ABSTRACT
This chapter presents systemic design and discusses its main sustainability benefits, limitations and unresolved issues, as well as its current and future research directions. Systemic design is an approach that integrates system thinking in design. It focuses on creating locally based productive systems in which the flows of material, energy and information can be planned so that an output from one element of the system (e.g. a productive activity) can be used as an input (an opportunity) for another system element, thus reducing the waste flow. This gives shape to new and locally based value chains. Systemic design solutions involve and interlink elements of the biosphere (e.g. natural resources), sociosphere (e.g. local knowledge and practices) and technosphere (e.g. material and energy flows). In terms of design skills, this entails a significant change because it requires systemic thinking and a holistic approach in order to manage the complexity of these solutions. A comprehensive design methodology has been developed to support the practical application of systemic design. Despite its sustainability benefits, some criticisms have been raised, including the issue that systemic design is mainly focused on production processes and production systems, without addressing the issue of reducing individual consumption.
