Now or Never at Form Design Center

Climate change presents us with an unprecedented creative challenge. The exhibition Now or Never – 1 kg CO2e aims to clearly and tangibly illustrate the climate impact of different materials and furniture by showing the amount of each material that corresponds to exactly one kilogram of greenhouse gas emissions. The exhibition presents 40 different materials and highlights the importance of the choices we can make to drive change.

An exhibition about our furniture’s invisible impact on the climate, and about making the right decisions.

What is the climate impact of our furniture? By 2030 we must reduce our global emissions by more than half to meet the Paris Agreement. That is just a few short years to achieve the significant shifts required. To succeed in this, changes are needed in everything we do, including how we furnish and in the furniture sold. The furniture industry need to take this seriously. Together we can make a difference.
The exhibition Now or Never – 1kg CO2e present a selection of furniture materials and their climate impact. By measuring carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) – the method used to see the climate impact of a product – we can clearly see that our choices make a difference. A single chair can correspond to anything from a few kilos of CO2e, to several hundred.
For a long time I’ve been thinking about the climate impact of various furniture and materials and how I, as a designer, in a simple way might understand how my material choices can make a difference. By demonstrating the quantity of different materials we can get for exactly one kilogram of greenhouse gas emissions, I hope this is made tangible and clear, says Emma Olbers.
The exhibition is made by furniture designer Emma Olbers in a creative partnership with SALLY – a future manifestation lab at the design and innovation agency EY Doberman, with help from Doconomy, whose 2030 Calculator is used to determine the climate impact of the materials.