Larry Black, McDonough Sustainable Innovation Collaboration’s business leader and current waste management consultant, visited Caracas and injected it with a dose of inspiring and challenging ideas.

Black made it clear that sustainability must go hand in hand with profitability in order to materialize. “The salvation of business is in the salvation of the environment,” he said in a conversation.

Moving away from the take-make-spend philosophy to one where materials can be used again and again in an endless cycle is the main postulate of Cradle-to-Cradle, a design protocol created by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, of which Black spoke at length.

But recycling and reusing materials is only possible if there is a system that supports it: waste management networks and the companies responsible of processing them.

«Imagine a City… The Ideas and Images of William McDonough» was the title of Larry Black’s inspiring presentation to a full house at the Municipal Theater of Chacao. He invited us to think of a city that “loves all children, of all species, forever.”

A city where people can live, work and play in the same areas, that purifies the air and water for its inhabitants thanks to the design of green public spaces.

A city with buildings like trees: buildings that breathe, absorb carbon and emit oxygen, fix nitrogen and produce food, create microclimates, and honor biodiversity.

In his lecture, Black proposed Saudi Arabia as an example of a visionary oil country, which has set itself the goal to become the first producer of solar energy worldwide in the next 10 years.

There is no such thing as a perfect space or perfect conditions for building a sustainable building or city, only the right decisions, born of the will and desire of individuals.