Classroom material for environmental justice

One of the aims of the Design for Good programme is to shift the design process from human-centred design to life-centred design, where the environment is considered alongside people within product and service development. This meant adapting tools like ecosystem mapping and personas to include the natural world.

Applying this in practice meant working closely with TIDE, based in India, to understand the education and societal ecosystem, including the systemic barriers to incorporating holistic topics like the environment into local curricula.

With this understanding, we ran a series of concept and MVP testing sessions in schools, refining the material based on direct feedback.

Given the programme's aim to create lasting impact, it was crucial to develop a realistic implementation plan, one that development partners and future organisations could easily adopt and maintain. The project's approach was recognised by the RCA x Design for Good Academy, and the material is now under a trial run with Yuva Unstopabble, extending its reach from the original Gujarat programme across India.

Report from Yuva Unstoppable who will be implementing the material:

The first phase of the Plastic Rangers Workshop will be conducted in August 2026, 3,070 students across 25 government schools in Gujarat are expected to be covered during August 2026.

We see this as the first step in building an evidence-based programme that not only raises environmental awareness but also measures how it translates into meaningful actions and lifelong habits. Based on our current capacity, we expect to expand to 25–30 schools annually, integrating the programme into one of our flagship school transformation initiatives. This would enable us to reach approximately 80 schools (~10,000 students and 25,000–30,000 lives) by 2028, and 140–150 schools (~18,000 students and around 50,000 lives) by 2030, as students take these learnings back to their families and communities.