The design economy is one of the UK’s great assets.

The £97.4 billion design economy is growing at twice the rate of the UK economy as a whole.1 Our design skills – whether creating buildings, services or software – are sought after across the world.

The urgency of the climate and biodiversity crisis means the UK must harness this power of design to drive decarbonisation. Design will fuel the innovation which enables us to live within our planetary boundaries: from retrofitting buildings to developing infrastructure for electric transport, improving products’ energy efficiency, and driving the circular economy.

After the second world war, politicians were faced with the challenge of rebuilding the country. The result was a host of ambitious policies, including the creation of the Design Council, which shaped the next seven decades of public life and transformed millions of lives for the better.

Today a new generation must respond with urgency to the far reaching consequences of the climate crisis. With the right government support, design can help deliver a prosperous and equitable transition to a green economy based on local ingenuity and innovation.