Nowadays, the world is facing a period of uncertainty both from the political and economic point of view. This is drawing attention to important consequences that impact us all.
We are experiencing a crisis on many fronts. The electricity prices are increasing, together with the prices of the raw materials. To make matters worse, the outbreak of another conflict amplified an already difficult situation.
The rise in electricity prices
The resources needed to fulfil the Italian electricity demand come for about three quarters from foreign countries.
The unexpected rise of electricity prices is a consequence of the increasing cost of natural gas, the main source of energy in Italy. Italy’s first biggest natural gas supplier is Russia. If we then mention the rise in metal prices, specifically nickel and aluminium, the maths are quickly done (data from Wall Street Italia).
How about the consequences? The situation has an impact both on individual customers and companies, who have to deal with rising inflation, transport delays, minor production, unavailability of materials and with a consequent decrease in purchasing power.
The skyrocketing increase of transportation costs, due to the rise of fuel prices, affects the shipping costs of materials and the lead time. In the same way, manufacturing costs also rise. This leads to reduced production or, in some cases, even to the suspension of it.
Furnishing companies like ours are suffering the consequences, especially when buying metal, wood, fabrics, polyurethane and in every manufacturing process employing electricity.
What can we do in order to ease this phenomenon so that it affects the final customer as little as possible?
Our answer: the three Cs of conscious design
Based on our experience, we think that the solution lies in the first phase, that is to say in the planning process. We love to call it conscious design.
Three are the key elements: care, competence and consciousness.
Care. That is to say the accurate analysis of the project. In other words, integrating desires and expectations with the product’s functionality and concreteness. It means supporting architects and general contractors, optimising the materials’ consumption and trying, if possible, to reuse the existing ones.
Competence. It means the highly specialised technical expertise which combines know-how and experience with innovation, tradition and modernity. Nowadays, problem-solving is an inevitable skill. It is essential to think outside the box, in order to find new and alternative solutions.
Consciousness. It stands for the responsible employment of resources, especially for reusing and recovering products and materials. As an example, working on existent moulds or programs enables to reduce the product’s costs by limiting waste and preventing the disposal of many “bulky” materials in stock. Which are the effects? A minor impact on the environment and the respect of the given budget.
An opportunity to plan out of the box
Nowadays, not only do we see how depending on external factors can become a double-edge-sword, but we are actually experiencing it on our own.
The price increase is certainly worrying, especially if we think about the future. Then, why not catch a flash of opportunity inside the chaos of this crisis?
Optimisation, knowledge, reuse, creativity and new solutions are the essential ingredients. Conscious design may be a tiny little step, but it can be the first one towards a new way of thinking.
Contact us to learn more about how we do conscious design.
