Design for System Change - Designing pathways for sustainable and circular transitions
At SDU Innovation & Design Engineering (IDE), we work with Design for System Change – understanding how technologies, materials, products, and business models become implementable in real-world systems. We combine engineering, design, sustainability, and socio-technical perspectives to support transitions towards circular and resilient futures. Our research spans product, material, organisational, and societal levels – from early design decisions and manufacturing systems to implementation pathways, stakeholder ecosystems, and policy.
Design for Circularity
Designing products and systems for repair, reuse, disassembly, and circular value creation.
We develop methods and tools that support circular product systems, enabling longer product lifetimes, easier recovery of components and materials, and scalable circular manufacturing.
- Design for Disassembly
- Robotic Disassembly
- Product Longevity & Reuse
- Circular Product Architectures
Design for Sustainability
Integrating sustainability into product development and engineering decisions from the earliest stages
We investigate how sustainability considerations can be embedded early in design and development processes through lifecycle thinking, ecodesign, and data-informed decision-making.
Core competences:
- Sustainable Product Development
- Early Sustainability Integration
- CO₂-Informed Design Decisions
- Ecodesign & Digital Product Passports (DPP)
Material-Driven Design
Understanding how materials shape products, performance, and circular opportunities
We explore how recycled, bio-based, and circular materials can be integrated into products and industrial systems, while addressing material performance, recyclability, and implementation challenges.
Core competences:
- Circular and Bio-based Materials
- Textile-to-Textile Systems
- Material Performance & Recyclability
- Fibre and Material Substitution
Methods for Sustainable Transitions
Designing implementation pathways for sustainable and circular change
We develop methods to understand barriers, opportunities, stakeholders, and future pathways for sustainable transitions across industries and societal systems.
Core competences:
- Product Journey Mapping
- Innovation Gaps & Barrier Analysis
- Roadmapping & Delphi Methods
- Technology Mapping & Implementation Pathways
Citizen and Societal Transitions
“Understanding behaviour, participation, and system-level change”
We investigate how citizens, organisations, and public actors contribute to sustainability transitions through behaviour, participation, circular practices, and citizen science approaches.
Core competences:
- Citizen Science & Participation
- Plastic and Textile Circularity
- Household Sorting Systems
- Behavioural and Socio-technical Change