Project title:
Useful Life Extension and Use Intensification of Products - Opportunities for Design and Diffusion of New Strategies in Product Use in Regional Networks
Consortium:
Institut für ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung (IÖW) gGmbH (Berlin/Heidelberg/Wuppertal), Weitergeben e.V. (Heidelberg), Office for LA21 of the City of Heidelberg (Heidelberg)
Project co-ordinator:
Gerd Scholl, Institut für ökologische Wirtschaftsforschung (IÖW) gGmbH, Potsdamer Str. 105, D-10785 Berlin, Tel. #49 (0)30 / 88 45 94-0,
Email: gerd.scholl@ioew.de
Duration: December,1 2001 to May, 31 2004

Background

The project builds upon an initiative of non-profit organisations based in the region of Heidelberg. They pursue the development and realisation of a centre for sustainable services providing eco-efficient use strategies (e.g. renting, repair, second hand) and promoting and facilitating neighbourhood assistance and honorary work. In a first step, the existing offers of the participating organisations are brought together in the centre. In a second step, assisted by accompanying scientific research, innovative offers shall be developed and tested in order to expand the range of services and address new consumer segments.

Objectives of the Project

On a practical level, the project aims to realise and further develop a centre for sustainable services in Heidelberg and to set up and consolidate a network of regional actors facilitating structures for sustainable consumption.

On a scientific level, main objectives are: analysis of the framework conditions, supporting and hindering factors, and limitations for the diffusion of use strategies on local-regional scale, development of a marketing and communication concept and a concept for cost effectiveness for sustainable services, assessment of the environmental benefits of sustainable services.

Approach and Workplan

The project is trans-disciplinary by nature. It combines the development of innovative sustainablity solutions at the interface of society and environment (etsblishment of a local centre for sustainable services) with a multi-disciplinary research design (social science, environmental assessment, economics). Networking, i.e. identifying and exploiting synergies between actors from different fields, is at the core of the local process. It is enforced, however, by accompanying research attracting new actors and assisting during their acquisition.

The project architecture encompasses three major poles: non-profit organisations constituting the centre and providing its offers (“Weitergeben e.V.”), office for LA21 of the city of Heidelberg managing the interaction of the organisations involved, and IÖW responsible for accompanying research including the monitoring of the process as a cross-section task.

The work is divided into several steps:

1. inventory (month 1-6): consumer telephone survey, expert interviews, regional analysis, etc.
2. idea creation (month 7-9): consumer workshops, etc.
3. service design (month 10-14): concept design, environmental and economic assessment, marketing and communication concept,
4. market assessment (month 15-17): focus groups, etc.
5. Market introduction (month 18-24): realisation and testing, analysis of centre activity, etc.
6. Transfer and final report (month 25-30): analysis of transfer potential, public conference, final report.