Amory Lovins: "We need to redesign minds"
What if significant improvements in energy efficiency could be achieved here and now, without any technological breakthroughs? What if the greatest potential for radically reducing greenhouse gas emissions lies not in the pieces themselves, but in how those pieces are put together?
In a recent research seminar at the KTH Climate Action Centre, Amory B. Lovins, founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute and Affiliate Professor at Stanford University, took participants through a journey of his work on energy efficiency and integrative design. Presenting a number of methods for increasing energy efficiency while at the same time saving money, he illustrated the potential of achieving significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by focusing on design, in residential and industry settings alike.
Highlighting improvements in design as "the overlooked part of the energy revolution", Lovins drew out the untapped potential of focusing on design and software features, rather than technological breakthroughs alone, for optimising buildings, processes and systems. To let this potential come to its own, he suggested, we need dynamic policies that create better incentives for engineers, architects, supply chains and shop assistants alike - rewarding savings in energy performance, rather than spending. As such, what is really needed is a reorientation of professional practice: "we do not need to redesign systems - we need to redesign minds".
Read more about his work here: Amory B. Lovins Profile
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