Current circular economy discourse is largely shaped by metaphors similar to the ones used for a linear economy: the machine metaphor, competitive metaphor and the journey metaphor. Metaphors influence patterns of thought, what ideas and solutions are valued (and which are not). Therefore, if a radical economic change is desired, it is important to explore which radically different metaphors could inform this thinking. This study explores the use of the forest as a source domain to enrich circular economy discourse. First, through a qualitative enquiry, intuitive knowledge about a forest is mapped out. Then, circular economy experts were asked to project these insights onto circular economy discourse. The results are presented as practical subdomains that can be applied within design, business and educational contexts. The findings show rich insights related to dealing with wholeness, the importance of relationship, and response to change. The Results Section presents concrete prompts for activating these source domains and applying these as a prompt for ideation. This research contributes to circular economy education by using metaphors derived from nature as a tool for reflection and novel circular economy conceptualisations.@en

Hazardous substances, or substances of concern (SoC), are present in numerous products and may be the source of significant risks to human health and the environment. In addition, the presence of SoC in products challenges the transition towards a circular economy. By implementing strategies such as reuse or recycling, SoC can be reintroduced in subsequent lifecycles, generating new forms of risk. Addressing SoC in the early stages of the product development process is necessary to mitigate the hazards and risks they may present throughout multiple lifecycles. Product designers hence need appropriate tools and methods to address SoC in products. However, we have observed that current research primarily focuses on the development of non-toxic chemical alternatives and approaches that mitigate the risks of SoC at a chemical and material level (i.e., substitution), lacking the necessary holistic approach to avoid trade-offs or unforeseen consequences. Available design specific methods, tools, and information to address SoC in products are extremely limited and have too a material focus. To address this, we investigated five cases to understand how SoC were dealt with across the product lifecycle and identify mitigation interventions used. We then analyzed the interventions and classified them into five levels of influence, i.e., chemical, material, component, product, and system, and evaluated their respective implications for design, advantages, and drawbacks. Our analysis results in three groups of mitigation strategies that are specifically relevant to product design: Avoid, which entails any modification to the product that eliminates the SoC, Control, in which the SoC remains in use, but its emissions are prevented, and Reduce, which includes any modification that results in the reduction of the volume of the SoC or its emissions. Our findings establish the potential contribution of designers in the mitigation SoC in products and constitute a basis for the development of methods or guidelines to address SoC from a product design perspective.

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Within a circular economy, prioritizing product integrity and durability is crucial for circular product design. However, in addition to efforts in strategies like reuse and repair, products inevitably require recycling. This paper critically assesses the current state of Design for Recycling guidelines and methods in the field of electronics, focusing on their Efficacy and Effectiveness. We conducted a literature review using Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Following the methodology outlined by Hagen-Zanker and Mallett [1], we identified relevant literature and used snowballing to find additional sources. The search led to 16 articles (1993–2023) proposing methods, tools, guidelines, or frameworks targeting product designers and aimed at the design for improved recyclability of electronics. The final Design for Recycling methods and guidelines were assessed using an adapted version of the method evaluation framework [2] in the context of method content theory [3]. The inclusion of only 18 sources in the review, consisting of nine peer-reviewed and nine non peer-reviewed articles, indicated a limited development in the field since 1993. Many of the methods and guidelines presented were insufficient based on common recycling and design practices, they also lacked validation through recycling tests and were rarely tested with design practitioners. The findings show an urgent need for a substantiated and validated Design for Recycling method, which helps lower the environmental impact of electronics, is tailored to design practitioners, and aligns with common recycling practices.@en

