Chiara Battistoni
During the investigation of the use of resources such as food, energy, water, and human work in a food service facility through observation studies in a broader research study, water turns out to be the element less considered in all its different uses, especially in the quantity of its wastage. Starting from this finding, this research investigates the water use in the food service sector and its importance for life on the Earth for humans—the 21st-century gold that will become more scarce and expensive in the future. The goal is to understand the contribution of design to a more sustainable and circular use of water in this sector. To answer this question, the research starts with collecting data in the literature about the specific water usage in the industry to frame the problem. Afterwards, it presents case studies on product designs, actions and projects concerning the management of sustainable and circular use of drinkable water. As a result, this research proposes the use of a systemic approach for the research in design for sustainable and circular use of water as a driver for designing different and innovative solutions to close and open circular loops in the food service sector. The approach is based on the nano-micro-meso-macro scale of interventions in the circular economy studies, proposing different potential solutions to close and open loops. It ends with further research questions to implement the draft future scenario proposed.
KEYWORDS: water, food service, systemic design, circular economy, closing resources loops, sociotechnical system
RSD TOPIC(S): Methods & Methodology, Socioecological Design, Sociotechnical Systems