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B. de Koeijer et al.
Keywords Operational development · Strategic development · Sustainable
development · Packaging development · Development team
4.1 Introduction
Attention towards sustainability- and circularity-related aspects in productpackaging development is increasing. Various targets are set, ranging from potential recyclability to the use of recycled materials and an overall reduction in packaging quantities. However, the structured implementation of such targets is often
limited on the operational level. To take such aspects into account during the
development process, trade-offs with other packaging features need to be made by
product-packaging development teams. Even though sustainability aspects are often
embedded in companies’ strategic aims, the alignment of the strategic and operational levels of development shows to be limited. Therefore, design integration and
inclusion of multiple stakeholders, disciplines, and perspectives shapes the core aim
of this research’s direction; synthesis over analysis as intervention towards improvements. This research addresses a vision on an approach to explore, understand, and
analyze this field, by means of identifying the current problems and describing design
research-based options for efforts to target these. This article aims to share insights
which act as a foundation for this vision, with a focus on the reasoning behind
synthesis-based interventions aiming to bridge the gap between academic understanding and industry challenges. We aim to enable development teams in ensuring
the structured implementation of sustainability- and circularity-related considerations in product-packaging development, for which this vision paper provides a
substantiation.
Within our scope, the main subject is the process of packaging development,
with the synthesis of design interventions targeting the structured implementation
of sustainability- and circularity-related considerations as a core aim. Following,
this research’s first quest is to explore this field’s key characteristics, trade-offs, and
boundaries that act as enablers and barriers of product-packaging sustainability and
circularity. Secondly, the research focuses on adapting and improving the current situation by means of design interventions towards implementing sustainability considerations in product-packaging development processes. In the development process
towards these interventions, synthesis follows analysis-focused, pattern-recognizing
research steps, which renders this scope as solution-focused design research (Cross
1982; Buijs 2003; Pahl et al. 2007; Eekels and Roozenburg 1991; Swann 2002).
B. de Koeijer et al.
Keywords Operational development · Strategic development · Sustainable
development · Packaging development · Development team
4.1 Introduction
Attention towards sustainability- and circularity-related aspects in productpackaging development is increasing. Various targets are set, ranging from potential recyclability to the use of recycled materials and an overall reduction in packaging quantities. However, the structured implementation of such targets is often
limited on the operational level. To take such aspects into account during the
development process, trade-offs with other packaging features need to be made by
product-packaging development teams. Even though sustainability aspects are often
embedded in companies’ strategic aims, the alignment of the strategic and operational levels of development shows to be limited. Therefore, design integration and
inclusion of multiple stakeholders, disciplines, and perspectives shapes the core aim
of this research’s direction; synthesis over analysis as intervention towards improvements. This research addresses a vision on an approach to explore, understand, and
analyze this field, by means of identifying the current problems and describing design
research-based options for efforts to target these. This article aims to share insights
which act as a foundation for this vision, with a focus on the reasoning behind
synthesis-based interventions aiming to bridge the gap between academic understanding and industry challenges. We aim to enable development teams in ensuring
the structured implementation of sustainability- and circularity-related considerations in product-packaging development, for which this vision paper provides a
substantiation.
Within our scope, the main subject is the process of packaging development,
with the synthesis of design interventions targeting the structured implementation
of sustainability- and circularity-related considerations as a core aim. Following,
this research’s first quest is to explore this field’s key characteristics, trade-offs, and
boundaries that act as enablers and barriers of product-packaging sustainability and
circularity. Secondly, the research focuses on adapting and improving the current situation by means of design interventions towards implementing sustainability considerations in product-packaging development processes. In the development process
towards these interventions, synthesis follows analysis-focused, pattern-recognizing
research steps, which renders this scope as solution-focused design research (Cross
1982; Buijs 2003; Pahl et al. 2007; Eekels and Roozenburg 1991; Swann 2002).