4.1 towards social equity and cohesion vezzoli 09-10

Carlo Vezzoli

Politecnico di Milano / INDACO dept. / DIS / Faculty of Design / Italy

course System Design for Sustainability

TODAY: 4. (SYSTEM) DESIGN FOR SOCIAL EQUITY AND COHESION

4.1 Towards social equity and cohesion 4.2 System design for social equity and cohesion 4.3 System design for social equity/cohesion guidelines examples

carlo vezzoli politecnico di milano . INDACO dpt. . DIS . faculty of design . Italy

Learning Network on Sustainability

Carlo Vezzoli


carlo vezzoli politecnico di milano . INDACO dpt. . DIS . faculty of design . Italy

Learning Network on Sustainability

course System Design for Sustainability subject 4. Design for social equity and cohesion

learning resource 4.1

Towards social equity and cohesion

Carlo Vezzoli


CONTENTS . Sustainability: the socio-ethical dimension . Socio-ethical Sustainability: a concern for all economies . Connection between environmental and socio-ethical sustainability . PSS: Opportunities in emerging and low-income contexts . Distributed economies: promising model coupling environmental and sicioethical sustainability . Working hypotheis: locally-based and network-structured system innovation . Sustainabile transition path in low-income and emerging contexts

Carlo Vezzoli


EQUITY PRINCIPLE [UN, Johannesburg, 2002] “every person, in a fair distribution of resources, has a right to the same environmental space, i.e. to the same availability of global natural resources” (or better, to the same level of “satisfaction” that can be achieved from these resources in different ways)

SUSTAINABILITY: SOCIO-ETHICAL DIMENSION

Carlo Vezzoli


ERADICATING POVERTY: INTERNAT. COMMITEMENTS

1996: Rome, FAO summit: 185 countries agreed and committed to cut by half the number of undernourished people 2000: UN Millenium summit: signed by 191 member states the Millenium decleration: 1. Eradicate poverty and by for 2015: . reduce by half, form 1990 to 2015, the percentage of persons living in extrerm poverty . grant a full and productive employment and a dignitous job for all, including women and yungseter . reduce by half, form 1990 to 2015, the percentage of undernourished persons …

THE SOCIO-ETHICAL DIMENSION: ACTIONS

Carlo Vezzoli


ERADICATING POVERTY 2001: the world bank; UNFPA . 80% of world population uses 20% of consumed natural resources . 1,1 billion people live on less than 1 US dollar a day . 2,7 billion people (half the world) live on less than 2 US dollar a day . 1 billion children (1 in 2 children in the world) live in poverty . 11 million children die every year before fifth birthday . 18 million people a year (1/3 of deaths) are due to poverty . 400 million have no access to safe water . 800 million people are undernourished

THE SOCIO-ETHICAL DIMENSION: ACTIONS

Carlo Vezzoli


10.2006: Rome, conference Food and Agriculture Organization (UN)

Jaques Diouf, general director FAO

“Instead of decreasing, the number of starving people is increasing by 4 millions per year” 1996, World: 800 millions undernourished 2006, World: 854 millions undernourished

Carlo Vezzoli


11.2009: Rome, World Summit on Food Security, FAO

reasons of undernurishement growth . food prices crisis 2006-2008 . global economical crisis . low investiment in the agriculture > the crises is not the result of annual harvest

Carlo Vezzoli


. [eradicating of poverty]

. promotion of principles and rules of democracy

. promotion of human rights and freedom

. achievement of peace and security

. access to information, training, employment

. respect for cultural diversity, regional identity

THE SOCIO-ETHICAL DIM.: (OTHER) ACTIONS

Carlo Vezzoli


[EU, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY, 2006] SOCIAL EQUITY AND COHESION: “promotion of a democratic, socially inclusive, cohesive, healthy, safe and just society with respect for fundamental rights and cultural diversity that creates equal opportunities and combats discrimination in all its forms”

