1. Design research for upcycling, circular
economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung
Product Design
School of Art, Design and Architecture
Faculty of Arts, Design and Humanities
De Montfort University, Leicester, UK
Design Department PGT Seminar (06/09/2023)

2. Qualifications and experiences
 BSc in Industrial Design from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and
Technology (KAIST), Korea
 MSc in Strategic Product Design from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft),
Netherlands
 PhD in Sustainable Design from Nottingham Trent University (NTU), UK
 PGCert in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education from De Montfort University
(DMU), UK
 Fellow in Higher Education Academy (AdvanceHE), UK
 Product Designer at Samsung Electronics, Korea
 UX Designer and Design Researcher at LG Electronics, Korea
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

3. Current roles at De Montfort University
 Senior Lecturer in Product Design
 Programme Leader for MA/MSc Product Design
 Faculty Head of Research Ethics on the Faculty Research Ethics Committee
 Early Career Academic/Researcher Representative on the Faculty Research
and Innovation Committee
 Reviewer on the Institute of Art and Design Research Funding Committee
 ADH (Faculty of Arts, Design and Humanities) Early Career Representative in
Concordat for Researcher Development Task and Finish Group
 ADH contact for research relating to India for India Advisory Board
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

4. External roles
 UKRI (UK Research and Innovation) Interdisciplinary Assessment College
(IAC) appointed member (2023-2025)
 UKRI EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) circular
economy critical mass programmes reviewer (2023)
 Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC) Innovation and
Commercialisation Proof of Concept Scheme Reviewer (2023)
 Italian Ministry for University and Research (MUR) 2022 PRIN Call External
Reviewer (2023)
 UKRI AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) Peer Review College
appointed member (2022-2024)
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

5. Introduction to:
 the circular economy
 upcycling
 net zero

6. Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung
Circular economy
 Turning goods that are at the end of their service life into resources for others,
closing loops in industrial ecosystems and minimising waste (Stahel, 2016)
 An industrial economy that is restorative or regenerative by intention and
design (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2013)
 Realisation of a closed loop material flow in the whole economic system (Geng
and Doberstein, 2008)
 One that is restorative by design, and which aims to keep products, components
and materials at their highest utility and value, at all times (Webster, 2015)
 A regenerative system in which resource input and waste, emission, and energy
leakage are minimised by slowing, closing, and narrowing material and
energy loops which can be achieved through long-lasting design, maintenance,
repair, reuse, remanufacturing, refurbishing, and recycling (Geissedoerfer et al.,
2017)

7. Source: Stahel, W. R. (2016) The circular economy. Nature, 531(7595), 435-438.

8. Source: https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy-diagram

9. Upcycling
 Creation or modification of a product from used materials, components
or products which is of equal or higher quality or value than the
compositional elements
 Neologism and umbrella concept
 ‘creative’ or ‘advanced’ repair, reuse, refurbishment, redesign, remake, upgrade,
recreation, remanufacture, recycling,…
 Important sub-set of the circular economy
 Alternative consumption (cf. replacement purchase)
 Alternative production (cf. based on virgin materials)
(Sung, 2017)
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

10. Examples and benefits
 Environmental: extending lifetimes of products, components and materials >
increasing material efficiency > reducing solid waste > reducing
industrial energy consumption > lowering GHGs
 Economic: creating jobs (industry) + saving money (households)
 Social: emotional/psychological well-being (households)
(Singh et al., 2019)
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

11. Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung
Net zero
 Net-zero carbon emissions from physical climate science
 Operationalised through social, political and economic systems
 Climate policy’s new focus: net zero emissions
 Net CO2 emissions below zero > halt CO2-induced surface warming (Fankhauser
et al., 2022)
 “reaching and sustaining net-zero global anthropogenic CO2 emissions and
declining net non-CO2 radiative forcing would halt anthropogenic global
warming on multi-decadal timescales” (IPCC, 2018)
 Decarbonising all sectors of the UK economy to meet the net zero target by
2050 (UK Government, 2021)

