Sustainable solutions: background and concepts definition

The transition towards sustainability calls for a radical change, i.e. a systemic discontinuity. At a local scale, to promote this discontinuity means to generate low material intensive and highly context-related socio-technical systems. In this framework, companies have to become “system organisers” and “solution providers” , shifting their activities “form products to solutions”. And, in particular, to light, lean and context-related sustainable solutions.. The implications of this change in the companies’ role is that “new ideas on business”, and not only “new business ideas”, are needed. The paper articulates the above statement, outlines the related design problems and, in particular, discusses what it means to conceive, produce and deliver sustainable solutions. And to do it “industrially”, i.e. with the highest possible degree of efficiency and efficacy. The transition towards sustainability is a learning process in which human beings have to learn to live better consuming (far) fewer environmental resources and improving (or, in many cases, regenerating) their physical and social contexts of life. This statement is, in my view, the most concise way of outlining what, over the next few decades (hopefully) has to happen in society on a worldwide scale. From this same very broad perspective we may extract also what (hopefully) is the future of those particular “living entities” known as companies and of their particular “ways of living”, which are their ways of doing business. Extended to the companies’ perspective, the initial general statement may be rephrased and become something like this: For companies, the transition towards sustainability is a learning process in which they have to learn to do business consuming (far) fewer environmental resources, helping people to live better in a society and in an economy in which the overall material consumption decreases and in which the quality of physical and social contexts has to be improved and/or regenerated. This paper deals with the way in which the perspective outlined in this statement might become a reality. And, in particular, it discusses the issue of the new business models that it will call for (or better: that it is calling for just now). 1 This paper is based on many different experiences and, in particular, on some an on-going research in Europe: HiCS, Highly Customerised Solutions, within the Growth Programme of the European Community (2001 – 2004).