Product-Service Systems: reviewing achievements and refining the research agenda

This special issue on Product-Service Systems: reviewing achievements and refining the research agenda shows the progress that has been made in the PSS field in the last decade, including various national and international research projects and companies' initiatives, important achievements and gaps at theoretical and practical levels. Most of the papers can be of interest to practitioners, company managers and consultants, since they present methods and tools for helping companies to shift towards PSS in environmentally sound ways and to evaluate the outcomes of the shift. In addition, this issue can be of interest to the research community since it evaluates the progress in the PSS field and outlines a future research agenda.     

The transfer and application of Product Service Systems: from academia to UK manufacturing firms

The servicisation of many advanced economies is thought by many commentators to provide opportunities to move society away from unsustainable patterns of production and consumption. The concept of the Product Service System (PSS) has been conceptualised in academic circles to assist in the attainment of such desirable futures. This paper reports the findings of research conducted as part of the SOLiD project which considered the transfer and application of the PSS concept from academia to industry in the United Kingdom. It draws upon theories from evolutionary economics to provide a rationale for the transfer of the PSS concept and the role of this in achieving desirable technological change. The paper also identifies an appropriate methodology to transfer the PSS concept from UK academic circles to industry and the factors which impact upon, and importantly lead to, the successful completion of this process. The combination of theoretical insight with case study research is used to develop a framework that could help UK based intermediaries to complete the transfer of the PSS concept. This is seen as an integral part of public policies aimed at stimulating sustainable patterns of production and consumption.     

From science to policy through transdisciplinary research

Is transdisciplinary research a useful means of bridging science and policy? And does transdisciplinarity go beyond informing public agencies, the private sector, or civil society of the results of research? The interacting policy cultures serve as a framework for studying transdisciplinary projects funded by two environmental research programs, the Swiss Priority Program Environment (SPPE) and the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (MISTRA). Two types of projects are distinguished. Researchers in projects of the first type reorganize knowledge according to the (perceived) interest of the audience. Transdisciplinary research of this type requires a clearly defined audience culture. Researchers in projects of the second type initiate a co-production of knowledge during which the different policy cultures interact. Transdisciplinary research of type two is appropriate for policies that have to be developed using a collective process involving multiple policy cultures.     

Designing the sustainable product-service integration: a product-service blueprint approach

As a means for providing the sustainable production and consumption, the concept of product-service system (PSS) has received increasing attention. What is at the core in the PSS is the design, since it determines the distinctive characteristics and quality of PSS. Even though some tools have been suggested for PSS design, previous tools mainly focus on identifying the relationship between actors in a conceptual level. Despite the fact that it is significant and cannot be neglected, what is more important in a practical situation is to represent the detailed flow or relationship of PSS elements, with the consideration of products and services. In response, this paper proposes a ‘‘product-service blueprint’ which is a new and systematic way to elucidate the relationship between products and services, providing the implication of how PSS can provide the sustainable production and consumption. Employing the service blueprint as a starting point, new areas, lines, and symbols are introduced to represent the distinctive features of PSS. The proposed product-service blueprint represents the product use throughout the life cycle, service flow from the management to the customer, and the relationship between products and services. Taken together, the product-service blueprint will help both managers and researchers to promote the product-service integration under the concrete framework.     

Is the EU WFD suitable to support IWRM planning in non-European countries? Lessons learnt from the introduction of IWRM and River Basin Management in Mongolia

The Water Framework Directive (EU WFD, 2000/60EC, European Commission, 2000) is a comprehensive tool for water management taking Europe’s diverse national and local policy contexts into account. This has positioned the EU WFD as a potential tool to enhance the implementation of the globally-promoted integrated water resources management concept (IWRM) in developing and transition countries that to date lack comparable regulations. Using the case of Mongolia, a country that has shown interest in using aspects of the EU WFD for implementing its IWRM concept, we will discuss the extent to which the EU WFD also provides a framework for IWRM outside Europe. We find that the EU WFD may provide guidance for the implementation of ecosystem-based River Basin Management (RBM) within an existing national IWRM concept, in terms of public participation and in terms of economic analysis. However, the application of concepts EU WFD is easier if strong political will, good monitoring capacities and a legislative backbone covering key IWRM principles and the capacity for enforcement are in place. Also, the EU-WFD does not provide guidance in terms of water-related issues that are e.g. addressing gender, poverty and capacity development. Thus, the EU WFD cannot serve as a blueprint, as it requires adaptation to the different socio-economic, cultural and political contexts of the implementing country and it does not inform all aspects of IWRM.     

