Applying service design to the circular economy

Abstract

This graduation project was set out to explore how service design could be applied to the circular economy. The report outlines a framework for applying the process to projects on circular system transitions. A case study was conducted on designing a service for Fairphone, in which the framework was applied. Fairphone has been a leading example in the mobile phone industry, addressing the ethical side of consumption by producing a ‘fair’ smartphone. Several guidelines for circular product design are applied to the second generation of its phone, which is expected to enter the market in the fall of 2015. Its business model, however, is still geared to a linear economic system. An analysis of Fairphone’s current system demonstrated a typical problem in the linear economy: a large amount of phones ends up in a drawer, being unused. In the context of the circular economy, service design is often directly linked to the design of circular business models. In circular business models we witness a shift from traditional models, to traditional models with a take back scheme, to service models, in which the access to products is provided, rather than the ownership. Designing services to contribute to a circular economy, requires an understanding of what influences the structure of the system. This means that besides the company and the economic system, an understanding of the users and their mutual differences is crucial. In order to understand Fairphone’s users, several in-depth interviews were conducted with Fairphone community members. The extracted differences in users’ needs were applied to divide the community into five segments. This segmentation has formed the foundation for a system vision, in which devices are both sold and leased, and used devices are returned to the (second hand) market. In a co-creation workshop - which involved several stakeholders, experts, and users - value propositions were developed to strategically target different user segments in this future system. The development of a roadmap structured the approach to move towards the vision. The upcoming launch of Fairphone 2.0, and the limited amount of spare parts for Fairphone 1, prioritised the development of a return to use programme for Fairphone 1. The return to use programme comprises a buyback solution, which enables the company to refurbish and resell used devices. The programme expands Fairphone’s market to a more price-sensitive, low-tech segment. It addresses the longevity and reuse of its phones, and offers a more transparent approach to the end of life phase. The service is presented in a service blueprint. This tool aids in orchestrating all stakeholder actions. The major conclusion of this report is that to apply service design to the circular economy, an understanding of all actors across the different levels of the system is required. Identifying user segments opens up the system to generate a holistic vision for a circular economic system and create services that add value to both users and business today, while contributing to the circular economy.