Le design comme levier d’optimisation de l’économie circulaire : le cas des PME œuvrant en agriculture urbaine
The development of a global vision for the circular economy, entrepreneurship and design spheres of activity involves a dynamic and complex approach. At the intersection of these three spheres lies an opportunity for understanding the operationalization of a closed-circuit economy within today’s enterprises. The latter are essential players in the transition towards this new economic model. In order to improve the implementation of circular economy (CE), the main focus is on issues related to its operationalization. The goal is to document the path taken by Quebec small and medium enterprises cognizant towards sustainable development issues, particularly working in urban agriculture, a field currently in full transformation. The question that this research proposes to answer is the following: what are the brakes and levers related to the operationalization of the circular economy among SMEs? With the growth of planetary issues due to overproduction / overconsumption as a premise, this research is building its framework on environmental sciences (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, EDDEC Institute) and entrepreneurial (Harvard Business Review) theories. With the main objective being to shed light on levers and weaknesses related to the operationalization of a CE within SMEs, the methodological approach chosen for this research is phenomenological. It aims primarily at observing, through semi-structured interviews, the journey of four different companies who are already cognizant towards sustainable development issues. The strategic design approach (Madge, Plouffe and De Coninck) will allow to conclude this research project with a proposition for solution paths in operationalization.
Design PME Circular economy Entrepreneurship Sustainable development Implementation SME