Towards a novel Business, Environmental and Social Screening Tool for Product-Service Systems (BESST PSS) design

Abstract

Product-Service Systems (PSS) have recently regained attention in the literature and industry due to their potential to contribute to sustainability. PSS are also enjoying renewed attention, currently, as the large societal focus on circular economy (CE) enforces the potential of PSS. However, PSS are not more sustainable than traditional offerings by default and they, therefore, must be designed with sustainability in mind from the early design stages and their sustainability potential screened already at a conceptual design stage. Existing approaches to screen PSS sustainability have conspicuous shortcomings regarding their lack of comprehensiveness, usability and focus on the conceptual design stage deemed crucial for the sustainability level of the future offering. There is poor coverage, in the literature, of approaches to sustainability-driven PSS design, and no consolidated approach to supporting a comprehensive consideration of sustainability aspects in the early stages of PSS conceptualisation. This paper introduces a qualitative tool and a process that support decision-making through ex-ante screening of PSS concepts for manufacturing companies based on the triple-bottom-line (TBL) sustainable value potential over the PSS life cycle. The tool was developed iteratively through three action research cycles focused on theory development and theory testing, within a manufacturing company. The tool and the implementation process are perceived as an effective and efficient way to screen PSS concepts through a comprehensive, yet readily applicable and usable approach by the industry practitioners.