Re-considering product design: a practical “road-map” for integration of sustainability issues

The proliferation of sustainability assessment principles, strategies, actions, and tools has created confusion about pathways forward for companies. It is unclear how existing approaches are complementary or distinct. How does a company assess current products and materials? How could designers create more sustainable products? What criteria, principles, approaches, and tools should be applied? Why? Is there a practical “road map” to guide product designers and product development managers in integrating sustainability issues into their decision-making processes?This article builds on previous frameworks for understanding the interconnections between various assessment principles, strategies, actions, and tools related to industrial ecology, human and labor rights, and corporate social responsibility [Waage S, Geiser K, Irwin F, Weissman A, Bertolucci M, Fisk P, et al. Fitting together the building blocks for sustainability: a revised model for integrating ecological, social, and financial factors into business decision-making. Journal of Cleaner Production 2005;13(12):1117–206; Robèrt K-H, Schmidt-Bleek B, Aloisi de Larderel J, Basile G, Jansen JL, Kuehr R, et al. Strategic sustainable development—selection, design and synergies of applied tools. Journal of Cleaner Production 2002;10(3):197–214; Robèrt K-H. Tools and concepts for sustainable development, how do they relate to a framework for sustainable development, and to each other? Journal of Cleaner Production 2000;8(3):243–54]. Expanding on past work, this piece suggests a “road map” for application by product designers and product development managers. A four-phase process is offered for integrating systems and sustainability perspectives into product design, manufacturing, and delivery decisions.     

Methodological considerations for nitrogen policies in the Netherlands including a new role for research

The Netherlands has attempted to follow EU guidelines in developing national policies to reduce pollution of groundwater by nitrates originating from (over) fertilized agricultural land. The EU has not been satisfied with these policies and this is resulting in legal conflicts. National policies have focused on nitrogen budgeting and on fertilization rates, over-simplifying the crucial role of soils during the leaching of nitrates to groundwater. As an alternative, a dynamic approach using simulation modeling is introduced as is illustrated for a study area in the Netherlands. A number of considerations for future policy directions are suggested, including requirements for research: (i) promotion of research aimed at improving and maintaining nutrient use efficiency at farm level; (ii) promotion of joint learning experiences between farmers and researchers, where farmers’ organizations could act as “research consortia”; (iii) emphasis on site and time specific management (precision agriculture) in policy development, and provision of site-specific advice via modern information and communication technologies; (iv) clearer guidelines for groundwater monitoring procedures, including additional monitoring at greater depths and consideration of groundwater quality from an appropriate regional perspective; (v) groundwater monitoring should take place at locations selected according to specific hydro-geological characteristics, rather than being executed at random and (vi) clear goals that are defined within existing and future policies at EU and international level, should allow for regional differentiation in indicators; these being the outcome of negotiations between farmers or their representatives, policy makers and researchers.     

Product-service systems in the automotive industry: the case of micro-factory retailing

Solutions to the economic and environmental impacts of the automotive industry have largely focused on technological innovation at the level of products or processes. This paper argues that, in order to achieve sustainability, change processes must be undertaken at the functional and systemic level.The concept of product-service systems (PSS) represents a valuable opportunity to introduce such changes. PSS is predicated on new forms of product ownership, stewardship, design and producer–consumer interaction. The challenge now is to investigate ways in which the PSS concept might be introduced at the empirical level.The paper suggests that the adoption of micro-factory retailing (MFR) ideas offer a means of introducing such a system-level change in the automotive industry. MFR is based on novel approaches to vehicle design that facilitate the economic viability of small-scale localised manufacturing sites. It is argued that such an approach to vehicle production, allows the adoption of a full scale PSS at local levels. Furthermore, via aspects such as the unification of the commerce and manufacturing function, and the proximity of manufacturing and servicing sites to users, the MFR approach may also offer distinct advantages compared with prevailing visions of PSS.     

重型机动车实际排放特性与影响因素的实测研究

利用美国Sensors公司生产的SEMTECHD车载排放测试仪在上海随机选择了7辆重型柴油车开展实际道路的排放测试,该实验累积测试道路长度为186km,共取得29090个逐秒的有效工况点数据,其中城市主干道12979个,次干道12368个,快速干道3743个.给出了车辆在不同道路上的工况点分布,分析了速度、加速度对燃油消耗、尾气排放的影响.测试结果表明,在选定的城市道路上,车流的平均怠速工况比为17%,加速工况比23.6%,等速工况比为31.0%,减速工况比为28.5%.被测车辆的CO、THC、NOx平均排放因子分别为(4.41±2.46)g·km-1、(1.77±1.17)g·km-1和(6.96±1.93)g·km-1,车辆排放状况因车速、加速度等因素而不同.测试结果基本反映了目前上海道路的交通状况和柴油卡车的排放现状,同时也说明过低的车速和频繁加减速是加重机动车污染的重要原因.     

