A philanthropic fund
focused on caring for
our world and the
people in it.
A philanthropic fund focused on caring for our world and the people in it.
Picking up my
new tools
I have had to put down my old tools and pick up new tools many times throughout my life. The McDonough Institute is a new tool to gather learnings, support talented individuals, develop critical innovation and accelerate our transition to planet and people positive daily living. I am giving everything I can for the next generations and I hope you’ll join me in giving (and doing) everything you can.
What is the McDonough Institute?
The McDonough Institute is a 501(c)3 founded by William McDonough with the support and encouragement of his worldwide network of leaders in business, philanthropy and government to capture, share and continue developing intergenerational design. The Institute is in the process of establishing a $100 million endowment to fund critical programs that ensure William’s life’s work is leveraged for maximum positive impact.
The mission: Intergenerational Design
Design is the first signal of human intention. We are designing for all of the children, of all the species, for all time.
The Opportunity
Designing for next use and
future generations.
The Vision
Optimizing the intersection of commerce
and generational stewardship.
The Goal
Facilitating a safe, healthy and just world, with clear air, water, soil and power - economically, equitably, ecologically and elegantly enjoyed.
- William McDonough
The work: Innovative Design
Changing what we see. Changing how we think. Changing what we do. The institute is a resource for advancing design that has changed the world, yet with an opportunity to optimize these important concepts across sectors.
Cradle to Cradle
Waste = Food
Biological Nutrients
Technical Nutrients
Product as a Service
Triple Top Line
Eco-Effective
Circular Economy
Values to Value
Design for the Regenerative Biosphere™
Design for the Circular Technosphere™
Design for Disassembly
Design for Next Use
Circular Carbon Economy
Carbon is Not the Enemy
Living Carbon
Durable Carbon
Fugitive Carbon
A Building like a Tree
A City like a Forest
Climate Positive Concrete
Generating concrete with a climate positive impact.ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
Partners: Brimstone, Fifth Wall, Jorge Gascon
Collaborators: Holcom, Citic, Kaust
Climate Positive Packaging
Creating a cellulose-based packaging system designed to recycle as paper and be backyard compostable.
Partners: Unilever, Pakka, Mars
Circular Apparel
Developing durable fabrics and materials through less pollutive industrial processes.
Partner: Ralph Lauren
Collaborator: PragmatIC
Sustainable Footwear
Finding a way to make footwear that operates within the technological or biological nutrient cycles.
Partner: Under Armour
The Numbers: Why we must act NOW
natural ecosystems
by the consumer supply chain
from the atmosphere by 2030
The future: The McDonough Institute Programs
The innovations we have been developing over the past years are not only planet positive. They also have significant financial upside, given their viability and potential for broad acceptance. The McDonough Institute Program will advise, fund and support industry innovators, accelerating the adoption of planet-positive design.
Inaugural Steward: William McDonough
Through the institute, William McDonough serves as the Inaugural Steward and is focused on the horizon in product development and technology breakthroughs, freely advising designers and decision makers as they develop new materials, products and approaches aligned with intergenerational stewardship principles.
This position, along with the other Stewards, work intentionally and collaboratively to optimize their expertise, influential networks and resources to accelerate intergenerational design across sectors and around the world.
The McDonough Institute Stewards
The McDonough Institute Stewards work collaboratively across sectors and disciplines to offer insight, seed innovation and shape design approaches, in order to accelerate the adoption of planet positive and intergenerational design.
The intent of this work is to gather individuals with unique abilities and contributions in order to accelerate the intergenerational design movement. The Stewards engagement is an intentionally designed collaborative process to optimize the ideas and opportunities of each steward. The intention of the Stewards is to change what we see, how we think and what we do to ensure we are caring for future generations.
Intergenerational Innovation Fund
The Intergenerational Innovation Fund will provide grant resources to seed, develop and bring to market planet positive innovations. These funds are intentionally flexible, yet focused on bringing ideas to life that maximize the scale of impact to positively impact people and the planet.
We are watching for innovations in carbon capture, packaging design, energy consumption, solar use, water management and ecosystem preservation.
Product Transformation Center
The Product Transformation Center facilitates collaboration and transformation of ubiquitous products in partnership with individual brands as well as the facilitation of shared work across consortiums of leading companies.
This shared effort and commitment is critical to the transformation necessary to speed our progress toward intergenerational product design. The intent is to identify products we all use and improve their contribution to the planet and our individual lives.
People: McDonough Institute Donors
The McDonough Institute exists solely through the kidness and passion of these individuals, and others who have wished to remain anonymous. We would like to thank each and every one of our donors for their continued support of our cause.
William Smith
Amanda Johnson
Sarah Williams
Christopher Jones
Emma Brown
Joshua Miller
Madison Davis
Matthew Wilson
Olivia Moore
Ryan Thomas
Abigail Smith
Alexander Johnson
Benjamin Williams
Elijah Jones
Gabrielle Brown
Isaiah Miller
Josiah Davis
Levi Wilson
William Smith
Benjamin Johnson
George Williams
John Brown
Edward Jones
Christopher Miller
Joseph Smith
Timothy Johnson
Charles Brown
People: McDonough Institute Board Members
Introducing our Board Members
Edward Grieg
Edward is a world-renowned primatologist, ethologist, and conservationist.
Hannah Olson
Dr. Hannah Olson is a world-renowned environmentalist and political activist.
Rebecca Chan
Rebecca is a world-renowned environmentalist and political activist.
Paul Schmidt
Paul is a world-renowned primatologist, ethologist, and conservationist.
caring for our world and the
people in it.
All rights reserved.