12. Source: https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/spm/

13. Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung
References
 Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2013) Towards the Circular Economy, vol. 1
 Fankhauser, S., Smith, S. M., Allen, M., Axelsson, K., Hale, T., Hepburn, C., ... & Wetzer, T. (2022). The meaning
of net zero and how to get it right. Nature Climate Change, 12(1), 15-21.
 Geissdoerfer, M., Savaget, P., Bocken, N. M., & Hultink, E. J. (2017). The Circular Economy–A new
sustainability paradigm?. Journal of cleaner production, 143, 757-768.
 Geng, Y. & Doberstein, B. (2008) Developing the circular economy in China: challenges and opportunities for
achieving “leapfrog development.” Int. J. Sustain. Dev. World Ecol., 15, pp. 231-239
 IPCC (2018) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C (eds Masson-Delmotte, V. et al.)
 Singh, J., Sung, K., Cooper, T., West, K. and Mont, O. (2019) Challenges and opportunities for scaling up
upcycling businesses - The case of textile and wood upcycling businesses in the UK. Resources,
Conservation & Recycling, 150, 104439.
 Stahel, W. R. (2016) The circular economy. Nature, 531(7595), 435-438.
 Sung, K. (2017). Sustainable production and consumption by upcycling (Doctoral dissertation, Nottingham
Trent University (United Kingdom).
 UK Government (2021) Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener.
 Webster, K. (2015) The Circular Economy: a Wealth of Flows, Ellen MacArthur Foundation

14. Design research for upcycling,
circular economy and net zero

15. A review on upcycling

16. Consumer/citizen upcycling
Sustainable production and consumption by
upcycling: Understanding and scaling up niche
environmentally-significant behaviour
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

17. Consumer/citizen upcycling
Sustainable production and consumption by
upcycling: Understanding and scaling up niche
environmentally-significant behaviour
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

18. Consumer/citizen upcycling
Sustainable production and consumption by
upcycling: Understanding and scaling up niche
environmentally-significant behaviour
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

19. Consumer/citizen upcycling
Sustainable production and consumption by
upcycling: Understanding and scaling up niche
environmentally-significant behaviour
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

20. Consumer/citizen upcycling (UK vs. West)
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

21. Consumer/citizen upcycling, PA, longevity

22. Design for behaviour change
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

23. Interventions for scaling up upcycling
International Conference on Resource Sustainability (icRS 2021)
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

24. Interventions for scaling up upcycling
International Conference on Resource Sustainability (icRS 2021)
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

25. Sustainable Production and Consumption by Upcycling
Dr Kyungeun Sung
Interventions for scaling up upcycling
International Conference on Resource Sustainability (icRS 2021)

26. What’s next
 Country-specific data analysis: Australia, Germany, UK, Canada, USA
 Bigger sample (e.g. over 5,000)
 Random selection of the representative population
 West vs. East; West and East
 Contextualised vs. data aggregation
 Other theories and models (and factors)
 Social psychology vs. social practice theory (behaviour vs. practice)
 Why vs. how / what
 Waste streams and upcycling outcomes
 Proper study for the links between upcycling, PA, and product longevity
 Other behaviour change frameworks
 Measuring the impact of varied interventions
 Implementing interventions locally and nationally – prototyping and piloting
 …
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

27. Upcycling in businesses

28. Upcycling in
businesses

29. Upcycling in businesses
Challenges and opportunities for scaling up
upcycling businesses: textile and wood upcycling businesses
in the UK
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

30. Upcycling in businesses
Challenges and opportunities for scaling up
upcycling businesses: textile and wood upcycling businesses
in the UK
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

31. Upcycling in businesses
Sustainable Production and Consumption by Upcycling
Dr Kyungeun Sung
Challenges and opportunities for scaling up
upcycling businesses: textile and wood upcycling businesses
in the UK

32. Upcycling in businesses
Sustainable Production and Consumption by Upcycling
Dr Kyungeun Sung
Challenges and opportunities for scaling up
upcycling businesses: textile and wood upcycling businesses
in the UK

33. Upcycling in businesses
Sustainable Production and Consumption by Upcycling
Dr Kyungeun Sung
Challenges and opportunities for scaling up
upcycling businesses: textile and wood upcycling businesses
in the UK

34. Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung
Upcycling in businesses (UK vs. world)

35. Upcycling in businesses (UK vs. world)

36. Upcycling in businesses

37. What’s next
 Addressing top 2-3 key global challenges and opportunities with action
research (e.g. prototyping, piloting, monitoring)
 Improving material provision – supply chain improvement
 Waste management with AI
 Awareness raising activities
 Longitudinal study on regular training, community events, traditional media,
new media, etc.
 Production innovation – scalable ideas, concepts, technologies, etc.
 Best practice – business models, products, supply chain management, etc.
 …
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

38. Upcycling design and education
Innovative design solutions for scaling up
upcycling SMEs
 Products; services; PSS; policies;
regulations
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

