From “appropriate technologies” to “appropriate stakeholders interactions”: system design for sustainability, a promising approach to couple eco-efficency with social equity and cohesion.

When the socio-ethical dimension of sustainability is a concern, most of the attention has been given to product design that meets the basic needs with appropriate technologies in emerging and low-income contexts. This paper presents Product-Service System Design for Sustainability as a promising and complementary approach to the former one. Firstly, reasons for applying eco-efficient Product-Service Systems (PSS) innovation in low-income and emerging contexts are highlighted. Secondly, the now familiar model of distributed economy is introduced as a promising characteristic of such Product-Service Systems innovation. Finally, an on-going sustainable mobility system project for the transportation of disabled people is presented. This is managed by a cooperative of marginalized persons in Cape Town South Africa.