Like many health devices, smart pill boxes designed to enhance medication adherence often incorporate electronic components and smart sensors. However, the production and disposal of these rising numbers of electronics contribute significantly to the global e-waste crisis, exacerbating the negative climate impact of the healthcare industry. To minimize the impact of such electronic health devices, redesign based on circular economy principles is crucial. However, currently no clear circular design methodology exists to apply those principles in the healthcare domain. This paper discusses a case study in which we propose conceptual redesigns that aim to mitigate the environmental impact of smart pill boxes and help align them with circular economy principles. We employ a research-through-design approach in which we attempt to apply the well-known “10R strategies” (i.e. refuse, rethink, reduce, reuse, repair, refurbish, remanufacture, repurpose, recycle, and recover) as a design method. While doing this, we assessed their applicability in a design process and added value in making the device circular through reflective journalling, and their estimated effectiveness on minimizing environmental impacts by comparing fast-track LCAs for each design decision. In this way, we were able to provide insights into the intricacies of designing a more sustainable and circular device in this manner, and subsequently formulate recommendations for designing similar devices in the future.@en

Replacing fossil-based feedstock with renewable alternatives is a crucial step towards a circular economy. The bio-based plastics currently on the market are predominantly used in single-use applications, with remarkably limited uptake in durable products. This study explores the current state of the art of bio-based plastic use in durable consumer products and the opportunities and barriers encountered by product developers in adopting these materials. A design analysis of 60 durable products containing bio-based plastics, and 12 company interviews, identified the pursuit of sustainability goals and targets as the primary driver for adopting bio-based plastics, despite uncertainties regarding their reduced environmental impact. The lack of knowledge of bio-based plastics and their properties contributes to the slow adoption of these materials. Furthermore, the lack of recycling infrastructure, the limited availability of the plastics, and higher costs compared to fossil-based alternatives, are significant barriers to adoption. Product developers face significant challenges in designing with bio-based plastics, but opportunities exist; for example, for the use of dedicated bio-based plastics with unique properties. When designing with bio-based plastics, product developers must think beyond the physical product and consider sourcing and recovery, which are not typically part of the conventional product design process.@en

Facilitating reverse logistics is a critical step in achieving a circular economy through remanufacturing and ensuring the recovery of critical raw materials. Despite the importance of these practices, they are currently not commonplace in many product sectors. As an exception, the reverse logistics and remanufacturing of car parts are longstanding but complex practices from which much can be learned to further the circular economy. This paper details learnings from a case study on remanufacturing car parts conducted together with a German (re)manufacturer and a reverse logistics service provider. Co-creation and interviews were utilized to design a digital platform that drastically simplified reverse logistics. The paper highlights the importance of stakeholder engagement and a focus on trust, transparency, and traceability alongside technology and legislation in optimizing reverse logistics. The insights gained from this case study extend to broader implications for the circular economy, emphasizing the role of design in addressing ‘soft’ factors for successful remanufacturing and the development of effective reverse logistics systems.@en

In response to the urgency of sustainability challenges, there is a growing recognition of the incumbent firm’s role to engage in sustainable transitions. This paper explores the potential of systemic design as an approach for incumbent firms to facilitate sustainability transitions.

A systematic literature review was conducted, focusing on research contributions between 2000 and 2023 in Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases. To synergize the review, the TCCM typology (Theory, Context, Characteristics, and Methods) was applied.

The analysis contrasts systemic design interventions in commercial and non-commercial contexts. It has been found that existing research in a commercial environment primarily focuses on small to midsized (social) enterprises facilitating local circularity transitions. Differing from the non-commercial environment, where research focuses on diverse wicked societal problems.

By identifying this gap, this contribution aims to advocate for a holistic perspective and interventions addressing sustainability transitions in a commercial context and advance the role of incumbent firms to such transitions. By that this paper contributes to advancing understanding and practice in systemic design for sustainable transitions in a commercial context.@en

