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2023

Envisioning new pathways for a more sustainable use of plastics

Role
Project Lead (Design)
Industry
Electrical Manufacturing
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Overview

Plastic debris can be found everywhere, from the ocean to our bodies. Although many have sought ways to reuse plastics, the biodegradability of plastics is often misunderstood. Bearing in mind that over 460 million metric tons of plastic are produced every year, it’s unsurprising that regulators have come down hard on producers to replace the material in products or implement viable circular solutions.

Companies such as our client, an electrical solutions provider, rely on plastics for a significant portion of their product portfolio. We can therefore see why looming and speculative regulations, such as the EU Green Deal and EU Strategy for Plastics, would be a cause for concern for their business since they affect the entire life cycle of products, from material choice to waste reduction measures.
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Our client needed a partner to help them address and prepare themselves for upcoming regulatory directives that would affect their product portfolio. We helped them not only discover how their business would likely be impacted, but also commit to new targets and envision new innovative solutions to become a leader in sustainable design and operations.

Team

1 x Engagement Lead

2 x Project Leads
(Strategy & Design)

1 x Regulations SME

1 x Senior Designer

1 x Design Researcher

1 x Intern

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Areas of focus

Project Management

Qualitative Research

Trends Analysis

Speculative Design

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“How can we understand which regulations will hit our supply chain over the next 5-10 years and ensure our strategy will support us to meet these demands and prosper as a business?”

Challenge to solve

To help our client answer this, we worked with them on the following areas:

  • Understanding the main pain points preventing a more sustainable approach to products.
  • Identifying which regulations will impact their business and portfolio.
  • Defining a vision for plastics and setting measurable sustainability targets for 2025/2030.

Our team was split into two streams, strategy and design, with continuous exchange and collaboration in defining our final vision and targets. My role was to lead the design team which included the following areas of responsibility:

  • Guiding and overseeing research and analysis of market, technology, regulatory, environmental, and human trends.
  • Planning, facilitation, and synthesis of internal and external qualitative interviews.
  • Planning, facilitation, and synthesis of two co-creation client workshops.
  • Developing communication materials and managing client relationships in collaboration with the project lead for the strategy stream.
Research phase

Our explorative research phase consisted of:

  • 4 in-depth interviews with design and engineering team members
  • 4 interviews with stakeholders across the supply chain (suppliers and electricians)
  • Secondary desk research to identify signals and trends

Key findings from qualitative interviews:

  • Visual standards limit opportunities for sustainable alternatives to plastics
  • High costs and low market availability of sustainable alternatives hinder the ability to scale
  • Legacy product development processes make it difficult to manufacture new materials
  • Misconceptions around customer expectations lead to a reluctance to change
  • A market hesitation to price increases to accommodate sustainable practices
  • Environmental KPIs have been too artificial in the past to follow effectively

Key trends from secondary research:

  • Circular and bio-plastic entrepreneurship is booming
  • The regulatory landscape is becoming increasingly complex—adaptability is key
  • Supply chains have shifted from glocalised to localised operations since the pandemic
  • Sustainability is becoming a core component of corporate strategy and market differentiator
Ideation phase

Our ideation phase consisted of:

  1. A virtual 1-day scenario building workshop with all team members
  2. A virtual half-day vision and target-setting workshop with all team members

Scenario building workshop

To tackle our client's challenge, we selected methods from our Circular Activation Guide (see additional case study) in cooperation with a renowned research institute.

Before the workshop, we translated our research into hypothetical scenarios of the future using a method called “Game Changers”. These *Game Changers* served as input for the workshop to explore and define possible solutions for the use of plastics.

Our workshop included the following activities:

  • Research deep dive
  • Scenario building inspired by Game Changers
  • Prioritisation and final selection of scenarios
  • Implications and consequences of future scenarios
  • Backcasting to identify the key steps to make the scenario a reality
Key deliverables

Our six-week project culminated in the following outcomes:

  1. Supply chain intelligence: Key insights into the barriers and opportunities for more sustainable management of plastics across the business’s supply chain.
  2. Trends analysis: Six impactful trends ranging from disruptive startups to renewed societal value systems driven by the pandemic.
  3. Future pathways: Three plausible pathways to 2030 were presented in an interactive experience together with visual artefacts that bring solutions to life.
  4. Vision and targets: An inspiring vision for 2030 for a more sustainable use of materials and measurable targets to deliver on the vision.

If you want to create meaningful change, we’ll have common ground.

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