In the present day, sustainability may seem like overweighted notion, a list of things you are forbidden to do or not do. However, what if the solution to making the world a better place was not to sacrifice goods but to seek a more intelligent, innovative, and, most importantly, human resource in creating everything?
Around us? Two excellent concepts that are converging to make this happen are the Circular Economy and Design Thinking. It is not merely a business strategy but a new way of thinking about innovation that focuses on people and the earth with the center stage of the creative process.
The Two Halves of a Whole: What to Think of the Partnership.
We must know what each idea contributes to get to know why this combination is so strong. The Circular Economy provides us with the “what,” which is the macro objective. It is an oath to build the world without trash and the denial of our take-make-waste industrialism. Consider one that operates much like a forest, with everybody doing a job and what one process leaves behind serving another. The idea relies on three basic and yet significant notions:
Waste and pollution will not occur: Waste is not a design problem but an all-time phenomenon. Use things and materials: Create things that can fixed, endured, and reborn. Heal natural systems: Turn the world into a better place than we left it. It is a beautiful image, though it begs a great question: How can we make it happen? It is here that its perfect companion found.
When you combine them, magic will created. The Circular Economy demonstrates to us where we desire to go: the world, where there will be no waste that will be capable of growing back. Design Thinking provides the map for the journey and the car to take you there, as well as ensures that both the way and destination guided by the needs of people.
The Blueprint of a Better Product: The Two together.
Now, we will review the real-life implementation of this combined process, transforming the ideas into the actual products and services.
Understand the Whole System
Empathy in the traditional design implies the understanding of how the end user feels. This combined approach goes a long way in expanding our empathetic group. We are not just talking to the one who purchased the product; we are also talking to the factory worker who assembles it, the repairman who mends it, and the recycling manager.
Who recycles it and the farmer whose materials used to make it. We provide questions such as, what annoys you about the process of repairing electronics? or What might you prefer to make sorting your trash the right way easier? Such empathy can get us to visualize the issues facing the world and the opportunities of the circularity.
Define the Bigger Problem
This section will be the integration of all of our knowledge on empathy into a powerful problem statement. A linear mode of thinking can be expressed like, the problem is, we need to make a cheaper coffee maker. The question will be altered to: “So how do we let people have the best morning coffee but not waste it on packaging and make sure that the machine itself should never get to the landfill? A circular thinking would answer this question. This new thinking very often results in more creative, systemic solutions.
Be creative in terms of a circle.
This is where the brainstorming done; however, there are limits that keep the creativity within bounds to ensure that it does not take a turn to the extreme. We do not just invent any ideas; we invent ideas that are naturally circular. It is here that such ideas find their existence.
Suppose that you rented your washing machine rather than purchasing one? It is all about Product-as-a-Service. The company still the owner of it; it has the interest to make it very strong and easy to repair and at the expiry of its life, it produces it back to extract parts to be used in a new model.
Modular Design: Imagine a smartphone that resembles LEGO blocks. When the old camera malfunctions, you just replace it with a new one. All you have to do is to change the module in case the battery dies. The entire gadget does not become out of fashion. Material Innovation: It the research of novel materials that have created using mycelium (roots of mushrooms), food waste bioplastics, or ocean-reclaimed plastic clothes.
Benefits of a Circular Economy Design Thinking Approach
An example does not depict the appearance of the finished product. It makes it an issue to the user experience and the circularity. One of the possible ways could be when a team creates a prototype of a new packaging system using compostable material to test whether it keeps food fresh. They will also experiment on the speed of breakdown in a home compost bin. They could construct a piece of modular furniture to view.
In case the people could assemble it and disassemble it themselves. It is aimed at making the right decision which environmentally friendly and makes sense and appearance. Organizations and businesses are thinking of how they make things, offer services and generate value as the world experiences more and more environmental issues and less resources.
The integration of design thinking and the ideas of the circular economy is the most promising way of promoting long-term innovations. Not only does this approach address the concern of the environment, but it also promotes creativity, competition and long term robustness. To find the advantages of applying a circular economy design thinking approach, it is worth knowing that it is desirable to a business that does not ignore the positive effects of earning money and being environmental at the same time.
Conclusion
This is not a manual but a Mindset; Making it Home. The most anticipated thing about the design thinking of the circular economy is the fact that anyone can apply it. It is also about beginning any project by posing better questions. It is a commitment to examine the entire system.
Actually hear the individuals within it, and possess the bravery to experiment and make mistakes and learn to get it right. The future of innovation is not chilly, detached, and predatory. It is welcoming, anthropocentric, and regenerative. “The best design helps the whole system over time by combining the heart of design thinking with the wisdom of the circular economy.”
