4.1 towards social equity and cohesion vezzoli 13-14

Carlo VezzoliPolitecnico di Milano / DESIGN dept. / DIS / School of Design / Italy

course System Design for Sustainability

TODAY:4. (SYSTEM) DESIGN FOR SOCIAL EQUITY AND COHESION4.1 Towards social equity and cohesion4.2 System design for social equity and cohesion4.3 System design for social equity/cohesion guidelines examples

5. 5. DESIGNING SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FOR ALL5.1 system design for sustainable energy for all5.2 best practices of sustainable energy system for all (elisa

bacchetti)

carlo vezzolipolitecnico di milano . DESIGN dept. . DIS . School of Design . Italy

Learning Network on Sustainability (EU asia-link)Learning Network on Sustainabile energy systems (EU edulink)


course System Design for Sustainability (SDS)

NEXT LECTURE 1ST APRIL: OPEN SEMINAR (2) WITH GUEST SPEKERS form the dept. of management and the one of energy

DESIGN OF DISTRIBUTED RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEM FOR ALL


course System Design for Sustainabilitysubject 4. Design for social equity and cohesion

learning resource 4.1

Towards social equity and cohesion

carlo vezzolipolitecnico di milano . DESIGN dept. . DIS . School of Design . Italy

Learning Network on Sustainability (EU asia-link)Learning Network on Sustainabile energy systems (EU edulink)


CONTENTS . the socio-ethical dimension of sustainability. PSS: sustainable opportunities even for low and middle-income contexts. distributed economies: a promising model for social equity and cohesion. distributed economies a promising PSS characteristic for sustainable innovation for all


[UN SUMMIT, RIO, JOHANNESBURG, RIO+20 (1992-2012)]EQUITY PRINCIPLE “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”

THE SOCIO-ETHICAL SUSTAIANBILITY

[EU, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY, 2006/2009]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”


. 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 SUSTAIANBILITY: ACTIONS


1996: Rome, FAO summit: 185 countries agreed and committed to cut by half the number of undernourished people

2000: UN Millenium summit >“Millenium decleration” signed by 191 member states:

1. Eradicate poverty and by for 2015: . reduce by half, form 1990 to 2015, the percentage of undernourished persons. grant a full and productive employment and a dignitous job for all, including women and yungseter…

ERADICATING POVERTYinternational commitments


2001: the world bank; United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). 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

. 80% of world population uses 20% of consumed natural resources



11.2012: FAOUNDERNURISHEMENT IN THE WORLD


Total= 868 milionTotal= 1 000 milion


11.2012: FAOUNDERNURISHEMENT IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD



IT IS NOT JUST A MATTER OF SO CALLED “DEVELOPING COUNTRIES”

. in a global market companies in industrialised countries are interacting with stakeholders of their supply chain, being in low-income and emerging countries

. even industrialised countries are facing poverty and problem with social cohesion

THIS IS WHY IT IS BETTER TO SPEAK ABOUT LOW-INCOME, MIDDLE-INCOME, INDUSTRIALISED CONTEXTS

SOCIAL EQUITY AND COHESION:A CONCERN FOR ALL


PRODUCT-SERVICE SYSTEMS (PSS): SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES EVEN FOR LOW AND MIDDLE-INCOME CONTEXTS


… in terms of (social-ethical) sustainability a question has been (UNEP, 2000-2002):

IS A PSS APPROACH APPLICABLE TO LOW AND MIDDLE-INCOME CONTEXTS TOO?

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

IF SO, WITH WHAT CHARACTERISTICS?


PSS IN LOW AND MIDDLE-INCOME CONTEXTS: CASES


VIRTUAL STATION (OFFICES)

Fortaleza, Brasilsupply a full range of products, infrastructure (owned by virtual station) and services for a complete office. clients only pay for the periods of use; spaces are equipped with computers, printers, scanners, access to internet, TV, copiers etc; reception, personalised phone answer, answering and remittance of fax reception/transmiss.

it is environmentally sustainable because infrastructure/equipment are shared (less needed) and most efficient are used + it is socio-economically sustainable because of no need for initial investiment facilitate the set-up of small company.


WHY PSSs ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN LOW AND MIDDLE-INCOME CONTEXTS?

being more eco-efficient on a system level> are “cheaper” to implement, can respond to unsatisfied demands more easily in a low income context

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

involvement (empowerment)

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

skills

focusing on access rather than ownership> reduce/avoid the higher costs of initial investment, can be accessed more easily from all


“a product-service system innovation (approach) may act as a business opportunity to facilitate the process of a social-economical development in low and middle-income contexts - by jumping over the stage characterised by individual consumption/ownership of mass produced goods - towards a “satisfaction-based” and “low resource-intensity” advanced service-economy.”

UNEP, 2002: PSS AN OPPORTUNITY EVEN FOR LOW AND MIDDLE-INCOME CONTEXTS (FOR ALL)

free pdf at: http://www.unep.fr/scp/publications/details.asp?id=WEB/0081/PA


[assuming they PSS are promising in all contexts]

WITH WHAT CHARACTERISTICS A PSS APPROACH COULD FACILITATE -TOGHETHER WITH ECO-EFFICENCY - SOCIO-ETHICAL ENHANCEMENT IN LOW AND MIDDLE-INCOME CONTEXTS?


DISTRIBUTED ECONOMIES (DE): “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” [JOHANSSON et al., IIIEE, SWEEDEN, 2005]

are there promising offer models for social equity and cohesion?


DISTRIBUTED ECONOMIES: TYPES

. to produce energy (i.e. distributed energy

generation)

. to produce informations (e.g. wikipedia)

. to produce software products (e.g. Linux)

. to produce (hardware) products (e.g. 3-D Printing)

…

. to design (e.g. open innovation/design and crowd-

sourcing)


ENTERPRISES/INITIATIVES IN DISTRIBUTED ECONOMIES: CHARACTERISTICS

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

SOCIOETHICAL POTENTIAL: direct access to resources > increased participation and power to individuals and local communities > democratisation of access to resources> poverty and inequality reduction


WORKING HYPOTHESIS: DISTRIBUTED ECONOMIES A PROMISING PSS CHARACTERISTIC IN LOW AND MIDDLE-INCOME CONTEXTS (FOR ALL):

LeNS book “PSS design for Sustainability”, Greenleaf, 2014

“a PSS approach may act as a business opportunity to facilitate the process of a social equity and economic development in low and middle-income contexts - 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 locally-based and network-structured enterprises and initiatives, for a sustainable re-globalisation process characterised by a democratisation of access to resources, goods and services”.

4.1 towards social equity and cohesion vezzoli 13-14

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