Bio-based polymers may present a sustainable, circular way to reduce the environmental impact of plastics because they are produced from biomass that absorbs CO₂ during its growth. However, sourcing (type of biomass used and cultivation location), production, and end-of-life affect the environmental impact of bio-based plastics. We assessed the effect of sourcing and end-of-life options on the environmental impact of bio-based high-density polyethylene (bio-HDPE) in 31 sourcing scenarios and five end-of-life options. Our study found that careful consideration of biomass sourcing (biomass type and production location) and end-of-life is needed to optimize the environmental impact of bio-based plastics. If these aspects are not considered, the environmental impact of bio-HDPE may exceed that of its petrochemical-based counterpart. The direct availability of fermentable sugars indicated a lower environmental impact. The production location affected the resources needed for biomass cultivation and the environmental impact of processing due to the energy mix. Recently published guidelines do not allow biogenic carbon to be accounted for during the production stage, but only upon the incineration of the plastic. Our results show that this way of attributing biogenic carbon results in an apparent disadvantage for bio-based plastics compared to petrochemical-based plastics. Furthermore, it disadvantaged mechanical recycling of bio-based plastics compared to incineration, a result out of line with circular economy principles.

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In an era of electronics-driven healthcare, the disposability of many medical devices raises environmental concerns. Transitioning these devices towards a circular economy, involving practices like reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling, holds promise. Our paper explores this transition through desk research, literature review, and expert interviews, examining the current state of circular design in electronic medical devices. We unveil barriers, opportunities, and design recommendations for circularization. First, we highlight the circularity potential of medical devices currently on the market, implementing e.g. refuse, reuse, recycle, etc. Second, we present barriers for circular medical device design, (e.g. (perceived) safety and infection risks, (perceived) regulatory difficulties, financial constraints, and difficulties in collection and separation) and opportunities to overcome these barriers. Finally, we present 29 design-specific recommendations for creating circular medical devices. Our insights into circular healthcare practices urge design engineers to integrate sustainable principles into medical device development without compromising safety, quality, or functionality.

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This project aims to reduce the environmental impact of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Erasmus Medical Center (EMC). Systemic design research was executed to map the current waste flow created by the ICU. Literature review, interviews and observations were performed to gather information about the healthcare protocols, hospital procurement process, intubation practices and used devices and consumables. This resulted in a set of challenges which were used to ideate from different perspectives to improve the sustainability of the ICU. A set of opportunities to introduce circularity within the ICU were defined. These opportunities ranged from waste separation to the reduction of the disposal of unused products. The selected circular opportunity was intubation, needed when patients cannot breathe by themselves. For this, a video laryngoscope, which is composed of various plastics, a video camera, and a led light, is used for only a few minutes and disposed of (and incinerated) directly afterwards. The aim of the second part of this research project was: Can we design a circular intubation procedure as a catalyzer for systemic change towards circular ICUs? One of the proposed circular strategies for the video laryngoscope is the reprocessing of intubation devices used at the ICU itself. A transition model toward reprocessing using UV-C radiation technique was further developed. Compared to current reprocessing procedures, UV-C disinfection consumes no water and less electricity and offers the possibility of decentralized reprocessing within the ICU department itself. This project aims to provoke conversations between the hospital, manufacturers and other stakeholders about how the healthcare sector could start reprocessing valuable medical devices towards a circular ICU.@en

This study explores the application of systemic design approaches used in a complex commercial context to create positive and sustainable change. The case study was a business case on sustainable parenthood, in which the company tried to balance its ambitions for environmental sustainability with the need to survive in a highly competitive market. In close collaboration with the internal business company stakeholders, a causal loop diagram was created. The diagram mapped relations between global relevant trends for emerging young adults within the DACH market, sustainability, and parenting as a business. Leverage points for systemic change were identified which were explored through in-depth user interviews (n=10). This process eventually identified ten systemic insights, translated into insight cards to facilitate business actions.

Based on these combined approaches, the MINT framework (Mapping Interventions and Narratives for Transformation) was developed, with a strong emphasis on co-creation, iteration, translation, and communication of systemic interventions. However, while the internal business stakeholders and company representatives appreciated the bird’s eye view that systemic design gave them, they were challenged by the methods’ abstract language and translation of systemic insights into concrete action. To address this, the developed framework utilized systemic design artefacts such as a storytelling map and user-centred insight cards to facilitate a more comprehensible systemic design approach.

