Prize winner is revolutionizing the design of sustainable innovations

Reboundless design

The next slides in Daniela Pigosso’s presentation covers three sustainable innovations and their advantages. For example, LED lights consume considerably less energy and have a very long lifespan. Beer bottles made from a recyclable material that can also decompose in nature. Sharing food platforms let shops and restaurants sell their surplus food.

However, these innovations come with a significant downside. We buy more LED lamps than before, and we leave the light on for longer. The biodegradable beer bottle is more likely to end up as waste in nature, while food sharing systems provide little incentives for reducing food surplus at a first instance. These negative behavioral consequences of sustainable innovations are called rebound effects.

“If we are to succeed in the green transition, it is not enough that the intentions are good. The potential sustainability benefits must also be achieved by preventing rebound effects,” says Daniela Pigosso.

With the Reboundless project, the professor is exploring how better design can prevent green solutions from doing more harm than good.

“In addition to simulation models that can effectively estimate rebound effects, preventing them requires a paradigm shift in design. This means considering possible rebound effects early in the design phase of the development of new technologies, products, and systems,” concludes Daniela Pigosso.

The project is funded by the European Research Council and Daniela Pigosso is leading the research in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of engineers, designers, system modelers and social scientists.

The team is investigating four selected areas of consumption and production that are particularly resource-intensive and play a significant role in our lives: housing, nutrition, consumer goods and mobility.

Recognized with major science award

Today's presentation for DTU employees gives Daniela Pigosso an opportunity to practice her keynote speech when she is awarded the Grundfos Prize 2024 on November 6 at a large-scale research party in Bjerringbro. The award comes with a research grant of DKK 750,000 and personal recognition of DKK 250,000.

The Reboundless project is a natural extension of her work over the past 15 years, where Daniela Pigosso has actively helped more than 900 companies in Denmark and abroad, large and small, to transition to sustainability through better design. She has also mentored thousands of students and was instrumental in increasing the focus on sustainability at DTU's BSc in Design and Innovation.

“Daniela Pigosso's tireless efforts and pioneering contributions to sustainability are an example to follow. Her work and influence will continue to inspire and drive change towards a more sustainable future,” says Flemming Konradsen, Chairman of the Board of the Grundfos Foundation (Poul Due Jensen Foundation), explaining the selection of the DTU professor.