EPDE2022/1222 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ENGINEERING AND PRODUCT DESIGN EDUCATION 8–9 SEPTEMBER 2022, LONDON SOUTH BANK UNIVERSITY, LONDON, UK TOOLKIT THAT SUPPORTS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT-SERVICE SYSTEM Eline ALBERT and Ivo DEWIT Faculty of Design Sciences, University of Antwerp, Belgium ABSTRACT This study results from a master thesis for the Department of Product Development of The University of Antwerp. The thesis focuses on a toolkit that provides support in the design process of a PSS, namely the product-service system design toolkit [1]. In this toolkit, there is hardly any focus on sustainability, but rather on the interaction with the end-user. To integrate this sustainability aspect - considering people, planet and profit - the Sustainable Innovation System (SIS) toolkit of OVAM [2] is used as input. The opportunity of this master thesis is to work out a possible synergy of both toolkits. This type of toolkit is hardly explored in the current market. This paper will first find out how both toolkits are used and what pitfalls there are. Various research methods have been used to map out the findings: a literature exploration, analysis of existing evaluations, in-depth interviews, a focus group, online questionnaires, a workshop, and project guidance. The triangulation ensures that the results are as close to reality as possible. This information is summarized and translated into drivers for the solution to be designed. After this, a proposal for the solution is being presented, which is a digital library of design tools. This study thus contributes to a concise human and economic analysis of design tools in general, and a proposal – specifically for the PSS design toolkit and the SIS toolkit – of automated project guidance for design students and practitioners. The online tool platform emerges as the best solution for the abovementioned problems and considers five design drivers that guide the design process, namely: design track support, autonomous use, reduced complexity, universal use, and easy integration. Keywords: Tool, toolkit, design methodology, product service system and sustainable design 1 INTRODUCTION This master thesis starts from an externally provided theme related to two design toolkits. On the one hand, the PSS design toolkit [1] supports users in the design process of a PSS using 31 different tools. A Product Service System (PSS) is an example of a sustainable solution on a systemic level. It is a system of products and services that together can fulfil the needs of a consumer through innovative cooperation between stakeholders. A PSS can bring about a shift from owning to consuming, which responds to the scarcity of our resources. Unfortunately, this toolkit has little regard for sustainability but instead focuses on the interaction with the end-user. This approach is being criticized today: if sustainability can be involved as early as possible in the design process, the impact is maximised [3]. To develop sustainably, designers need tools and methods that can guide them through the design process. This is where the second toolkit comes in: the Sustainable Innovation System (SIS) toolkit of OVAM [2]. The purpose of this toolkit is to implement innovations sustainably. The toolkit is provided by certified facilitators and consists of 30 individual tools divided into different capitals of sustainability. The main principles of this master thesis are: how can both toolkits reinforce each other and how to reduce the barriers for using the toolkits? Besides the fact that the solution must support the development of a PSS, sustainability must also be integrated as broadly as possible. 2 CONTEXTS Today, sustainability is hardly ever included in design toolkits, as the analysis by José, Rui and Fernando [4] shows. Talal Rafi, a business council at Forbes magazine, indicates that companies struggle to concretise a sustainable approach [5]. Although 90% of executives recognise the importance of sustainability, only 60% of companies have a sustainability strategy. This also confirms the need for concrete applicable tools.