Notes from Regenerative
Design

Documenting the learnings and musings of Studio Pangu’s founder, Sami Kimberley, as she journey’s through a Masters in Regenerative Design at Central Saint Martins.

An interesting talk about the history of climate politics and power. Peace with nature is peace with one another.

The impact of reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone.

002 - Question: What could happen if we capped air miles
During a lecture a thought popped to my head. Its one I’ve had before, but never inerogated. These questions are a regular happening for me. They’re always solutions based - what would happen if we do this? If we change this part of the system what would the consequences be? The ideas don’t present themselves as revolutionary, but pragmatic, meet-in-the-middle solutions that seek to adapt the world we live in and the systems that surround us.

This particular thought - if everyone in the world had an annual cap on airmiles what could the impact be? Or considering a more realistically capitalist structure, if you could purchase more after that, with profits going toward climate change solutions or developing, would it make a difference? I used ai to explore this idea.

The aviation sector is responsible for about 2.5% to 3% of total global CO₂ emissions. The most recent figure for global CO₂ emissions is around 915 million metric tons of CO₂ per year. However, considering the full impact of aviation, including non-CO₂ effects such as water vapor and nitrogen oxides (NOx), the sector could be responsible for about 5% of global warming. For context, there is a table below with rough estimations of the top ten CO₂ emmiters as well as a chart exploring jet fuel consumption by nation (Right, nature.com). We know that aviation is only responsible for a small percentage of global emissions, as well as knowing that a handful of countries around the world that contribute to the issue in a much bigger way than most of the others combined.

Left: Chat GPT / Right: nature.com)

So, if we introduced a 40,000 mile cap on each person annually, this is how the situation may play out.

Current Baseline Emissions:
- Global aviation currently emits around 915 million tons of CO₂ annually.
- This includes all commercial and private flights globally under current travel patterns.
Scenario with 40,000-Mile Cap:
- By limiting all travelers to a maximum of 40,000 air miles annually, those who typically exceed this limit (i.e., frequent flyers and those using private jets extensively) would reduce their travel significantly.
- This high-mileage group represents a small percentage of travelers but accounts for a disproportionately large share of emissions.
Estimated Reduction:
- Research suggests that the top 1% of travelers account for around 50% of aviation emissions. By capping them at 40,000 miles, we could reasonably expect to cut their emissions by around 50% or more.
- This would bring total aviation emissions down from 915 million tons to approximately 460-500 million tons of CO₂ annually, assuming that most people who fly less than 40,000 miles per year would continue at their current levels.

This would represent an annual reduction of around 45-50% in global aviation emissions, which translates to 415-455 million tons of CO₂ saved each year compared to current flying patterns. What would happen if you charged for airmiles over the cap starting at $0.10 with funds going toward SAF and ecosystem regeneration.

For Travelers Flying Between 40,000 and 80,000 Miles (40 million travelers)

40,001–50,000 miles: 10,000 miles × $0.10 × 40 million = $40 million
50,001–60,000 miles: 10,000 miles × $0.20 × 40 million = $80 million
60,001–70,000 miles: 10,000 miles × $0.40 × 40 million = $160 million
70,001–80,000 miles: 10,000 miles × $0.80 × 40 million = $320 million

For Travelers Flying 80,000 Miles or More (5 million travelers)

80,001–90,000 miles: 10,000 miles × $1.60 × 5 million = $80 million
90,001–100,000 miles: 10,000 miles × $3.20 × 5 million = $160 million (if applicable)

Total Potential Revenue

From 40 million travelers flying 40,000–80,000 miles: $600 million
From 5 million travelers flying 80,000+ miles: $80–$240 million
Combined total: $680–$840 million annually

001 - Introduction
Note to reader: This space is to hold myself accountable to synthensise my thoughts and learnings through out the course , and to give a point of reference of where I began to where I ended up.

What is my practice? A tough introductary question for someone whose ambition it is to define this very thing over the next two years. It’s interesting to interegate none the less. My pratcice is evolving, its in flux, it is a bud. With evergrowing dissatisfaction and disenfranchisment from the world of creative direction in a innatly capitalist system, I’ve been searching, experimenting and growing.

When working with big brands creative direction is inherently not regenerative. My own specialism is working within cultural projects to bring the world of the brand and that of the audience together, establishing or growing brand connection and affinity. This often has a genuine positive ambition behind it, for example, to urge people to do more sport to aid their mental and phsyical wellbeing, or to inspire creative self-expression. It can also play a genuine role in culture, whether this is through the enablement of creative projects that otherwise would not exist, or creating cultural moments which bring joy. An ongoing central theme to my work has been to centralise the communities engaging with it, and ensure that the exchange is a positive one. But even with all the best intentions, it is a tool for consumption and business growth.

An interesting task would be to try and find a way to make something so enveloped in corporate goals beneficial to our ecosystems. Can creative direction, consumption and the promotion of it through culture adhere to the codes of whole systems design, or integrate biophillic design principles, without simply being greenwashing?

My work as a filmmaker is easier to define within a regenerative framework. Through this medium , I’m able to share stories of people with a regnerative mindset - hoping to inspire action or create appreciation for our planet. From communities finding new ecocentrist ways of living - such as Schoonschip in Amnsterdam to scientists activists and citizen scientists coming together to save critical seagrass meadows with Project Seagrass. Similiary, through photography, I am aim to create moments where the audience is encouraged to see nature in a new way, or take notice from a different perspective, always balancing the subject and their surroundings in equal importance.

Finally, my work as a community organiser and curater. In 2019 I co-founded the collective Baesianz alongside two of my closest friends. Initially a space to uplift Asian art and voices through events, exhibitions and storytelling, it has grown to become a community underpinned by values of equity and justice, which manifests itself through fundraisers and activism. We have since exapanded into a football team, and last year, into an Adventure Club - creating a space for women, trans and non-binary people of Asian heritage to explore and experience the outdoors and connect to nature. Whilst this is in its infancy, it is a space where regenerative principles can thrive.

What do I want to achieve? I want to find a way to bring my worlds and passions together to make lasting change which helps our planet and its species thrive.

Image: a mind map of my experience with Regenerative Design. I started at the beginning. Documenting my determination to bring nature, community and positive impact into every project I did - from Burberry to Nike Move to Zero. This grew into personal projects and eventually birthded Studio Pangu, a space where regenerative and whole systems design can be baked into every project, focusing on local and climate consious briefs and initiatives. I started building my own practice through the mediums of film, writing, photography and communal learning. There are projects I admire deeply, there are issues I care about deeply. The state of our oceans, the imbalances of cause and effect on global communities, the way our eating habits impact our planet, how we can learn from indiginous knowledge, and the beautiful things that flourish from bringing people together. Finally, full circle, I looked at my passions and saw a loop that feeds into itself - from before > passion > learning > experimenting + action > now > passion > learning > experimenting + action > the future.

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