Earth Centric Design Lab: The Japanese Agency Putting the Planet First

Made up of top creatives, strategists and external experts, TBWA\HAKUHODO’s new subsidiary company strives to pioneer fresh creative approaches to sustainability

“The moment my daughter took her first steps, a thought struck me – what kind of world would she inherit by 2030?” For Kazoo Sato, CEO/CCO of a new, sustainability-focused agency by TBWA\HAKUHODO, this was the point in time when sustainability turned from just a professional pursuit into a personal calling.

“After years of working in the advertising industry, I became increasingly conscious of its environmental footprint – from large-scale productions to international travel. This led me to re-evaluate our industry's responsibility toward sustainability,” Kazoo says. “While many sectors were adapting, the creative industry hadn’t fully realised its potential to contribute to environmental solutions.”

With an impressive career, spanning almost three decades, Kazoo started out as a music producer at Sony Music Entertainment before transitioning into advertising at Leo Burnett Tokyo. He joined TBWA\HAKUHODO in 2009, where he rose to become chief creative officer before taking on the role of chief creative sustainability officer for TBWA\HAKUHODO and TBWA\ASIA in 2022. Under his leadership, the agency earned multiple prestigious awards, including Cannes Lions Gold, Clio Gold, and a D&AD Yellow Pencil, while being named Campaign’s Creative Agency of the Year for six consecutive years.

His latest appointment sees him at the helm of Earth Centric Design Lab, a subsidiary company by TBWA\HAKUHODO, focused on driving creative solutions for environmental and societal challenges. “Naturally, every industry has environmental impacts across Scope 1, 2, and 3,” Kazoo says, “but in advertising, the largest emissions occur during the production process. It is crucial to actively reduce this footprint and work towards net-zero emissions.”

Reflecting on his role in corporate activities and the larger responsibilities the industry holds, it became clear to Kazoo that he could use his expertise in creativity to contribute more significantly toward solving global environmental challenges. After dedicating two years to a local sustainability education programme and discussing ideas with colleagues and industry leaders, Earth Centric Design Lab was formed.

“By channelling creativity, we can address environmental concerns in ways that resonate deeply with businesses and individuals. My mission is driven by the hope that my daughter, along with future generations, will thrive in a world where nature and humanity coexist harmoniously.”

Creativity Is the Missing Link

Bringing together a team of ten top creatives and strategists from TBWA\HAKUHODO, the founding members of Earth Centric Design Lab are joined by ten external expert partners, including university professors and specialists in various fields. “Collaborating with these professionals, many of whom we’re working with for the first time, allows us to break new ground and pioneer fresh creative approaches to sustainability,” Kazoo shares.

Across the many fields of sustainability, he reports that “the real gap isn’t a lack of expertise – it’s a lack of transformative ideas. By leveraging our strengths in creativity, we’re committed to shaping sustainability into an accessible and forward-thinking business domain, where innovative solutions take centre stage.

“Creativity is crucial in addressing sustainability because it helps companies overcome one of the biggest challenges they face – effectively communicating their sustainability efforts to consumers. Many businesses struggle to turn their actions into narratives that genuinely resonate, resulting in a gap between their initiatives and public perception. This is where creativity steps in.

“Our agency excels at crafting powerful and engaging communication strategies, transforming sustainability goals into compelling stories to bridge the gap, building consumer trust and inspiring meaningful action. Ultimately, it’s about using creativity to shape a more sustainable future, where communication drives real change.”

The foundation that these strategies are built on is a planet-centred approach. “While a human-centred approach focuses on short-term goals like consumer satisfaction and sales growth, a planet-centred approach looks at the bigger picture,” Kazoo explains. “It prioritises long-term sustainability, addressing environmental impact, biodiversity and societal well-being. Our decision-making becomes more inclusive, taking into account the needs of all stakeholders – not just consumers and clients, but also nature, animals and future generations. This balanced approach informs all our activities, from corporate branding to regional revitalisation, ensuring environmental responsibility is at the core of our work.”

The aim, he says, is to create a stable society where people's lives can flourish and economies can continue to grow sustainably: “In this sense, earth-centric design can be seen as the ultimate form of human-centric design, expanding the focus to encompass the well-being of the entire planet.”

A Collaborative Effort

Beginning its mission on home soil in Japan, Earth Centric Design Lab will approach the multi-faceted challenges of sustainability through three key pillars: branding, workshops, and Lab initiatives.

“Our first focus is helping companies define their sustainable purpose through strategic branding. By employing Future Design methodologies (envisioning a sustainable future from the perspective of future generations) and adhering to the Principle of Responsible Creative (PRC), we ensure that our clients’ initiatives maintain integrity, steering clear of greenwashing. Our goal is to craft brand strategies that not only resonate with audiences but also drive sustainability.”

Secondly, the agency invites companies looking to integrate sustainability into their business to engage with their co-creation workshops designed to guide companies through every step of their sustainability journey. “From analysing their current state to creating actionable plans, we provide a hands-on approach to equip you with the knowledge and tools needed for real change.”

The workshops are built around three core methodologies – Future Design, Circular UX Design and Nature Positive Design – and will be tailored to meet each company’s unique needs.

Future Design: Inspired by Professor Yoshinori Nakagawa’s methodology, this workshop assists businesses in defining purpose, crafting action plans and developing internal and external branding strategies that align with nature-positive goals to promote long-term sustainable growth.

Circular UX Design: This workshop guides businesses in decoupling growth from resource consumption to help companies transition from product sales to service models by designing circular customer experiences that maximise satisfaction while minimising environmental impact.

Nature Positive Design: With an ecocentric approach, this workshop expands the stakeholder scope to include non-human entities, guiding businesses in designing models that prioritise the well-being of all species, fostering harmony between business practices and nature.

The last pillar is the Lab, where researchers and designers work together to support new business development, startup incubation and regional revitalisation through a sustainability lens. The Lab will generate ideas through industry-academia collaboration on themes such as carbon-neutral and regenerative urban design, development of sustainable products and services, seaweed bed regeneration, and environmental education. “This multifaceted approach empowers us to address social challenges and build a more sustainable society,” Kazoo says. “By integrating creativity and sustainable practices, we ensure that all projects contribute meaningfully to long-term change.”

And to ensure their impact is measurable, Earth Centric Design Lab will be leveraging their custom-built system to track CO2 emissions. “While the basic formula – electricity × time × emission factor – remains straightforward, the complexity of advertising production, with its many moving parts, requires a more nuanced approach. We'll be diving into detailed categories, carefully assessing the environmental footprint of everything from production tools to event staging.

“Beyond carbon emissions, we'll also measure circularity rates related to resource usage in visual production and set design. To ensure precision and accountability, we plan to adopt the Circular Transition Indicators (CTI) framework from the (�µ��䳧��).”

One Last Thought

When you consider the issue of sustainability as a whole, it can seem daunting. But for Kazoo, this isn’t something that hasn’t been done before: “Cast your mind back to the 1990s, when digital technology first began to make waves in the advertising industry. Back then, few could have anticipated the transformative impact it would have. Today, I see a similar moment unfolding with sustainability.

“This isn’t just about meeting responsibilities or playing defence; it's about seizing creative opportunities and driving meaningful change. Let’s recognise sustainability as an exciting new frontier for creativity – one that offers immense potential to shape the future of our industry.”

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