39. Upcycling design and making internships
Frontrunner Internship 2021-2022
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

40. Upcycling design and making internships
Frontrunner Internship 2021-2022
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

41. Upcycling design and making internships
Frontrunner Internship 2022-2023
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

42. NPD for upcycling and the circular economy
Radical innovations for electronics with multiple components and mixed
materials so that they can be upcycled and comply with CE principles
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

43. NPD for upcycling and the circular economy
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

44. NPD for upcycling and the circular economy
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

45. NPD for upcycling and the circular economy
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

46. NPD for upcycling and the circular economy
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

47. How to understand and teach upcycling in the
context of the circular economy
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

48. How to understand and teach upcycling in the
context of the circular economy
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

49. What’s next
 Replicating the NPD4CE project to different product categories
 Scaling up the NPD4CE project to a regional or national level involving
multiple sectors
 Involving industry partners – design with stakeholders
 RF + RAs (existing UG/PGT) per product/sector
 Competitions and collaborations between different universities in the UK and
beyond
 Continuous Delphi to finalise the teaching and learning materials for
understanding and teaching upcycling in the context of the CE
 Open source digital resources (e.g. document, video)
 …
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

50. Net zero design
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

51. Net zero design
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung
Literature review
Consumer online
questionnaire
Knowledge gap for primary research
Idea generation and concept
development
APPROACH
OUTCOME
Expert interviews
User testing Physical testing
Concept refinement
Facts and opinions from consumers, academic
expert and industry expert
Initial ideas, selected idea, developed concept
with visualisation and technical details
Test outcomes
Final design proposal

52. Net zero design
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

53. Net zero design
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

54. Net zero design
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

55. Net zero design
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

56. Net zero design
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

57. Net zero design
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

58. Net zero design
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

59. Net zero design
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

60. Net zero design
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

61. Net zero design
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

62. Net zero design
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

63. Other research activities

64. International Upcycling Symposium 2020
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

65. Special Issue of Sustainability 2021
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

66. Net Zero Conference 2022
https://netzero2022.our.dmu.ac.uk/conference/
Sung, K., Isherwood, P. and Moalosi,
R. (forthcoming, 2023) Research
Journeys to Net Zero: Current and
Future Research Leaders. Routledge
Research and Teaching in
Environmental Studies collection.
London: Routledge.
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

67. International Upcycling Research Network
 https://iurn.our.dmu.ac.uk/about-iurn/
 https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FW007134%2F1
 UKRI AHRC Research Networking grant (AH/W007134/1): £42,787
 Project start: 01/06/2022
 Project duration: 24 months
 Background: Moving from a niche to a mainstream practice could realise the
full potential of upcycling. Despite recent increase in publications, initiatives
and businesses in upcycling, research is still embryonic. Development of
upcycling theory and practices across industries, disciplines and countries is
required for growth.
 Purpose: the world’s first long-term platform to facilitate such cross-industry,
multidisciplinary and international research
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

68. International Upcycling Research Network
Upcycling station: a
drop-in event as
part of the LCB
Depot Takeover of
the British Science
Festival 2022
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

69. International Upcycling Research Network
Upcycling
seminars: Africa
(Sep); Asia (Oct);
the Americas
(Nov); Australia and
Europe (Jan)

70. International Upcycling Festival 2024
 Aim: showcase the network activities and outcomes, expand the network, and
engage businesses and consumers for direct impact
 Full paper submission by 31 July 2023
 Call for other contributions open in October 2023
 Day 1 on Thursday 11th April 2024 (9am-5pm) at DMU: academic
presentations and discussions
 Day 2 on Friday 12th April 2024 (12pm-9pm) at LCB Depot: engaging
businesses and consumers for awareness raising, knowledge transfer, new
data collection and networking through a public lecture series, stakeholder
workshops, family-friendly activities
 Installations: Poster presentations, film screening, mini exhibitions, etc.
 Gala dinner: informal networking between advisory board and network
members
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung

71. Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung
International Upcycling Festival 2024
https://upcyclingfestival2024.our.dmu.ac.uk/call-for-papers/

72. Thank you 
Dr Kyungeun Sung
Senior Lecturer in Product Design
Programme Leader for MA/MSc Product Design
Faculty Deputy Head of Research Ethics
De Montfort University
Gateway House, Leicester, UK
Email: Kyungeun.sung@dmu.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)116 207 8498
Website: https://www.kyungeunsung.com/home
Design research for upcycling, circular economy and net zero
Dr Kyungeun Sung