THE SOCIO-ETHICAL DIMENSION

Carlo Vezzoli


IT IS NOT JUST A MATTER FOR ENTERPRISES IN LOW-INCOME OR EMERGING ECONOMIES . in a global market companies in industrialised contexts are interacting with stakeholders of their supply chain, being in low-income and emerging countries . even industrialised contexts are facing poverty and problem with social cohesion

[1° REMARK: SOCIAL EQUITY AND COHESION]

A CONCERN FOR ALL ECONOMIES

Carlo Vezzoli


AN EMERGING MODEL AND ITS TOOLS

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR):

a management model in which the company responsibility is extended to all the stakeholders, aiming to optimise the economic value together with social and environmental ones

tools:

. Social Accountability (SA8000)

. Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (GRI)

Carlo Vezzoli


let as take into consideration:

the (fundamental) shift from non-renewable

resources (e.g. fossil fuels) to renewable ones’

(e.g. sun and hydrogen)

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIO-ETHICAL SUTAINABILITY ARE CONNECTED

[1° REMARK: SOCIAL EQUITY AND COHESION]

Carlo Vezzoli


FOSSIL FUELS (OIL, COKE, …)

environmental un-sustainability: most of CO2

emissions > global warming + extraction pollution

socio-ethic un-sustainability: extraction, production,

distribution infrastructure, complex and CENTRALISED >

reduction of direct access potentiality to resources >

low power to individual over their own destiny >

widening of rich AND poor gap (inequality)

Carlo Vezzoli


RENEWABLE RESOURCES (SUN, HYDROGEN…)

environmental sustainability: non-exhaustable +

greenhouse effect reduction + lower environmental cost

for extraction, transformation, distribution

socio-ethic sustainability : “distributed generation”

sun and hydrogen acquisition: local + with simple

processes > micro-plants installable/manageable by small

economic entity > user-producer > energetic micro

network building > global network of micro network>

access, self-sufficiency, power (and interdependency) to

individuals and local communities > resources

democratisation > inequality reduction

Carlo Vezzoli


SUSTAINABILITY: ENVIRONMENTAL + SOCIO-ETHICAL potential convergences (non only sun/hydrogen)

use primary local, conservative, regenerative

resources (i.e. locally sustainable)

+

introduce decentralised networks for the

extraction/production/use of such resources

Carlo Vezzoli


SYSTEM INNOVATION: OPPORTUNITY EVEN FOR LOW-INCOME AND EMERGING CONTEXTS

Carlo Vezzoli


… in terms of (social-ethical) sustainability a question has been (UNEP, 2000-2002): IS A SYSTEM INNOVATION APPROACH APPLICABLE TO EMERGING/LOW-INCOME CONTEXTS TOO?

IF SO, COULD IT ALSO FACILITATE (TOGHETHER WITH ECO-EFFICENCY) SOCIO-ETHICAL ENHANCEMENT IN THESE CONTEXTS?

IF SO, WITH WHAT CHARACTERISTICS?

Carlo Vezzoli


“PSSs may act as business opportunities to facilitate the process of social-economical development - by jumping over or by passing the stage characterised by individual consumption/ownership of mass produced goods - towards more advanced service-economy “satisfaction-based” and low resources intensive.” [UNEP, Product-Service System and Sust., 2002]

SYSTEM INNOVATION AN OPPORTUNITY EVEN FOR EMERGING/LOW-INCOME CONTEXTS (FOR ALL)

Carlo Vezzoli


AN EXAMPLE OF SYSTEM INNOVATION

(for socioethical + environmental + economical sustainability)

Carlo Vezzoli


TSSFA offers to Brasilian rural people a solar home kits that include the hardware needed to generate solar energy, plus the installation service and products that use the electricity, such as lighting and electrical outlets. All of the tangible inputs are owned by the provider and only the service supplied by these materials are leased to customers. TSSFA customers sign a three-year service contract.

It is environmentally sustainable because it uses the solar energy, as well it is socioethically sustainable because give to poor people access to useful services.

