PSS Design Process Models: Are They Sustainability-oriented?

Sustainable growth demands focus not only on the product and production processes, but also in promoting shifts in consumption patterns and lifestyles towards a circular economy. The adoption of Product-Service Systems (PSS) strategies appears as a promising solution. However, practical application of PSS sustainable approaches is still limited. This may be associated to the fact that a PSS does not guarantee environmental improvements if it is not specifically designed with this purpose. PSS design process models can play a relevant role in supporting companies in designing sustainable PSS when they incorporate activities, methods and tools to approach the sustainability dimensions. Not only the process models, but also the intentions of practitioners and their awareness towards sustainability during the design of a PSS influence the dissemination of sustainable PSS. The objective of this work is to investigate whether the existent PSS design process models support the design of sustainable PSS and whether practitioners employ sustainability-related activities when designing PSS. Nine process models were analyzed and the perspective of practitioners about considering sustainability issues when designing PSS were captured. The collected data shows that only few of the analyzed process models actually propose activities, methods or tools to support a sustainable PSS design. This suggests an existing gap between literature and the practitioners' expectations of PSS design process models. Moreover, those activities, methods and tools are mainly focused on eco-efficiency and the social dimension is generally not covered.