O2 Global Network

Not to be confused with the European telecommunications company, Telefónica Europe.

O2 Global Network (O2 International Network for Sustainable Design, sylized as O₂ Global Network) is an international network for people interested in sustainable design. The network is made up of the O2 Global Network foundation, regional hubs, local groups, liaisons and individuals (called O2's). It has currently more than 70 country contacts.

History

O2 ("Oxygen") was founded in 1988 in Milan by Niels Peter Flint, Thierry Kazazian, Jorgi Scheicher, Jeremy Quinn and others. O2 Groups in Denmark, Finland, France, Sweden and the United Kingdom followed. Six years later (5 July 1994), Iris de Graaf and Willem Hanhart founded the O2 Global Network foundation, or in short, the O2 Global Network. O2GN, as it became to be known, was set up as an independent organization. Its first home page appeared in November that year, and by August 1995, the network had hosted its first web broadcast, live from Rotterdam.

Objective

For nearly two decades, O2 has pioneered solutions to a central problem of the made environment: how to foster sustainability while having a good quality of life. The people in this forum have been wrestling with the problems of a throw-away culture, formulating non-polluting production methods, sourcing non-toxic, sustainably managed materials, innovative sustainable product services, sustainable lifestyles, behavior and consumption -- and, most importantly, passing on that knowledge.

The basic idea of the O2 Global Network is "global thinking and local action". Global information and knowledge is exchanged and discussed. Local groups, mostly non-governmental organizations, or O2 individuals organize lectures, projects and workshops as well as distributing newsletters to promote, educate and implement design for sustainability, with all of its facets in mind.

Members

The network involves people with a background in design, industrial design, architecture, packaging design, graphic design, arts, fashion, and innovation, as well as people from academies, universities, public authorities, companies or knowledge centers. The O2 Global Network's primary method of communication is by means of electronic media such as the home page and an electronic mailing list where information and knowledge can be exchanged. O2 Hubs, O2 groups and O2 liaisons can be found worldwide.

See also

Design portal

• Buckminster Fuller
• Ecodesign
• Eco-efficiency
• Eco-innovation
• Environmental design
• Renewable resource
• Social design
• Sustainability
• Sustainable design
• Sustainable development
• Victor Papanek
• Waste management

External links

• O2 home page