ABSTRACT
In 1996, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) organised a summit where the heads of 185 states made various pledges, one of them to eradicate world hunger. The aims were reaffirmed at the UN Millennium summit in 2000 where 191 member states signed the Millennium Declaration, committing all of them to: reduce by half, from 1990 to 2015, the percentage of persons living in extreme poverty; and grant a full and productive employment and a dignified job for all, including women and youngsters. In the UN report Our Common Future the concept of sustainable development was introduced. The discipline of Design for Sustainability has enlarged its scope and field of action in the last two decades: from material and energy low impact selection to Life Cycle Design of products, to eco-efficient System design, and design for social equity and cohesion. The chapter outlines a possible research area for designers, and several compelling questions have been framed.
