PhD overview: Sustainable production and consumption by upcycling - Understanding and scaling up niche environmentally significant behaviour

Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Kyungeun Sung
Supervised by Tim Cooper & Sarah Kettley
Sustainable Consumption Research Group
College of Art, Architecture, Design and Humanities
Sustainable production and consumption by
upcycling: Understanding and scaling up niche
environmentally significant behaviour
Horizon Scanning Module (MA Product Design) 17/10/2016
PhD research overview

My background
 BSc in Industrial Design, KAIST (2001-2005)
 Product Designer in Samsung Electronics (2005-2007)
 MSc in Strategic Product Design, TUDelft (2007-2010)
 Project Researcher in Enviu (2010)
 Design Researcher & UX Designer in LG Electronics (2011-2012)
 Lecturer in Industrial Design and Technology, UB (2012-2013)
 PhD in Sustainable Design, NTU (2013-2016)

Kyungeun Sung
Supervised by Tim Cooper & Sarah Kettley
Sustainable Consumption Research Group
College of Art, Architecture, Design and Humanities
Sustainable production and consumption by
upcycling: Understanding and scaling up niche
environmentally significant behaviour

Table of contents
 Introduction
 Literature review
 Research methods
 Conclusion

Introduction

Introduction: Project background
UK target: Reductions
in GHGs by 80% from
1990 levels by 2050.
Government’s
commitment: RCUK
Energy Programme.
E
U
E
D
CIE-MAP
I-STUTE
Demand
CSEF
CIED
CEE
CIE-MAP goal: identify opportunities that may
ultimately deliver a reduction in GHGs

Introduction: Longer lifetimes for industrial energy reduction
 Embodied energy: the total (direct and indirect) energy required for the
production of economic or environmental goods and services (Costanza, 1980)
 Material efficiency: reducing the amount of new material inputs per given
level of service or output  reduce energy demand for industry (S. Cooper et
al., 2016)
 Product lifetime extension: reducing demand for new
products/production  increase material efficiency (T. Cooper, 2010)

Introduction: Product lifetimes extension
 Exception: more energy efficient products for high energy consuming
products (e.g. washing machine) (e.g. Brezet et al., 1997; Charter & Tischner, 2001)
 Strategies: durable design; repair and upgrade services (Cooper, 2002)
 Durable design: negative perception from manufacturers; early
replacement buyers’ concern; durability as low priority for purchasing
decision; frequent relative obsolescence (e.g. Cooper, 2004; Van Nes and Cramer, 2005)
 Repair and upgrade services: high cost of labour relative to energy and raw
materials (Cooper, 1999)

Introduction: Consumer trend of upcycling
Creation or modification of any product out of used materials in an attempt to
result in a product of higher quality or value than the compositional elements
(Sung et al., 2014) by individuals (at the household level)

Creation or modification of any product out of used materials in an attempt to
result in a product of higher quality or value than the compositional elements
(Sung et al., 2014) by individuals (at the household level)
 No need to force manufacturers
 No need to pay for professional services
 Add new features + change design/style
 Alternative to durable design + professional services

 contemporary Maker Movement (Anderson, 2012; Lang, 2013)
 readily available physical resources (e.g. Hackspaces)
 shared digital resources (e.g. Instructables, Etsy)

Introduction: Research question
 Despite growing interest, still a marginal
activity
 Scaled up (Ceschin, 2012; Van den Bosch, 2010) 
extended lifetimes  increased material
efficiency  reduced embodied energy 
GHGs reduction
 How can this emerging, yet still marginal
activity, be scaled up into a mainstream
everyday activity in households (and possibly
also in industries) to make a bigger impact on
the environment and society?
Landscape
Regimes
Niches
Scaling up of niches to regimes (Sung, 2016)

Introduction: Aims and objectives
 Aim: develop actionable strategies for upscaling upcycling in
households (and beyond) to contribute ultimately to the reduction of
GHGs
 Objectives:
1. Gain insights into upcycling in the UK
2. Identify UK-specific key behavioural factors for upcycling
3. Formulate design and policy interventions for upscaling upcycling

