Eco-Design and Ecological Transition

4Questions and Perspectives on Eco-design

In the previous chapter, we noted that eco-design practices were at the origin of environmental innovations in socio-technical systems. The purpose of this chapter is to identify the limits and perspectives of eco-design within the framework of the reflection on the ecological transition. We will question, in a systemic approach, the capacity of the actors to propose sustainable modes of design and go beyond the dominant regime, in order to elaborate new rules creating the conditions of a strong sustainability.

To this end, we will begin in the first section with an assessment of technocentric eco-design, which, even though it effectively allows for the identification and reduction of the main categories of environmental impact, does not allow us to move away from the dominant technological trajectories. In a second section, we will analyze how the circular economy is an opportunity to change the logics presiding over material flows, enabling new business models that force companies to change their practices (Bocken et al. 2016; Lüdeke-Freund et al. 2018). Users, designers and manufacturers need to collaborate differently from a sustainability perspective. Nevertheless, we will see that the circular economy is not sufficient to address the ecological crisis. In a third section, we will study how sustainable design can foster new uses and we will look at the strengths of frugal innovation. Finally, in the last section, we will identify ...