony Ive in collaboration with the Royal College of Art (RCA). Each shortlisted team will be expected to further develop their proposals and submit them to the Terra Carta Design Lab Grand Jury in spring 2022, after which four winning teams will be offered the opportunity to be mentored by Jony Ive and introduced to the industry leads of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, as well as receiving financial support. 

'The Design Lab is a visionary and imaginative way of helping address the increasingly urgent climate crisis – the greatest design challenge we face,’ says Ive. ‘This work demonstrates the ingenuity and creative brilliance of RCA students, and I am so very excited to see these concepts develop.'

Terra Carta Design Lab finalists

The 20 shortlisted projects were selected based on innovation, technical feasibility, potential for impact, as well as their alignment with one of the ten themes of the Terra Carta – energy in industry and buildings; natural capital, including agriculture, land use, forestry and oceans; mobility and road transport; fashion and textiles; health systems; technology; waste; plastic, chemicals and petrochemicals; aviation; and shipping. 

The shortlist includes Zelp, an innovative device worn by cattle to reduce methane emissions; the Resting Reef, an eco-friendly funeral service that aims to regenerate marine biodiversity, sequestering carbon and preventing coastal erosion; and the Race for the Arctic, an adventure game that lets players experience climate catastrophe and work to create a more positive future. 

Software-based projects also feature on the shortlist, such as inC2, a platform built on the blockchain that helps companies track, analyse and reduce their supply chain emissions; and Carbon Counting Club, a system that uses blockchain technology to bring trust, transparency and rigour to the carbon offset market.

Among the chosen designs are also a series of material innovations, such as an alternative to plastic that is currently being tested as a solution for the beauty and personal care industry, developed by Shellworks (a former Wallpaper* Re-Made collaborator); and the Notpla Seaweed Paper Project, an alternative to wood-based paper and cardboard with comparable performance and cost. 

‘This shortlist shows the potent alchemy of bringing together the arts and sciences to tackle urgent global challenges,’ comments Paul Thompson, vice-chancellor of the Royal College of Art. ‘The variety and viability of these 20 projects is testament to the talent, innovation and dedication of our students and alumni to solve real world problems affecting communities around the world.’