Literature review

 Definitions
 Publication trends
 Trends in practice
 Benefits
 Drawbacks and barriers
 Links with product attachment
 Environmentally
significant behaviour
 Behaviour models
 Theory of Interpersonal
Behaviour & Theory of
Planned Behaviour
 Transition and multi-
level perspective
 Scaling up
 Scaling up approaches:
DfSB; policies; TM;
behaviour intervention
approaches and
principles
Literature review: Three knowledge domains
Upcycling Understanding behaviour Scaling up
 Research gaps + approaches applicable

Research methods

Methods: Overarching framework
Adapted framework based on Darnton’s Nine Principles framework (Sung, et al., 2016; Sung, 2016)
Semi-structured
interviews
Internet survey
Semi-Delphi

Stage one:
Understanding consumer behaviour
1. Identify behaviour
model for exploration
Methods:
 Thorough literature review
 Behaviour is complex and should be understood by both internal (e.g.
attitude) and external (e.g. situational conditions) factors (Egmond & Bruel, 2007;
Jackson 2005; Kallbekken, Rise & Westskog, 2008; artiskainen, 2007)
 Triandis’ Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour (TIB): recommended through an
extensive review on behaviour models by Jackson (2005) and Martiskainen
(2007); factors shared with a number of comprehensive models (e.g. Feola &
Binder, 2010; Klöckner & Blöbaum, 2010; Kallbekken, Rise, & Westskog, 2008); wide applicability
(e.g. technology adoption behaviour, civic behaviour, dietary behaviour,
sustainable consumption)

Stage one:
Understanding consumer behaviour
2. Understand
consumer behaviour
 Semi-structured interviews with 23 UK-based consumers with
practical upcycling experience
 Sampling: Hackspace/Makerspace forums + snowball
 Questions: upcycling frequency; materials; materials acquisition;
material selection criteria; end product usage; when; where; with
whom; influencing factors based on TIB
Methods:

Stage two:
Identifying key behaviour-influencing factors
1. Refine behaviour model
for operationalisation
 Issues in TIB: a) no operational definition of variables (Araujo-Soares &
Presseau, 2008); b) differences in a few adapted models (e.g. Gagnon, et al.,
2008; Bamberg & Schmidt, 2003; Knoeri & Russell, 2014)
 Combine TIB and TPB (Ajzen, 1991; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980) – one of the
widely used models but with limited prediction/explanation power
– for improved operationalisability and explanation power
Methods:

2. Identify key drivers,
facilitators and barriers
 Internet survey with 122 British residents
 Sampling: websites identified through interviews
 Questions (TIB + TPB): attitude; social factors (role beliefs/
personal norm/ subjective norm); perceived behaviour control;
intention; perceived facilitating conditions; behaviour frequency
Methods: Stage two:
Identifying key behaviour-influencing factors

Methods: Stage three:
Developing intervention strategies
1. Design effective
intervention strategies
 Synthesis of the main findings and implications for scaling up
 Target population / approaches / ideas
 Intervention strategies development based on Defra’s 4Es (Enable/
Encourage/ Exemplify/ Engage) model
 15 initial strategies

Methods: Stage three:
Developing intervention strategies
2. Evaluate and improve the
draft strategies
 Semi-Delphi method: questionnaire + workshop with experts (n=25)
 Expertise: policy (n=6), engineering (6), psychology (3), sociology (3),
art and design (3), business management (2), and economics (2).
 Questions: importance; feasibility; suitable actor(s); new
interventions; top 5 interventions

Conclusion

Conclusion
 Meeting the aim and objectives
 Limitations
 Applicability of the research findings
 Contribution to knowledge
 Suggestions for future research

Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built EnvironmentImage sources: http://image.slidesharecdn.com/clapresentation-talisopenday-march14-140328085008-phpapp01/95/cla-presentation-talis-open-day-march-14-14-638.jpg?cb=1395996639
Thank you! Any question?
Kyungeun.sung2013@my.ntu.ac.uk
http://kyungeunsung.com
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kyungeun_Sung

PhD overview: Sustainable production and consumption by upcycling - Understanding and scaling up niche environmentally significant behaviour

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