Designing for Systems Change: Why Sustainability Is More Than Just Efficiency

-

 We can’t recycle our way out of this.

That line came up during one of the design-focused discussions in our Sustainability & ESG Bootcamp at Porto Business School, and it hasn’t left my mind since.

As part of my Master's in Sustainability at Rome Business School, this module challenged me to see sustainability as more than just cleaner inputs or better outputs. It’s about changing the whole system in which those inputs and outputs exist.

What Does It Mean to Design for Systems Change?

Most products, policies, and even business models are designed in linear systems:

  • Take

  • Make

  • Use

  • Dispose

But systems change thinking asks us to redesign for:

  • Interdependence

  • Feedback loops

  • Regeneration

It’s about moving from:

❌ Efficiency.                 ✅ Sufficiency
❌ Control.                     ✅ Resilience
❌ Individual action      ✅ Collective infrastructure


Real Examples from the Bootcamp

In class, we explored examples from urban design, product development, and supply chain innovation. A few standouts:

  • Product-as-a-Service Models: Rather than selling lightbulbs, companies offer “light as a service”, creating incentives for longevity, not obsolescence.

  • Repair Economies: Designing phones and appliances to be easily repaired. Think: Fairphone or Vitsoe furniture.

  • Waste-as-Input: Turning byproducts (like coffee grounds or construction debris) into new raw materials for other sectors. Industrial symbiosis in action.

Why Efficiency Alone Falls Short

Efficiency is good, but it’s not enough.

As we learned through examples like the Jevons Paradox, improving efficiency can sometimes increase total consumption (a.k.a. rebound effect). For example:

  • More fuel-efficient cars = more driving

  • Cheaper electronics = more waste


Jevon's Paradox


This is where systems thinking comes in. It helps us ask:

  • What system does this product operate within?

  • What invisible forces shape user behavior?

  • How can we make the sustainable option the default, rather than the exception?

My Key Takeaways

  1. Design isn’t neutral
    Every product, policy, or service reflects a worldview. Are we designing for endless growth or long-term balance?

  2. Context matters
    A solution that works in one community may fail in another. Systems are both cultural and structural.

  3. Co-creation is essential
    Sustainability isn’t something we design for people. It’s something we design with them.

 Let’s Keep the Conversation Going

This class reminded me that real innovation starts with better questions, not just better tools.

What systems in your life or work could be reimagined?
What would it look like to design for regeneration, not just reduction?

— Morena

You can read more about the Porto Bootcamp here:  From Waste to Value: What I Learned at LIPOR, Portugal’s Sustainability Pioneer