SOLAR HOME KITS, BRASIL

Carlo Vezzoli


SYSTEM INN. OPPORTUNITIES IN EMERGING /LOW-INCOME CONTEXTS

being more eco-efficient on a system level > system inn. is “cheaper” to implement on meso/macro scale, can respond to unsatisfied demands more easily

focusing on a specific context of use > it leads to local (competent) rather than global

stakeholder involvement

being more labour/relation intensive > it leads to a rise in (local) employment and the diffusion

of skills

being based on system partnership development > it is coherent with the development of network-

structured enterprises/initiatives enabling local potentialities

Carlo Vezzoli


[assuming they PSS are applicable in all contexts] WITH WHAT CHARACTERISTICS A SYSTEM INNOVATION APPROACH COULD FACILITATE -TOGHETHER WITH ECO-EFFICENCY - SOCIO-ETHICAL ENHANCEMENT IN EMERGING/LOW-INCOME CONTEXTS?

Carlo Vezzoli


DISTRIBUTED ECONOMIES:

“selective share of production distributed to regions where activities are organized in the form of small scale, flexible units that are synergistically connected with each other” [IIIEE, SWEEDEN, 2006]

SOLIDARITY COOPERATIVE NETWORKS:

“networks in which units of production and consumption are articulated in nodes able to self-propagate and self-feed in a solidarity collaboration” [MANCE, BRASIL, 2003]

“STRONG” EMERGING HYPOTHESIS

WHICH ARE THE PROMISING INNOVATION MODELS? (socioethic + environmental + economic sustainability)

Carlo Vezzoli


LEN

Local Energy Network

distributed energy generation with propper amnagement anf technology for the use of small-scale power generation technologies located close to the load being served

EXAMPLE OF

DISTRIBUTED ECONOMIES

Carlo Vezzoli


OTHER EXAMPLES OF DISTRIBUTED ECONOMIES LINUX SOFTWARE open sources and peer-to-peer cooperative network for software development SOLIDARITY PURCHASING GROUPS group of persons making collective purchase directly contacting local producer of season/biological produces

Carlo Vezzoli


DISTRIBUTED ECONOMIES: CHARACTERISTICS ENTERPRISES/INITIATIVES:

LOCALLY-BASED: start from sustainable local resources and needs, but could become open non-local or global systems + NETWORK-STRUCTURED: gain critical mass and potential by their connections in network

Carlo Vezzoli


“a system innovation (PSS approach) may act as a business opportunity to facilitate the process of a social equity and economic development (in an emerging context) - by jumping over the stage characterised by individual consumption/ownership of mass produced goods - towards a more advanced service-economy with a low resource-intensity being “satisfaction-based”, characterized by the development of local-based and network-structured enterprises and initiatives, for a sustainable re-globalisation process characterised by a democratisation of access to resources, goods and services”.

EMERGING HYPOTHESIS (1 + 2=):

> LENS DESIGN (RESEARCH) WORKING HYPOTHESIS

Carlo Vezzoli


SUSTAINABILE TRANSITION PATH IN LOW-INCOME

AND EMERGING CONTEXTS

(INSPIRED BY TRANSITION MANAGEMENT)

THE APPROACH FOCUSES NOT ONLY IN IMPLEMENTING A PSS

SOLUTION, BUT ALSO THE PROPER STAKEHOLDERS EVOLUTION IN

TIME TO FOSTER THE DISSEMINATION OF THE SOLUTION ITSELF, BY

PRODUCING A LOCALLY-BASED SYSTEM OF SATISFACTION, I.E.

SELF-STANDING AND LONG LASTING

> THE TRANSITION PATH TO SUPPORT THE INCUBATION AND THEN

THE SELF-STANDING INTRODUCTION AND DIFFUSION OF THE

SOLUTION

ADDIYIONAL EMERGING WORKING HYPOTHESIS

4.1 towards social equity and cohesion vezzoli 09-10

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