Representatives from Philips TV & Sound, Muirhead and Nirvana discussed how designers and manufacturers of consumer electronics can work more sustainably in this live talk as part of a collaboration between Dezeen and Philips TV & Sound.

The talk was the last in a series of four by Dezeen and Philips TV & Sound inviting designers from different disciplines to explore the cutting edge of product design.

Philips TV & Sound was represented on the panel by its global corporate social responsibility and sustainability manager Stefan Van Sabben.

Katie Kubrak, senior materials and insights producer at London-based marketing consultancy Nirvana, also appeared on the panel alongside Dr Warren Bowden, innovation and sustainability director at Scottish leather manufacturer Muirhead.

The live talk was moderated by Dezeen's deputy editor Cajsa Carlson, and investigated current trends in sustainability and consumer electronics, as well as how circularity can be achieved in manufacturing processes, and why brands and their supply chains need to produce products that are built to last.

Muirhead and Nirvana have both worked with Philips TV & Sound on sustainability initiatives. Kubrak consulted the brand to develop a list of principles that would enable it to use more sustainable packaging, while Muirhead provides sustainable leather that is used in some of Philips TV & Sound's products.

Van Sabben has been working as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability expert for 10 years. He is a member of Philips TV & Sound's environmental, social and governance taskforce, and also chairs the company's CSR and sustainability steering committee, which encourages its heads of departments to focus on topics like circularity and external sustainability reporting.

Prior to working at Philips TV & Sound, he acted as sustainability and strategy manager at Ernst and Young for five years, advising large corporations on how to make their practices more sustainable.

In her role as senior materials and insights producer at Nirvana, Kubrak consults brands from the fashion, consumer electronics and packaging sectors on sustainability.

She has spoken at a number of public events, including delivering a TED talk at University of the Arts London in 2018.

Kubrak has a degree in product design from Central Saint Martins, and is currently undertaking material science doctoral research at the Royal College of Art.

Warren Bowden acts as head of sustainability and innovation for the Scottish Leather Group, of which Muirhead is a sub-brand. In this role, he works to make leather manufacturing circular in order to achieve net-zero status.

Bowden has been awarded Chartered Environmentalist status by the Society of the Environment, and is a fellow of the Society of Leather Chemists, as well as a director of Leather UK, the trade association for the UK leather industry.

Dezeen x Philips TV & Sound

This article was written by Dezeen for Philips TV & Sound as part of our Dezeen x Philips TV & Sound partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.