Founder and CEO, Lot21
Lew is the Founder / CEO of Lot21, a content platform and resource helping the design community decarbonize the world – by advancing climate action across the built environment with the design disciplines that shape it. Lot21 is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan, open-source platform.
Lew's environmental advocacy began decades ago when the forestry stewardship movement emerged. From contributing to reforestation and advocating for a broader range of climate restoration solutions now, the common theme has joined conservation and commerce to sustain both.
Before launching Lot21, Lew led various Steelcase global brands and forward-looking initiatives for over 25 years. Throughout those years, he commercialized new concepts by bringing them from research through ideation and product development to market and was awarded 23 patents.
Lew is an active IDSA member and was selected to serve on the IDSA jury for the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) from 2023 to 2024. He also serves on the Council of the CoDesign Collaborative, contributes to the Queens Climate Project in New York, and is a strategic advisor to eco-minded companies committed to regenerative design, healthier living, and certified green products.
Educational engagements include advising a Rice University Graduate School of Business capstone project, advising and collaborating on a Parsons School of Design masters class, and guest speaking at Northwestern University Segal Design Institute, New York Institute of Technology, and California College of the Arts. Upcoming speaking engagements include Columbia Business School, Harvard Business School, and Steelcase.
Designing for a Warming World is Lew’s latest article, released in the inaugural issue of Unfold magazine, a CoDesign Collaborative publication.
Circular Design Becomes Transformative, Regenerative, Restorative
Circular Design is our profession’s growth opportunity to transform the circular economy and tackle climate change simultaneously. Industrial design’s contribution—breakthrough products, packaging, and design practices—impacts lives and livelihoods worldwide across consumer, commercial, and industrial sectors. Given this scale and global reach, every material selection, production method, and transportation decision we make forms a critical part of a holistic circular system. As a result, our roles are influential, and our work is consequential because it leaves a lasting imprint on the environment everywhere.
Guiding principles, common goals, and accountability are needed to ensure our approach is sustainable and scalable for both people and the planet. To that end, UN Sustainable Development Goal #9 focuses on building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation. It’s a goal around which we can all unite and join with others to broaden its inclusivity.
By adopting these practices, we can drive Circular Design further to create a future filled with the transformative, sustainable solutions that our planet urgently needs.
The audience will learn:
