Design for a sustainable innovation of Italian companies: the EcodesignLab experience

Design for sustainability is one of the main drivers of innovation for the world of industrial production, but it is still hardly accepted as such by the national enterprise. This phenomenon is caused by an incorrect perception of eco-design, considered a specialised tool, which can be used in niche contexts, or accessible only to large companies. Since its foundation, the "School of Architecture and Design of Unicam" has been characterised by a particular sensitivity towards the environmental character of the project, to the point that today it has become one of its main areas of investigation and intervention. This allowed the development of specific skills in the field of environmental sustainability, which led, in 2013, to the foundation of the spin-off "EcodesignLab srl”. Its mission is to increase the capacity for innovation, and the competitiveness of companies in the direction of environmental sustainability, through the application of the criteria and methodologies that characterize the design for sustainability. The results of these five years of activity are represented by the development of new eco-innovative product concepts for small and medium-sized companies belonging to different business areas. The proposed paper wants to present, through the case studies developed by the spin-off, the methodologies, the good practices but also the difficulties of the commercial implementation of design for environmental sustainability within the national industrial network.