车辆非尾气管颗粒物排放特征研究

车辆尾气排放控制技术和排放标准在近年来得到了快速发展,但非尾气管(non-exhaust)排放却很少涉及.非尾气管排放主要包括车辆制动磨损、轮胎磨损、路面磨损和车辆扬尘,本研究调查了北京典型道路车流量和车辆运行速度等参数,应用欧盟非尾气管排放因子分析车辆制动磨损、轮胎磨损和路面磨损PM10排放.结果显示:不同类型道路的...     

Engineering education in sustainable development at Delft University of Technology

Is technology hindering sustainable development or can it be used to stimulate sustainable development? It is becoming clearer that technological innovation can be a useful tool for achieving sustainable development. That is, if the technologist is aware of the boundaries that should be considered when working in a sustainable way; and is knowledgeable about how to use the tools that can be used to work in a sustainable way. Therefore, making technology students aware of these boundaries and tools is an important educational task for universities. Such education should, in our view, include two subjects. (1) Giving them insight into the concepts of sustainable development. What is sustainable development? What are sustainability problems? What are the causes of these problems? Which strategies and approaches for solving them are available? (2) Giving them insight into the technology development process. How does the technology development process work? Which factors influence and steer it? What is the influence of technology on society and on sustainable development? The Technology Assessment group at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has developed several courses on the combination of these two subjects, integrating research results in the fields of sustainable development and technology dynamics. In this article the contents of these courses are described.     

Governance of complex environmental situations through social learning: a synthesis of SLIM's lessons for research,policy and practice

This synthesis of the SLIM project findings deals with the development and deployment of knowledge and research that is useful for actions that transform at socially and ecologically meaningful scales. A diagnostic framework (DF) is elaborated that aims to transform the findings into a tool that could bring stakeholders, in other contexts, to understand better their own roles in complex natural resource management situations. The DF invites the user to engage in successive stages of comprehension by exploring: what are complex situations of change about? What are the main components involved? Why are these components important? How do they influence what we know and how we act? What could be our role in changing the situation? We identify five ‘variables’ that together can account systemically for transformation processes that are constituted in social learning and concerted actions. We show how the DF may be used in situations of complexity and uncertainty by researchers, acting variously as observer, facilitator or co-researcher, and how it may help to guide research practice. We conclude by consolidating key messages about the relationship between knowledge, research, and policy and the main implications for water managers of being open to social learning processes.     

Product service systems in the automobile industry: contribution to system innovation?

This article investigates the actual and potential contribution that product service systems (PSSs) can make in moving beyond incremental technological improvements towards a focus on behavioural changes and system innovation in the automobile industry. It begins by discussing the means by which existing and planned PSS initiatives can be evaluated in terms of their contribution towards innovation at the system level in the automotive industry. Building on and expanding earlier work, it is suggested that they should be assessed against an expanded set of five key evaluative criteria including: evidence of ‘higher-order’ learning amongst stakeholders; changes in infrastructure and institutional practice; changes in vehicle design, manufacture and end-of-life management; changes in vehicle ownership structure; and changes in modes of producer–user interactions. Following this discussion, the article provides a structured overview of some current and planned PSS initiatives at the empirical level in the automotive industry. The identified initiatives are then assessed against the key evaluative criteria in an effort to reveal their actual or potential contribution to meeting the sustainability challenges of the automotive industry. Based on this exercise, it is argued that since most current initiatives do not unify these key elements of a PSS in a single coherent system they do not constitute ‘complete’ versions of PSS, and therefore, fail to deliver the full range of envisaged benefits in contributing towards system innovation. The article concludes by outlining some key areas for future research into potential strategies to address such challenges.     

The predictability of evolution: glimpses into a post-Darwinian world

The very success of the Darwinian explanation, in not only demonstrating evolution from multiple lines of evidence but also in providing some plausible explanations, paradoxically seems to have served to have stifled explorations into other areas of investigation. The fact of evolution is now almost universally yoked to the assumption that its outcomes are random, trends are little more than drunkard’s walks, and most evolutionary products are masterpieces of improvisation and far from perfect. But is this correct? Let us consider some alternatives. Is there evidence that evolution could in anyway be predictable? Can we identify alternative forms of biological organizations and if so how viable are they? Why are some molecules so extraordinarily versatile, while others can be spoken of as “molecules of choice”? How fortuitous are the major transitions in the history of life? What implications might this have for the Tree of Life? To what extent is evolutionary diversification constrained or facilitated by prior states? Are evolutionary outcomes merely sufficient or alternatively are they highly efficient, even superb? Here I argue that in sharp contradistinction to an orthodox Darwinian view, not only is evolution much more predictable than generally assumed but also investigation of its organizational substrates, including those of sensory systems, which indicates that it is possible to identify a predictability to the process and outcomes of evolution. If correct, the implications may be of some significance, not least in separating the unexceptional Darwinian mechanisms from underlying organizational principles, which may indicate evolutionary inevitabilities.     

