Design For Sustainable Behaviour Research Articles

Design-Based Approach to Support Sorting Behavior of Food Packaging

It is widely acknowledged that environmental impacts from packaging waste depend on how consumers sort this waste fraction. In this research, “design for sustainable behavior” (DfSB) strategies are used to improve a cream packaging design that can support proper sorting of packaging waste as a sustainable behavior. The application of three DfSB strategies—“match”, “steer”, and “force”—was examined through circular interviews and practical experience with two groups of participants in Karlskrona, Sweden. Prototyping was used to provide a more realistic experiment and enhance communication during the interviews. The results show that consumer-packaging interaction during the usage phase is important to enhance proper sorting behavior. The results also show the potential of a user-centered design-based approach to study consumer-packaging interaction and to understand the challenges faced by users when sorting packaging waste. It also shows the possibility of packaging design to script consumer behavior and reveals details that are important when designing packaging that was not known. In this vein, packaging form, color, and haptic attributes are the most influential design attributes that can support packaging functionalities and script consumer sorting behavior.

Theory into practice: Applying design for sustainable behaviour to drive single use cup recycling

This paper introduces a real-world, case study application of a Design for Sustainable Behaviour (DfSB) process model and associated evaluation criteria towards the collection of single use cups for recycling at x. It concludes that strategy selection criteria need to be contextualised to ensure meaning and relevance; that framing criteria as prompting questions encourages discussion and reflection, and that engagement with multiple stakeholders when selecting strategies is vital. It also underlines the importance of ethical considerations when implementing behaviour change interventions within the public domain, and mindfulness of potential ‘rebound effects’.

Exploring and Addressing the User Acceptance Issues Embedded in the Adoption of Reusable Packaging Systems

Plastic in the linear consumption model is frequently manufactured and disposed of, leading to the creation of excessive plastic waste, which has significant consequences for the environment. Single-use food packaging waste is a large constituent of plastic waste that needs to be addressed urgently. The implementation of reusable packaging systems (RPSs) to close the loop of consumption appears to be promising, but the insights into consumers’ willingness to accept them are limited. This research investigates the aspect of consumers’ adoption of RPSs by identifying the particular user acceptance issues and eventually providing a set of design recommendations to address them. The data collection methods are remote interviews, engaging with 42 participants in three iterations, to evaluate three user experiences of RPSs in order to identify the user acceptance issues. After the user acceptance issues are identified in each iteration, the Theory of Attitude-Behaviour-Context is employed to advance the understanding of the acceptance issues. In order to continuously refine the user experiences, insights from design for sustainable behaviour are applied to address the user acceptance issues. The research results include three refined user experiences, four user acceptance issues—namely hygiene, usability, finance and motivation—and design recommendations to address those user acceptance issues. This research may be of interest to packaging professionals, and could be used to design and refine the RPSs to induce consumers’ adoption.

A remote ethnography methodology to gain packaging behaviour insights

AbstractRemote ethnography requires the observation of human interaction in the natural world without the researcher being present. Well‐established in industrial and user experience design remote ethnography provides insight into the user's behaviour whilst completing a specific task in a defined environment. Designers in established fields such as Design for Sustainable Behaviour have applied this behavioural understanding to develop interventions to positively adapt unsustainable behaviours. Existing research techniques have evidenced limitations in fully understanding consumer packaging disposal behaviour, with a clear gap in behavioural insights with packaging used out of the home. A novel mixed‐methods approach was developed using remote ethnography to explore consumer food‐to‐go packaging disposal behaviour out of the home, providing insights which could be evaluated for their application within the packaging development process. In explaining the new methodological approach, this paper (a) proposes a mixed‐methods approach by which packaging developers can better understand packaging disposal behaviour out of the home, (b) explains this research method in the context of a food‐to‐go packaging disposal case study and (c) evaluates the value of the mixed‐methods approach within the food packaging development process.

A Framework of Unsustainable Behaviors to Support Product Eco-Design

Eco-designed products can contribute to sustainable development if consumers choose them rather than the less environmentally friendly alternatives and if they are used properly. However, eco-design methods have so far failed to address the issue of unsustainable behaviors, whose sources have not been recognized. In light of this deficiency, the authors have analyzed a large number of eco-designed products with the aim to capture the possible unsustainable behaviors arising from their use and consumption. The subsequent characterization of unsustainable behaviors has led to the creation of a framework of unsustainable behaviors, which has been subjected to the evaluation of a pool of experts in the field. In its final version, the framework includes nine classes of unsustainable behaviors, which are categorized into the corresponding product lifecycle phases (purchase, use, end of life), and different kinds of undesired effects (harmful, insufficient, excessive) based on the TRIZ-oriented functional analysis. The classes, whose significance has been checked in the literature, include frequent causes of unsustainable behaviors and corresponding examples. Through the framework, designers can take into due account the possible circumstances that would prevent their developed products from being prone to unsustainable behaviors. In a future step, the classes of unsustainable behaviors are to be linked with indications arising from Design for Sustainable Behavior.

