A large percentage of the environmental impact generated by the products and services we use in our daily lives is determined during the design phase. Service design can play a fundamental role in this aspect by generating a shift in the perspective with which we face projects, encouraging the user to share rather than own.
Sustainable Design
We are currently at a crucial stage for the future of the planet, and users are becoming more conscious every day that changes are required. In Chile, we are not falling behind. According to a study conducted by the “Climate and Public Opinions International Observatory” in 30 countries, Chile is the country where concern for the environment has grown the most (2019).
Given the above, there is a trend toward the use and recognition of brands or companies that have a sustainable approach. But what do we understand by that concept? As part of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), the UN states that “Sustainable consumption and production is about doing more and better with less (…) it is about decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation, increasing resource efficiency, and promoting sustainable lifestyles.”
While there are individual efforts, such as reducing consumption or recycling waste, it becomes practically impossible to disconnect from the system and achieve this goal without having companies and organizations on the side of the people. This is where service design can intervene and help different actors move from a linear system of “buy, use, and throw away” to a circular one.
What does sustainable design do?
On one hand, we can invite companies and organizations to solve their customers’ needs through “product-service systems,” that is, business models focused on services that replace the sale of products by selling services or a mixture of both. These systems focus on responding to the customer’s needs—for example, “I need to wash my clothes”—rather than on the purchase of products—for example, “I need a machine to wash my clothes.” In essence, they shift the perspective from being the owner of a product toward its performance or utility and, consequently, toward the impact it has during its life cycle.
On the other hand, the relationship between the company and the customer can also be redefined, seeking to involve the latter so they participate in the return of materials or products, thus reinserting them into the supply chain. In this case, there are examples such as “Daisy,” the robot implemented by Apple to recover materials from disused devices, or products that are easily disassembled to recycle their parts. Another interesting case is Nespresso, which added a reception and reuse service for capsules to its coffee and machine sales service, in order to close the waste circuit through a service. The collected metal is then used in the manufacturing of the appliances themselves.
This is how the relevance of design as a bridge toward a sustainable future is glimpsed: by redefining problems, exploring solutions, and inviting not only companies but also consumers to recognize the value of these new models and to generate user journeys that incorporate this perspective, tending, in the long term, toward the realization that it is not necessary to own a product, but rather to question through what service we can find it.