Overall, this study provides a first attempt at creating an actionable systemic design framework that can be used in commercial settings to promote positive systemic change. Future research will require further validation.@en

Circular Design, as a practice and approach, has grown in popularity in the last decade, with academics and industry alike proposing many strategies and methods that facilitate this in products. Yet, very few day-to-day products are actually circular. Therefore, in this chapter, we sought to analyse and reflect upon what progress Circular Design has made within industry, uncovering the key barriers and opportunities for how it is implemented. Through interviews with industry experts applying Circular Design in practice, this chapter identified the 'classic drivers and barriers' influencing the sustainability of products but also identified several new insights or 'levers for change' that are impacting the advancement as well. It is proposed that if these levers are ignored, they could potentially continue to hinder advancement, but if addressed, could help to unlock activity within this area and help speed up the transition to a fully circular product system.

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Healthcare facilities in low-resource settings in Sub-Saharan Africa are plagued with issues of non-functional and obsolete medical devices, which ultimately end up prematurely disposed of as waste. With increasing healthcare demands, stopping medical device disposal is imperative. One way to achieve this is to leverage circular economy principles in designing medical devices. Circular economy principles aim to retain products and their constituent materials to be reused over time in the economic system. However, to what extent this has been applied in designing medical devices specifically for low-resource settings in Sub-Saharan Africa is missing in literature. Based on a systematic review of 29 out of 1,799 screened scientific papers, we identified the use of circular economy principles of durability, maintenance, repair, and upgrade in designing medical devices for this setting. Whether these principles were intentionally applied from a circular economy approach could not be inferred in this study. The motivational basis for using these principles was to ensure medical device longevity to providing healthcare. No attention was given to the circular economy principles of refurbishment, remanufacturing, and recycling, ensuring that device components and constituent materials are recovered. These study findings serve as a launchpad for exploring how circular principles can be used to support the design of medical devices for low-resource settings in Sub-Saharan Africa. Academicians and designers of medical devices can leverage this research to contribute towards developing medical devices that support access to healthcare for people in low-resource settings and preserve earth’s finite resources@en

Bio-based plastics are attracting increasing attention due to their perceived sustainability and circularity. While enabling circularity by using renewable feedstocks, they still contribute to plastic pollution. Furthermore, their rapidly growing market will cause bio-based plastics to constitute significant fractions of plastic waste, necessitating efficient recovery at end-of-life. Technical overviews of potential recovery pathways for bio-based plastics exist, although these have not yet been translated into product design recommendations. In this article, we assess the impact of material composition and product design on the feasibility of eight recovery pathways for bio-based plastics. The ability to recover a plastic not only depends on the plastic composition, but also on the way a product is designed. The alterations made to tailor plastics to be applied in products, and the product architecture, can enable or prohibit some recovery pathways. The outcomes highlight the importance of establishing a wider range of recovery pathways for plastics, and the crucial role of product design in enabling a circular economy for bio-based plastics. We also present a first guidance for product design to enhance the recovery of bio-based plastics.@en

Numerous academic scholars argue for a radical transformation of the economy towards a circular model, in response to pressures from planetary and social issues such as energy, climate change, inequality, and resource depletion. This study examines how the academic community perceives the concept of a circular economy in comparison to traditional economic discourse, through the lens of conceptual metaphors. Conceptual metaphors are systematic properties that reflect one’s understanding of abstract phenomena like a circular economy. Through a structured review of the literature, seven dominant conceptual metaphors were identified that shape the understanding of traditional economics. The study also conducted a textual analysis of the ten most frequently cited academic papers on the circular economy. The analysis revealed that certain dominant metaphors from traditional economics have been influential in shaping discourse on the circular economy. The most common metaphors were the machine metaphor, competitive metaphors, the journey metaphor, and ecological metaphors. Each conceptual metaphor has its own strengths and weaknesses, which may include poorly explained areas or missing dimensions. These two aspects are referred to as misconceptions and blind spots, respectively, and the paper reflects on the implications of these for the current academic discourse on the circular economy.

