For a Sustainable Dialogue: The Green-Use (GU) Learning Cycles Concept

Product design is now driven to the satisfaction of requirements all along the life cycle of the product, with an increased concern in environmental impact. A new concept, the Green-Use (GU) Learning Cycles, is proposed. It is used to determine the way a continuous, adaptive interaction between user and product can be established to improve environmental performance during use. It is structured by two levels of analysis (macro and micro) and a cyclic nature. These levels are the “Incremental user involvement levels”, and the “Environmental Impact in Use”. They are modelled around the notion of an evolution in cycles, from the initial state of the system product-user to a final stage which results in optimal use with minimal environmental impact. This work includes experimentation to support the new concept proposed, as well a method to use it.