Principles and Skills of Product Design to Promote Green Behavior

Promoting green behavior through product design is a simple way to reduce human impact on the environment. Based on Design for Sustainable Behavior and Behavior Theory, this study aims to propose design principles and techniques to effectively promote green behavior, and take household appliances as the empirical object of research, and introduce Analytical Hierarchy Process to overcome the problem in multi-criteria decision making of choosing the best design principles and skills under limited resources. The empirical results show that “Design for Green Behavior of Perceived Behavioral Control” is the key to promote energy-saving behavior of household appliances. Relevant designers can consider the weight value of the research results, and effectively design products to promote green behavior.

A meta-synthesis of the use of activity theory in design for sustainable behaviour

Abstract Over the past decade, the field of design for sustainable behaviour (DfSB) has gained a growing amount of research interest. However, as the field evolves, new challenges also arise. A suitable unit of analysis is needed to contextualize users’ behaviour issues in a broader socio-cultural and long-term perspective. This paper explores the use of activity theory (AT) as a potential lens for guiding empirical analysis and design exploration in DfSB. By employing a meta-synthesis approach, we systematically search and synthesize existing studies that adopted AT in design for sustainability. Key findings show that AT’s principles and theoretical implications are especially useful for helping design researchers frame and address DfSB challenges. We argue that by taking activity as the unit of analysis, the AT lens can enable researchers to incorporate users’ dynamic, multi-level and complex activity systems into DfSB considerations.

Empowering Sustainable Consumption by Giving Back to Consumers the ‘Right to Repair’

Industry has been considered a major actor regarding the actions and changes needed to achieve sustainable development. Different approximations to the topic have been developed to face the challenges of having a more responsible production of goods and services. These approximations include cleaner production, green design, ecodesign, eco efficiency, design for sustainable behavior, sustainable design, and more recently concepts like circular economies among many more. In all these approaches, the attention has been mainly on the production side while consumption has been tackled indirectly. The majority of laws and ordinances that have motivated the emergence of these approaches have traditionally been oriented to producers. However, an European Union (EU) directive launched in October 2019, called “right to repair”, could change this paradigm, empowering consumers by giving them more possibilities of repairing their products instead of discarding them. This paper presents a preliminary discussion about the effects this directive might have on how we consume products now and how we will consume them in the future.

Design for sustainable behavior strategies: Impact of persuasive technology on energy usage

Design for Sustainable Behavior (DfSB) is an emerging research area with the application to generate better design methods, to change consumer behavior, and to decrease environmental damage towards more sustainable action. Previous research has explored the product design for human behavior change of energy usage; however, little research has been done to link the interventions how people could change their act with DfSB theories. This research utilized smart/intelligent devices based on the theories of DfSB and persuasive technology to explore how behavioral decisions and social psychology match the preference and utility of public green low-carbon behavior by collecting interrelated data through eco-feedback. Furthermore, the participants could share and compare peer usage information and receive awards to encourage sustainable behaviors by using social network feedback about personal usage information. A questionnaire was also developed to measure the impact of sustainable behaviors on personal behavioral intention.This study contributes by filling in the gap of consumer behavior of energy consumption – an empirical data is collected. It was found only little effect of energy using behavior reduction could be achieved by providing energy using information. If the energy usage behavior reduction is significantly expected, a more aggressive sustainable development with behavioral intentions should be applied. This study also shows that the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and persuasive technologies can be integrated to achieve reliable results and to generate suggestions about product usage to engage DfSB.

Introducing ergonomics requirements in the eco-design of energy-related products from users’ behaviour approach

Ergonomics has been a very important activity in the design process. However, ergonomics rarely includes the environmental requirements into the design of products. The article proposes and presents the Eco-Ergo model through its application to a real-world product, a washing machine, to allow designers and ergonomists to establish product design requirements in order to minimise environmental impacts related to user–product interaction during the use stage. This model uses a visual language of representation, Blueprinting-based, that helps designers explore problems they have not previously considered during the market research when a wide variety of products with different interaction elements is analysed. The application of this model allows direct efforts and attention on the user analysis phase in the most influential user’s actions on the environmental performance of energy-related products during use, establishing ergonomics requirements related to users behaviour at the initial design phase.Practitioner summary: This study provides a proposal to incorporate ergonomics into the practice of eco-design through the use of human factors in the establishment of initial eco-design requirements. This blueprint-based model combines an empirical and theoretical approach, based on the product test developed by designers, ergonomists and environmentalists.Abbreviations: CO2: carbon dioxide; DBIM: design behaviour intervention model; DfSB: design for sustainable behaviour; DwI Method: design with intent method; LCA: life cycle assessment; LCD: liquid cristal display; MJ: megajoule; MTM: methods-time measurement; PSS: product-service system; RPM: revolutions per minute

