Katie Morgenroth: How Does Google Use Design to Shape a Sustainable World?

How one of the world’s most influential tech companies uses design to drive sustainability is the focus of this episode of Design Perspectives, where host Moritz Marder talks to Katie Morgenroth, Head of Sustainable Design at Google.

From the repairability of the new Pixel 10 series to Google’s commitment to plastic-free packaging and long-lasting hardware, Morgenroth offers insights into what it means to “engineer products to last”. She also discusses the designer’s evolving role as an orchestrator between disciplines – and why sharing progress openly across the industry is essential for circular innovation.

Together, they explore how circular design, responsible materials, and AI-supported processes can shape a more planet-centred and equitable future for technology.

👤 Katie Morgenroth – Head of Sustainable Design, Google

🎙️ Moritz Marder – Industrial Designer & Brand Consultant
de.linkedin.com/in/moritz-marder-88bb8a111

📌 Takeaways:

1. Engineering Products to Last: Durability and repairability are central pillars of Google’s design work – from drop and submersion tests to intuitive internal design systems that make repairs safer and easier.

2. Circular Design as Collaboration: Progress comes from openness: Google publishes detailed sustainability and packaging guides so other companies can learn from its methods – fostering pre-competitive collaboration.

3. Responsible Materials: Each new Pixel generation expands recycled content – from plastics to metals like cobalt, tin, copper, and gold – with equal attention to invisible parts of the supply chain and packaging.

4. AI as a Design Tool: AI enhances creativity and efficiency – from synthesizing workshop results to supporting climate predictions – but never replaces the human designer’s strategic and ethical role.

5. Culture and Behavioural Change: Circularity is as much cultural as technical: shifting from “owning” to “sharing,” from novelty to longevity, requires storytelling and emotional connection to products.

🎧 Design Perspectives Podcast
The Podcast by the German Design Council

How can we use design as a lever for transformation and economic success? That is what we discuss with personalities from design, brand management and architecture. They offer insights into how transformation, sustainability and economic success can go hand in hand in business. Interesting, informative, inspiring.

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🔗 Further links:
Google Sustainability: sustainability.google
Google Environmental Report 2025: sustainability.google/google-2025-environmenta…
Google Pixel 10: store.google.com/product/pixel_10?hl=de

🕐 Chapter:
05:44 – Durability Testing and Design for Longevity
14:56 – AI as a Creative Tool in Sustainable Design
17:04 – Plastic-Free Packaging and Sharing Knowledge
21:22 – Cultural Change and Circular Business Models
25:24 – Planet-Centred Design and Gen Z Values
27:44 – Designing the Google Environmental Report 2025
32:13 – Future of Circular Tech Design