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This research uses systemic design to develop interventions for sustainable change in a business context. The primary objective is to address the communication and translation of systemic insights into practical business actions. Bridging the gap between research and practice is a major challenge in effectively communicating systemic insights and guiding actionable decision-making. Therefore, the research question guiding this study is: “How can systemic insights be effectively translated into feasible actions for businesses?” To address this question, a combination of established methods was applied in the business case study of sustainable parenthood.

The systemic analysis involved defining system boundaries, gathering data through desk research and interviews with business stakeholders, and creating a causal loop diagram. Further, Donella Meadows’ theory was applied to identify leverage points for behavioural change strategies. To make the complexity of the system map and its leverage points comprehensible for stakeholders, it was translated into a story map and subsequently into insight cards. In-depth validation and analysis of the systemic insights were done through qualitative user interviews (n=10).

The main contribution of this paper is the use of insight cards, which offer a tangible and accessible format for conveying systemic insights. The cards allow the communication of complex systemic language and bridge research and practice. However, while insight cards were a valuable tool for the development of concrete solutions, further strategic considerations are needed. Thus, the study highlights the need for further research in effective communication strategies and systemic language to facilitate the translation of systemic insights into tangible business actions.@en

Transitioning from the ‘take-make-dispose’ linear production system to a circular economy can strengthen sustainability, and governments play a vital role. Recent scholarship has investigated policies for circular economy transition, but few studies take a perspective on circularity reform that spans geographies, industries, and product life-cycle stages. This article fills that gap by introducing a policy framework for the circular economy that includes over 100 policy instruments. The framework is developed from a review of 572 studies published in the academic and grey literature, along with policy databases and other documents. The findings are validated and supplemented by data from 33 semi-structured interviews with circular economy experts including scholars, policymakers, and representatives from NGOs and businesses. Derived primarily from the EU context but broadly applicable, the framework categorizes circular economy policies into nine groups. Six groups correspond to stages of the product life-cycle and three are overarching, capturing a holistic perspective mostly lacking in the literature. This study aims to promote a more structured discussion about circular economy policies and provides directions for future research by identifying topics where scholarship is thin. In addition to advancing theory, the framework can also serve as an assessment lens for designing circular economy policies.

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Underfunded healthcare infrastructures in low-resource settings in sub-Saharan Africa have resulted in a lack of medical devices crucial to provide healthcare for all. A representative example of this scenario is medical devices to administer paracervical blocks during gynaecological procedures. Devices needed for this procedure are usually unavailable or expensive. Without these devices, providing paracervical blocks for women in need is impossible resulting in compromising the quality of care for women requiring gynaecological procedures such as loop electrosurgical excision, treatment of miscarriage, or incomplete abortion. In that perspective, interventions that can be integrated into the healthcare system in low-resource settings to provide women needing paracervical blocks remain urgent. Based on a context-specific approach while leveraging circular economy design principles, this research catalogues the development of a new medical device called Chloe SED® that can be used to support the provision of paracervical blocks. Chloe SED®, priced at US$ 1.5 per device when produced in polypropylene, US$ 10 in polyetheretherketone, and US$ 15 in aluminium, is attached to any 10-cc syringe in low-resource settings to provide paracervical blocks. The device is designed for durability, repairability, maintainability, upgradeability, and recyclability to address environmental sustainability issues in the healthcare domain. Achieving the design of Chloe SED® from a context-specific and circular economy approach revealed correlations between the material choice to manufacture the device, the device's initial cost, product durability and reuse cycle, reprocessing method and cost, and environmental impact. These correlations can be seen as interconnected conflicting or divergent trade-offs that need to be continually assessed to deliver a medical device that provides healthcare for all with limited environmental impact. The study findings are intended to be seen as efforts to make available medical devices to support women's access to reproductive health services.@en