Page - 130 - in Critical Issues in Science, Technology and Society Studies - Conference Proceedings of the 17th STS Conference Graz 2018

The importance of the positive footprint as mental model for circular design ESER, Sonja Fachhochschule Salzburg, Studiengang für Design und Produktmanagement, Campus Kuchl, Salzburg, Austria Introduction What makes a design really interesting, ambitious and sustainable? One important reason is the way the designer approaches a project. This article will focus on the importance of the positive footprint as mental model for circular design, the design concept for the new circular economy. Since 2014 the transition to a new and regenerative circular economy has become a declared objective of the EU, since it has become obvious, that the linear economy with its huge consumption of resources is unsustainable. The “Growth within” report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation highlights that the European economy’s value creation model is surprisingly wasteful. The authors state that most materials are only used once (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Sun, McKinsey 2015, 12). Unlike the old German recycling economy concept of the 1980s, the new regenerative circular economy does not limit itself to recycling and disposal of residual and toxic waste, but focuses on designing cycles for biological and technical materials from the beginning. Design plays an important part in this new concept, to make economy regenerative and restorative. Regenerative means to take care that all biological material is used in products in a manner to ensure that after use this material can be easily be brought back into the natural cycle, in form of compost or biochar. To shredder and recycle technical materials used in products usually requires a lot of energy, therefore it is important to design them in a way that restoration of the product performance by repair or remanufacturing can be easily done to maintain value. Circular design In the definition of the circular design by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2012, 9) they stress the importance of changing the way products are designed for the success of the circular economy in Europe. Circular design “ i.e. improvements in materials selection and product design (standardization/modularization of components, purer materials flows, and design for easier disassembly), lie at the heart of a circular economy." This design concept is based on the Cradle to Cradle design concept (Braungart & MacDonough 2002a), which has one focus on benefits for society and environment from safe materials that can return to cycles (biological or technical cycle) and so to eliminate the concept of waste. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation included the consequent reuse, refurbishing and remanufacturing of products and parts as well as new business models for it. Bakker et al. stress in their definition of circular product design especially the system level a design has to take into account, maintenance of product integrity, new experiences and relationships for users with their products and the need for new business models (Bakker et al. 2014). At the circular design classes at the Fachhochschule Salzburg, focus is laid on the consideration of the impacts of social changes for design, to integrate other useful design concepts to improve the applicability of Cradle to Cradle, and to integrate core ecological concepts in the education to help students to gain that broader systemic perspective (Eser 130