A strategic design approach to develop sustainable product service systems: examples taken from the ‘environmentally friendly innovation’ Italian prize

The product service systems’ (PSS) sustainability potential is described in the framework of the new types of stakeholder relationships and/or partnerships, producing new convergence of economic interests, and a potential concomitant systemic resources optimization.In this perspective, it is argued that the design competencies should move towards those of the ‘strategic design’, thus introducing the concept of ‘strategic design for sustainability’: the design of an innovation strategy, shifting the business focus from designing (and selling) physical products only, to designing (and selling) a system of products and services which are jointly capable of fulfilling specific client demands, while re-orienting current unsustainable trends in production and consumption practices.Some examples of PSS are presented and discussed using the PSS categories ‘services providing added value to the product life cycle’, ‘services providing final results to customers’, and ‘services providing enabling platforms for customers’. The cases derive from an analysis of the ‘environmental friendly innovation’ yearly endowed prize submissions. The Politecnico di Milano University together with the Bocconi University and Legambiente (an environmental NGO) promotes the initiative in Italy.     

公路可持续发展若干问题分析

根据可持续发展发展内涵的代际公平性、资源限制性、发展协调性和质量效益型发展要求，分析了湖北省公路发展现状，提出了“代际单元”概念，提出了考虑代际公平的决定性影响，对公路设计、施工和营运三个阶段中环境保护的实施进行了打分评价，得出了公路目前还远离可持续发展状态的结论，强调了公路实施可持续发展的要点。     

粮食与营养安全研究评述及展望

当前国际粮食安全局势堪忧,大多数发展中国家饥饿、营养素缺乏与营养过剩三重困境并存,实现全球粮食安全与营养安全的双重目标任重道远。本文梳理了95篇文献,旨在理清粮食与营养安全的发展脉络及演变规律,提出中国未来粮食与营养安全的研究重点。首先对全球粮食与营养安全的概念演变进行回顾,指出粮食安全概念由谷物供给总量安全到所有食物数量安全、再到食物质量与营养安全与可持续内涵的动态演化,由单一可供应维度向可供应、可获得性、可利用性、稳定性、可持续性多维度不断拓展。随后,从宏观国家层面梳理中国粮食与营养需求分析及预测、粮食生产能力和进口能力的相关研究,从微观家庭及个人层面评述收入、市场、城镇化、农户农业生产对食物消费及营养的影响。最后,基于未来城乡居民营养均衡发展目标,对中国粮食与营养安全研究的主要趋势和未来研究重点作出展望,指出未来展开对农业生产多样性、作物种植结构调整及作物营养强化,城镇化与市场建设的影响,城市中低收入人群和农村贫困人口营养问题的研究具有重大意义。     

基于中欧对比视角的货运机动车尾气排放PM2.5分析研究

基于中欧对比视角,本研究运用扩展的Kaya模型以及LMDI(Logarithmic-Mean Divisia Index)对货运机动车尾气排放PM_(2.5)的影响因素进行分析.分析表明:尽管中欧货运机动车PM_(2.5)排放近年来持续下降,但中国的排放强度远高于欧盟15国(EU15)平均水平.从分解因素来看,货运量增加是中国货运机动车PM_(2.5)排放增加的最主要影响因素,但该因素的作用自2013年以来极为微小.而EU15货运机动车PM_(2.5)排放量增加最主要的因素是较高的用车次数.此外,越来越严格的排放标准为中国和EU15降低PM_(2.5)排放都做出了突出的贡献.     

美军航母腐蚀控制技术体系的发展研究

从航母腐蚀控制技术体系这一航母应用技术的微小分支见微知著,对世界最强海军航母技术的发展历程、理念、思路、体制以及方向进行深入探究分析,以走出具有中国特色的航母技术发展之路。通过对美军航母腐蚀控制新材料与新工艺的应用、腐蚀控制在舰船全寿命周期应用、腐蚀控制技术体系发展理念、腐蚀控制技术体系科研体制创新的研究,对美军航母腐蚀控制技术体系进行深入了解。     

Applications of the industrial ecology concept in a research project: Technology and Climate Change (CLIMTECH) Research in Finland

This contribution to the Journal of Cleaner Production special issue ‘Applications of Industrial Ecology’ is based upon an extensive literature review, which produced four criteria to characterise research on the concept of industrial ecology (IE). The criteria are (1) material and energy flows, (2) systems improvement, (3) systems adaptation and (4) change management. The criteria were analysed against the six subject areas of the Technology and Climate Change (CLIMTECH) Research Programme in Finland to identify the applications of the concept of industrial ecology. The results of the analysis contribute (a) to the debate on the characteristics of the emerging concept of IE, (b) show IE characteristics of a large Finnish research project in the field of climate change mitigation and (c) invite scholars in the field to study the observed unclear and fuzzy role of the concept of IE in practical research project work. Responses to this article are encouraged for publication in the future issues of Journal of Cleaner Production.