As environmental concerns continue to rise, the design industry is shifting its focus towards sustainable products and adopting circular economy principles. Design students are similarly incorporating this focus into their school projects. However, the selection of sustainable strategies often neglects or compromises user experience, as these strategies do not directly correlate with how users interact with and perceive the products. This oversight can lead to difficulties in the initial design stages and even potential market rejection if a product, while sustainable, fails to deliver a satisfactory user experience. Hence, this study aims to explore the link between product types, sustainable design strategies—biodegradability, longevity, servitization, and upcycling—and user experience, focusing on the degree of user body contact. Then, 31 participants underwent a one-week trial, experiencing various sustainable strategies applied to 16 intimate or non-intimate products. The user experience was assessed based on utility, attractiveness, and green awareness. Feedback was collected through online surveys and open-ended interviews. Both quantitative and qualitative data were used to summarize the relationship between product intimacy, sustainable design strategies, and user experience. Results revealed that no specific circular design strategy significantly influenced user experience for both intimate and non-intimate products. However, non-intimate products generally received better user feedback compared to intimate ones. Interviews suggested this preference may be due to users' strong attachment to familiar products, emphasizing the need for new products to significantly outperform existing ones to garner positive reception. Overall, this study contributes to comprehension of user experience and developing of sustainable products.

There are numerous initiatives and lighthouse projects around GAIA-X to create the basics of open, trustworthy data ecosystems. In common, all of these initiatives are the vision of making Europe more independent of the great American players. To make our value chains more robust and our manufacturing processes more sustainable, we need access to the data of customers, development partners, and suppliers to be able to link them to our data. One of the challenges in building these data ecosystems is to convince everyone involved of the advantages of multilateral data sharing. A prerequisite is also a common understanding of the rights of use and access to the data. Data sovereignty means that the data provider decides which data with which usage and access rights he wants to make accessible to which user group. For this purpose, the ECLIPSE DATASPACE Connector (EDC) was developed, which is on the models of the Asset Administration Shell (AAS). The AAS describes the asset z. B. a machine or a control unit in a standardized, machine-readable form and contains all relevant information about the asset, such as identification data, technical specifications, condition information, and possibly also services associated with the asset. It will be demonstrated in our paper on a conceptual approach named Decide4Eco to enable systematic and flexible decision-making support for product planning and development concerning the sustainability of a product and the entire value chain. Methods of sustainability assessment are expanded to include predictive AI-based effects analyses

Littering in public areas presents a significant health and environmental challenge. This case study explores the use of design interventions to reduce such behavior and encourage social change. We focused on the trash disposal area in our school department, which has long been in state of disarray. Our goal was to modify user behavior through design, thereby maintaining cleanliness in the environment over the long term. Following the redesign and reconstruction of this space, we conducted a two-week experiment, utilizing camera footage to observe user behavior and surveys. Upon conclusion, a total of 72 responses were collected through an online questionnaire. Participants were asked to provide feedback on their experiences and perceptions regarding the redesigned trash disposal area. Further statistical analysis, including the McNemar Test, backward elimination logic regression, and independent samples t-test, was employed to assess the effectiveness of the overall trash disposal space planning and various design elements. From the results, we found a significant improvement in satisfaction and identified a design factor, posters featuring divine patterns and slogans, which significantly influenced user behavior. This study not only observed whether design could alter behavior and optimise the environment but also incorporated some clever ideas into the design to resonate with both teachers and students. We hope that even the simple act of disposing of trash can be enjoyable and that such designs will encourage the faculty and students of the design gallery to collectively maintain a clean and comfortable learning environment.

There is a rich tradition within engineering of measuring the success of low(er) carbon technology interventions in terms of quantitative changes to variables such as air quality, energy consumption and costs. What is less well understood and integrated within engineering, however, is the equally important qualitative impacts to ways of living, and social relations. Moreover, emerging evidence suggests that top-down approaches are more likely to be rejected in the long term, due to failure in understanding the real needs of end users (typically households). In trying to improve the successful adoption of low(er) carbon technologies and address methodological gaps, we developed a transdisciplinary approach where physical and social dimensions interact and inform the selection and installation of technologies: which ultimately allowed us to capture both qualitative and quantitative impacts. In doing so, both the families who participated and the team of engineers, students and installers, saw significant transformations in their habits and practice. On the participants' side, these transformations led to improvements in the family’s intra-familiar dynamics awareness and the distribution of energy-related burdens within the household. On the delivery side, transformations led to a more profound understanding of the possible impacts, the decision-making processes and prioritisation of the technologies, which fostered people-centred sustainable energy solutions, and more active and empathic communication strategies. The approach taken led to a slower delivery, but a more successful appropriation of the technologies. The learnings presented have the potential to transform the approaches taken when implementing low carbon technologies.