The trend of creativity is changing. Beautiful or novel designs used to impress people until a while ago; wonderful artworks used to be created based on strong concepts. This situation, however, seems to be changing. It seems that creative work today has to be based on solid logics.

I think that creativity is going to develop on the foundation of "philosophy, ethics, and sensitivity".

Philosophy is pursuit of fundamental principles of life.
Ethics is reflection on duty of human beings.
Sensitivity is emotions we have when we have contact with things.

Impressive work is created through knowledge of principles of the world and actions which are useful for the world. This is true in all creation including architecture, design and art. Creativity has to contribute to society in today's world.

What do human beings living today have to do in order to realise sustainable society? This is the question we often ask when environmental issues are in discussion. Naturally, creators are a small group of the human beings. "What is creativity for sustainable society?" is the proposition for creators today.

What is sustainable society, then? Human beings are facing many issues such as destruction of ozone shield, explosive increase of the world population, food scares, and energy crisis in which the petrol is going to be scarce in forty years; the existence of human beings is not sustainable in this situation. We are going to ruin ourselves unless we change our current behavioural patterns. We need gui-delines for social structures and systems which allow human beings to live on earth in a sustainable way; this is "realisation of sustainable society".

Many people may say that creators should just make good things and they don't need any difficult ideas. More people, however, are starting to find expressions of superficial beauty, which are not based on any reflection on principals, trivial and unbearable. This is a newly emerging trend. As materialistic mass consumerism is being replaced by optimal consumerism in today's society, superficial beauty becomes out of date and is consumed like a bubble quickly.

I would like to suggest the idea of a circulating creative system which enables human beings to live in a sustainable way. The system is based on solving every single small problem. For example, a big company prohibits distribution of photocopies in a meeting. All the process is done with computers and projectors. This is only a small step. This decision, however, saves consumption of hundreds of million pieces of photocopy paper. Such a small suggestion has a power to change the world.
As 100% recycled paper is used for +81 E code, no trees are consumed. If virgin pulp were used, around 80 natural trees would be consumed according to the calculation based on the actual number of copies printed.(Calculation of number of trees consumed has been done by CSP PROJECT).
We start by planting the number of trees we would have consumed. The idea of planting as many trees as cutting down is part of the circulating creative system. As trees take several dozens of years to grow, we must also find ideas and actions to fill the gap. Along with use of recycled paper, if all the paper-consuming industries put the idea into action and start planting as many trees as cutting down, the most creative activity which is creating big forests on earth is going to take place. There should be no greater creation than that.
Such an idea is "philosophy", putting the idea into action is "ethics", and having sympathy in it is "sensitivity".

Creative work has a power to make the world better. "Creators, please make your best in making the world better". This was the message to the readers from the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer at the interview two years ago. Let's put our creativity in actions in order to make the world better. That makes the most beautiful and most impressive creation.

Satoru Yamashita, +81 E code Director