Today, celebrations of the Lunar New Year will take place everywhere from London to Shanghai. With the help of a few Living Principles Contributing Editors and partners, we thought we’d take this opportunity to reflect on where things stand now and what the Year of the Rabbit could bring us when it comes to issues of sustainability and social responsibility.

According to Wendy Jedlicka, there’s one thing we can definitely put behind us in the Year of the Rabbit: the “green” easy fix. “Greenwashed or flag-draped platitudes are sooooo last year,” she says. “The hottest trend is to ignore ‘trends.’ Making anything really strategic happen can’t be based on the whims of the masses. Companies are looking to the sustainability paradigm shift and systems thinking to offer not only risk mitigation, but forward-looking strategic positioning for the long-haul.”

Speaking of long-term solutions, Namrata Rana would like to see the global community readdress the fact that much of the world still lives in poverty. “In 2011, can we design businesses that ensure equitable, sustainable growth?” she asks. Answering her own question, she offers some approaches to this ongoing and pressing problem. First of all, she says, we must “start looking at solving genuine problems. Hunger, livelihoods, education and healthcare are universal needs that are not being addressed, despite being present at every corner of every street. Co-creating solutions that solve these problems can be a genuine way to sustainable growth.”

She adds that moving away from “standarization and mass production” and toward local, small-scale production should be promoted; in order to do that, “We need to market not just the products but the place and the people who created them. Value will be not just the product but the lives that we impact positively.”

For Tom Biederbeck, moving from the large-scale to the small-scale can also be applied to the overall task of furthering sustainability: “Working toward a sustainable planet isn’t going to happen by breakthroughs, but through millions of tiny ’solutions’ that allow us to create a different way of thinking, moving and living,” he says. “The most notable thing I see happening in the sustainable design conversation nowadays is the amount of grassroots discussion taking place. From the major metro areas to regional AIGA chapters, creative people are exchanging ideas, often struggling with how they can direct their influence in an environmentally responsible way. This is occurring in every design discipline, and it’s a very good thing.”

The Lunar New Year seems like a fitting time to think about how China’s growing economy will continue to affect the earth’s ecology. As Clive Roux, CEO of IDSA, points out, “The development of China as a service economy and the resultant growth of Chinese brands will be a major trend.” He adds that, in his opinion, China demonstrates “a lot less concern, conscience and regard for sustainability and the environment.”

Of course, attitudes to the environment here in the U.S. could use some adjusting, too. With attempts being made to weaken the Clean Air Act, 2011 is already shaping up to be another year when those who wish they could spend more time coming up with innovative solutions end up using their resources to defend environmental protection measures already in place. But there’s plenty to look forward to as well: With pro-sustainability events large and small taking place everywhere from Connecticut (next week’s Shed: A Living Principles Happening to Rio (the third annual Conference on Climate Change) the environmental cause will continue to gain impetus. And as it does, designers will have more and more opportunities to bring their unique skills and perspectives to the table to create change. Happy Year of the Rabbit, everyone. Let’s make it amazing!