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Encouraging the
replacement of products by services
Does the replacement of products
by services reduce the pressure on the environment?
The development of a "functional economy"
is based upon the notion that the provision of function is
the key to consumer's satisfaction, not the product per se.
The added-value doesn't lay with the product any more, but
with the function. This approach results in new ownership
options such as renting or leasing and can lead to deep changes
in consumption patterns.
For instance, the purchase of a
"movie" function in the system of "video on
demand": the video tape is substituted with the
transmission of the movie through the Internet. This can also
correspond to buying mobility instead of car (through renting
or leasing options), cleaning service instead of washing
machine …
Some authors outline the benefits for
the environment brought by such a transition. Below are some
examples.
When compared with household washing,
industrial laundering of workwear:
- uses 52% less primary energy,
- uses 73% less water,
- uses 85% less detergent,
- emits 33% less CO2
- emits 36% less NOx.
Source:
Life-cycle
assessment from the Öko-Institute quoted by the European Textile
Services Association
Music downloaded legally from the internet
can have less than half the environmental impact of buying
a pre-recorded CD. Below are 3 different means of purchasing
56 minutes of pre-recorded music and their material intensity:
| |
Material
used (kg) |
Equivalent
in producing aluminum drinks cans |
| Purchasing
a CD online |
1,31
|
5
|
| Buying
a CD in the high street |
1,56
|
6
|
| Downloading
music online |
0,67
|
<
3
|
Source:
Digital
Europe: virtual dematerialisation and factor X
Reconciling interests of producers
and consumers
Such approach could contribute to a drastic
change in the production and consumption patterns. Interests
of producers and consumers may become complementary and not
competitors any more. In the traditional economy, the interest
of consumers is that the more expensive the product is, the
longer its useful life is. Whereas the interest of producers
is that the product has a short life time or does not fulfil
the consumers' expectations after a while, so that producers
can sell different goods to the same consumers.
The situation drastically changes with
the so-called "Product Service Systems". Producers
become increasingly involved in the product use and after-use
phases. They are themselves using the product to deliver function
to the customer. They then have a clear interest in using
the product efficiently, intensively, and for the longest
possible time. This should strongly influence the design of
products and lead to a dramatic reduction in the consumption
of material resources and energy.
The development of Product Service Systems
might also contribute to generating a new sort of symbiosis
between producers and consumers. The producers would strive
for increasing the life-span of their products, and their
number of customers, but also their brand-loyalty and the
permanence of the contract for the services provided. Consumers
can then benefit from flexible services, much more adapted
to their needs, while not bearing the burden of maintenance
and waste management of the material products.
The roles of LRA
LRA also provide many public services
that represent alternative to individual purchasing:
- Public libraries for books, music,
toys, etc.
- Municipal services such as public
transport
To increase the use of some products
and reduce the overall number of products in use, LRA can
promote the use of these municipal services.
Consumers need to be informed on the
various possibilities and benefits of replacing products by
services. Informed consumers will contribute to stimulating
the development of a market for eco-efficient services. LRA
can also directly stimulate the market through using services
themselves. For instance they can lease office equipment or
use an industrial laundering service.
Confronted with high level of waste from
disposable items, the City of Milton-Keynes in the UK, as
well as the cities of Nuremberg and Munich in Germany, have
developed initiatives which aim to changing consumer behaviour
and to increase the useful life of products through the "consumption"
of services. They offer not only the use of reusable products
- for baby nappies or crockery, but also an associated cleaning
service which ease the use of these durable products for consumers.
Good practice:
- Munich: Fighting the paper cup
- Nuremberg: Lending reusable crockery
for free to households
- Milton-Keynes: Happy Baby in Cotton
Nappies
Download the good practice
Encouraging the replacement of products by services
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