Sustainable Design is the art and science of designing products, services, and the built environment to meet the three pillars of sustainability: society, environment, and economics.  

Globally, significant attention is being placed on designing sustainable engineering technologies, such as alternative and renewable energy technologies, to improve an individual’s level of sustainability and reduce the energy consumption, water consumption, and climate changing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated anthropogenic activities

Current projects in BEST Lab:

• Community Assessment of Renewable Energy and Sustainability (CARES); also see Planet Cares educational digital library
• Participlace: Sustainable Human-Centered Design Competition. In 2012, ParticiPlace’s challengers will design an off-grid living-culture center for the Pinoleville Pomo Nation (PPN), a Native American nation in Northern California. The emphasis will be on a zero-energy building which is sensitive to the local culture and place.The community is in the final process of re-purchasing ancestors lands where they hope to build the Living Culture Center to become a place to practice, preserve, and revive their culture for generations to come.
• CARES: Pinoleville Pomo Nation-UC Berkeley Partnership; news: Engineering Design that CARES
• CARES: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)-Dar Al-Hekma College-UC Berkeley Partnership
• Human Power Generation in Fitness Facilities
• Sustainable Surfing Coalition
• Sustainable Design Thinking Courses
• Smart People, Products and Buildings on the Smart Grid