Accounting for User Diversity in the Design for Sustainable Behaviour in Smart Offices

Accounting for User Diversity in the Design for Sustainable Behaviour in Smart Offices

Dimensions of Behaviour Change in the context of Designing for a Circular Economy

Circular economy research has seen increasing attention over the years, but with limited attention for how to design circular solutions that will actually change user behaviour. At the same time, Design for Sustainable Behaviour as a research field has so far not explicitly focused on behaviours that are particular for a circular economy. To address this gap, the paper presents product and service examples as a grid consisting of nine dimensions of behaviour change (control, obtrusiveness, timing, exposure, meaning, importance, direction, encouragement, and empathy) and four goals for circular economy (maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, and recycling). It is shown that examples for almost all combinations exist. Second, based on four case studies, the paper addresses in more detail how different dimensions of behaviour change are used and analyses their application in four case companies. Results suggest that all dimensions are relevant, but the variation in application differs greatly.

Establishing Design Strategies and an Assessment Tool of Home Appliances to Promote Sustainable Behavior for the New Poor

Environmental benefits related to home appliance life cycles depend on how these products are used. Designing home appliances that promote sustainable behavior is an effective way to reduce environmental impacts. This study aimed to increase relevant opportunities for promoting sustainable behavior practices on the new poor through home appliances, which is rarely discussed in the fields of design for sustainable behavior (DfSB) and product design. In particular, relevant assessment tools or indicators are lacking in DfSB, and people’s use of home appliances is generally unsustainable. Therefore, repertory grid technology was used to understand the perceptions of the new poor, develop an assessment tool, and construct design strategies for home appliances that promote sustainable behavior. Data were collected from the new poor and from designers. Through cluster and principal component analyses, three strategy types were proposed that corresponded to different product features, suggestions, and guidance. In addition, the effectiveness and potential of an assessment tool were demonstrated using the Wilcoxon rank test. The findings could be used by designers, retailers, and green marketers to propose effective product design programs that promote sustainable behavior of the new poor during product use.

Design for sustainable behavior (DfSB): Analysis of existing frameworks of behavior change strategies, experts' assessment and proposal for a decision support diagram

Abstract Recent research suggests that environmental benefits can be attained by changing the behavior of users and how they interact with products. The recognition that users play a fundamental role in generating more (or less) environmental impact during product usage has led to studies on design and how it can be used to influence user behavior. In this scenario, approaches and tools that explicitly focus on Design for Sustainable Behavior began to be developed. Conceptually, Design for Sustainable Behavior focuses on products and how these can be designed for users to behave more sustainably during their use. Different frameworks containing behavior changing strategies have been proposed in the literature. Based on the perception of twelve experts, this paper assesses these frameworks and identifies similarities and complementarities, aiming to unify vocabulary and methodologies to avoid unnecessary uncertainty and confusion. It also proposes a decision support diagram that relates the main contributions identified by the experts in the frameworks and adds questions to help designers define control. The diagram contains four phases: (i) user analysis; (ii) level of user or product control; (iii) strategy definition; and (iv) means to incorporate strategies to the product. Furthermore, considering the need to determine the usability of the proposed diagram, its use in practical cases within companies was assessed. In terms of future research, additional studies are suggested to confirm the relationships established between generic strategies (inform, guide, and ensure the change) and the specific strategies.

Selecting Persuasive Strategies and Game Design Elements for Encouraging Energy Saving Behavior

Design for sustainable behavior has become more important for product or service design considering environmental sustainability in the use stage. The goal of this work is to specifically help design for encouraging energy-saving behavior in selecting effective persuasive design strategies and game design elements by considering users’ differences. The work begins with screening commonly employed persuasive strategies based on literature and the analysis of existing cases in design for energy-saving behavior. Secondly, a questionnaire survey is conducted to investigate the possible demographic differences on the persuasiveness of the selected persuasive strategies. Thirdly, the selected persuasive strategies are mapped to twenty-nine useful game design elements via an affinity diagram method. The results could help designers choose effective persuasive strategies and game design elements for different user groups. At the end, an illustrative example is presented to show the application potential in design for energy-saving behavior.

User Orientation Maps: An Approach to Address User Diversity in Design for Sustainable Behaviour

There has been an increasing tendency among design researchers to explore the potential of design to change user behaviour in the interest of sustainability. To date, numerous techniques have been proposed, aimed at providing more guidance to design researchers and practitioners on how to encourage sustainable behaviour. Choosing a technique suitable for both the target behaviour and the target user is a critical task when designing for sustainable behaviours. The influence of individual characteristics on user compliance with different techniques makes this task more compelling for designers. To make this task easier for them, we offer a new approach, called the ‘user orientation map’, to explore and represent user diversity by showing the range of user types and techniques to promote behavioural change for each user type. We illustrate this approach with a case study on eco-friendly driving, and identify nine user types.

