Partnering with nature for a thriving future
The Symbiocene Institute explores how imagination, design & collaboration can create balance for people & planet
What is the Symbiocene?
The Symbiocene defines pathways to a better future where all life can thrive.
It has a set of guiding principles based on symbiosis, enabling us to have mutually beneficial relationships with the natural systems that support life.
The Symbiocene invites a new story: where people live in partnership with all life, taking us from depletion to renewal, separation to interconnection & reducing harm to net-positive outcomes.
First set out by environmental philosopher Glenn Albrecht in his book Earth Emotions, the Symbiocene is an emerging movement around the world.
A Guide to Symbiocene Design
A practical approach to help designers and decision-makers reconcile human needs and desires with the wellbeing of all life.
Symbiocene design responds to escalating ecological crises including climate change, biodiversity loss and resource depletion, proposing a shift from the Anthropocene paradigm of destructive domination over nature towards a Symbiocene future grounded in symbiosis with humanity embracing the role of guardians of the natural world.
The approach considers the needs of people, nature and future generations in design processes and how this collective consideration presents new opportunities.
The guide was developed by the Symbiocene Institute in partnership with Good Design Australia and Vert Industrial Design and was guided by architect of the Symbiocene Glenn Albrecht.
Thank you for downloading the guide and joining us on this important adventure.
What you’ll find inside:
Guiding principles for Symbiocene-compatible design
50 real-world examples
New design concepts
Prompts and entry points to move interest into action
Get the guide
WHAT WE DO
We raise ambition & enable action
The Symbiocene Institute helps people embed our symbiosis-based principles into their work, turning climate & biodiversity crises into opportunities for greater ambition & innovation.
Grounded in symbiosis & guided by the vision of the Symbiocene, we make nature-positive, life-centred design tangible & achievable.
We support practitioners across the spectrum of design - from industrial design & the built environment to policy, digital, systems & service innovation - to understand Symbiocene-compatible design & the role it plays to reimagine human-nature relationships.
The practical ways we make the Symbiocene accessible, actionable & impactful:
Inspire
Sparking imagination, showcasing innovation & raising ambition
Equip
Providing tools & support to turn ambition into action
Connect
Building collaborations for collective action & systemic change
Shift
Moving mindsets, uniting heads & hearts & creating active hope
Team & advisory board
Andy Marks
Symbiocene Institute
Andy Marks is Founder and Executive Director of the Symbiocene Institute.
His previous roles include advisor to NSW Government (Clean Air Strategy, Net Zero, Repair and Reuse) program director of the Fix and Make festival and impact advisor for ABC’s War on Waste.
Andy spent eighteen years as Founder and CEO of two ground-breaking UK based companies in content / research and circular economy working with the world’s leading hotel companies to transform end-of-life bed linen into room amenities and sleepwear.
Dr. Kate Wilson
Symbiocene Institute
Kate is a Director of the Symbiocene Institute and an independent biodiversity, climate and sustainability advisor.
Kate chairs the international Net Zero Futures Policy Forum, provides advice to the NSW Minister for the Environment as a member of the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Advisory Panel and is a member of the advisory board of the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies.
Dr. Brandon Gien
Symbiocene Institute
Brandon is a Director of the Symbiocene Institute, Founder and Chair of Good Design Australia, Chair of the Australian Good Design Awards and Executive Director of the Australian Design Council.
Glenn A. Albrecht
Architect of the Symbiocene
Glenn is an Honorary Associate in the School of Geo-sciences, The University of Sydney, Australia. Previously Professor of Sustainability at Murdoch University, he now works as an environmental philosopher and published a book, Earth Emotions, with Cornell University Press in 2019.
Camille Goldstone-Henry
Bank Australia
Camille is a multi-award winning tech entrepreneur, scientist, proud Kamilaroi woman and board member of WWF Australia.
Melissa Gilbert
UnitePlayPerform
Melissa is an award-winning multidisciplinary Australian contemporary artist, educator and experience designer. She is a descendant of the Mununjali Clan of the Yugambeh Nation in South East Queensland, with links to Quandamooka.
Ron Bakker
PLP Architecture, London
Ron Bakker is a co-founder of PLP Architecture and leads PLP Labs, the studio’s in-house research and innovation arm. His experience reaches far and wide, with projects across the UK, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
OUR PARTNERS
The Symbiocene Institute acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country across the lands now known as Australia and their deep and continuing connection to land, waters and all life.
We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and recognise that First Nations peoples have long cared for and lived in harmony with nature.