Sustainable Experiences and Breaking Out of the “Lock In”

If you’ve ever watched a Tour de France mountain stage, you will have seen camper vans with excited fans clad in orange cheering widely. In fact, corner number 7 of the iconic climb Alpe d Huez is known as “Dutch Corner,” or “the biggest party in cycling.” You might even see a cyclist off the front hailing from the Netherlands, as a Dutch cyclist has won the climb eight times (the most of any country). Clearly the Dutch know how to put on a go time, and go uphill fast. 

The question has been asked, “How does a country so flat produce hill climbers that are so strong?” The answer, according to Professor of Sustainable Experience Design Frans Melissen, is that they are used to cycling against the wind. It is not surprising that the land of windmills is known for windy conditions. So strong can be the wind that the Headwind Cycling Championships are held in the Netherlands. The race can only be held when the winds exceed 32 miles per hour, or at least a ‘moderate gale.’ When you are used to moving against a massive headwind, climbing mountains may not seem all that hard.  

Moving into the wind and climbing mountains is a useful metaphor for the challenges we are facing regarding climate change. It is a challenge that Frans knows well, having spent his career not only studying the issue, but contemplating strategies for trying to reverse our direction in order to escape what may seem like an inevitable outcome.  

Part of the problem with our current approaches to tackling climate change and global warming lies in our ‘business-case thinking,’ in which ‘smart use’ of resources based on profit motive is advocated. The idea that as long as we are profit-focused in our thinking, our approach will be inherently sustainable. The fallacy in this is the presumption of rationality, that the realization will dawn upon people that unsustainable and ecologically disastrous policies will in the long term not be profitable and rather costly. However, when long-term consequences are in competition with short-term profitability, profitability often wins. 

When a system is based upon profit as the primary aim, akin to a theological virtue, then profit become all-consuming at the expense of all else. With that comes the consumption of all that can be used in the service of that goal. To break that pattern there needs to be a change in the system, and the idea of profit as the primary aim. The principle goal of a CEO should not be to ‘maximize shareholder value,’ especially when that maximization comes at the expense of the stakeholders who are impacted by those decisions.  

There are businesses that are changing their approach and their business goals. Patagonia, for instance, came out with a “Do not buy this jacket" campaign, as well as a growth strategy that involved no growth in service to its larger aspiration of environmental sustainability. Such efforts can bear the right kind of fruit, but what is needed is an orchard of such thinking, rather than the product of a single tree.  

To move society in this direction, new approaches are needed to translate knowledge into awareness and finally into action. We need more transformative than traditional thinking. Part of this lies in the need for scholars to become more activist, or what he calls being a ‘scholactivist.’ Scholars cannot sit this out by just existing in the classroom or in academic journals. Rather, they need to be in places such as Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch to engage in broader discussions.  

It also is important to make changes where we can, no matter how simple it might seem. For instance, biophalia is when you put a lot of plants and animals into where people live and work, they are going to appreciate nature more. This kind of “natural nudging” can help shift attitudes and open up opportunities to start making those changes.  

In ways great and small, Professor Melissen talks about the action that needs to be taken. Inaction is always an option, but not if we want to ensure the long-term viability of the planet and ourselves. As Frans notes, “good enough is no longer good enough.” We need to be doing better, and doing better is in our power. It might seem like a major hill to climb, but as with all hill climbs the best approach to get to the top is to get started. 

You can listen to Frans talking about these points on the Experience by Design podcast, provided below.