Design for Sustainable Use of Appliances: A Framework Based on User Behavior Observations

User behavior can determine over one third of the energy consumed in the residential energy market. Thus, user behavior has become a primary focus in sustainable mechanical device, appliance, and smart-energy systems design. Wasteful user behaviors, termed energy overuse failure modes (EOFMs), offer an opportunity for design engineers to direct users toward more sustainable behavior through design strategies. There are fundamentally two intervention strategies: (1) product or systems solution led or (2) behavioral led. Both are used to achieve increased sustainable user behavior. To ensure expected intervention outcomes, it is equally important to both identify the EOFMs as well as their underlying causes. However, the prevailing sustainable design approaches, such as design for sustainable behavior (DfSB) and ecodesign, depend on stated responses to elicit underlying causes of behavior. Consequently, the outcomes of these approaches are susceptible to response biases. In this paper, a new revealed behavior based framework is introduced to elicit underlying causes of EOFMs and to propose potential intervention strategies to address them. We focus on uncovering two underlying causes that correspond to the intervention strategies: (1) high energy consuming habits and (2) lack of energy awareness. In the proposed framework, user behavior categorization matrices are formulated using a two-phase user study approach with a request to lower the energy use in-between the phases. Based on the observed behavior, each EOFM is matrix categorized on two axes of change and correctness. With this data, the matrices thereby indicate the dominant underlying causes of EOFMs. The EOFMs and proposed interventions can then be prioritized based on the likelihood of occurrence, severity, magnitude or a combinatorial strategy to suit the sustainability objectives. A case study is presented with seven EOFMs that are found in typical day-to-day household electromechanical appliance use including inefficient appliance setup, inefficient selection, inefficient operation, standby energy consumption, and inefficient settings of conditions. Lack of user awareness of energy and power interactions among appliances and household settings is identified as the key underlying cause of considered EOFMs. Potential design solution strategies are also considered to overcome the EOFMs based on likelihoods, severities, and magnitudes, respectively. Each solution strategy carries a varying level of knowledgeable decision-making required of the user, compared with alternatively designing into the product or systems restrictions on use.

Bridging the Gap between Eco-Design and the Human Thinking System

Technological progress has enabled widespread adoption and use of consumer electronics, changing how global society lives and works. This progress has come with immense environmental cost, including extraction of scarce materials, consumption of fossil fuels, and growing e-waste challenges. Eco-design has emerged as a promising approach to reduce the environmental footprint of electronics by integrating sustainability-oriented decisions early in the product realization process. However, most approaches focus on the product itself, not on the consumer who ultimately decides how to purchase, use, maintain, and dispose of the device. This article presents a new framework to guide designers in developing products with features that encourage consumers to use them in an environmentally sustainable manner. The Sustainable Behavior Design (SBD) framework links common design concepts (ergonomic, emotional, preventative, and interaction design) with core aspects of the human thinking system to create features to make users aware of their behavior and decisions (reflective thinking) or result in sustainable behaviors even when users are unaware (automatic thinking). The SBD framework is demonstrated using a case study on a smartphone, a high demand product. The reimagined smartphone design integrates solutions addressing both automatic and reflective thinking systems, potentially reducing life cycle impacts by almost 30%.

Design for sustainable behaviour: a case study of using human-power as an everyday energy source

There is an increased focus on research identifying design strategies to influence user behaviour towards more sustainable action, known as design for sustainable behaviour (DfSB). Recent literature in this field has introduced a number of design processes, and developed a model that emerged through consensus. However, not enough case studies are accompanied by those proposed strategies; therefore it is difficult to evaluate their effectiveness. This paper presents findings from a case study of inducing a sustainable behaviour - using human-power to drive everyday energy using products (EuP). It presents the result of applying the strategy to an artefact and evaluation was carried through conducting a product-in-use study. The analysis provides an explanation of how each of the participants copes with the use of a new artefact and account for different types of motivations that have affected their behaviour determinants.

Design for sustainable behaviour: a case study of using human-power as an everyday energy source

There is an increased focus on research identifying design strategies to influence user behaviour towards more sustainable action, known as design for sustainable behaviour (DfSB). Recent literature in this field has introduced a number of design processes, and developed a model that emerged through consensus. However, not enough case studies are accompanied by those proposed strategies; therefore it is difficult to evaluate their effectiveness. This paper presents findings from a case study of inducing a sustainable behaviour - using human-power to drive everyday energy using products (EuP). It presents the result of applying the strategy to an artefact and evaluation was carried through conducting a product-in-use study. The analysis provides an explanation of how each of the participants copes with the use of a new artefact and account for different types of motivations that have affected their behaviour determinants.