A Taxonomy of Design Practices for Sustainability Towards Planetary Health

This contribution is part of the research that aspires to investigate how scientific design research is involved in determining a new balance between human beings and nature to improve the living conditions of our species on Earth. First, the paper investigates the different paradigms of Health based on the relationship between human beings and nature, presenting the levels of consistency in the concept of Sustainable Development. Subsequently, the research dwells on the analysis of the main design practices approaches, i.e. Planet-Centric Design, Human-Centered Design, Non-Human Centered Design, and Humanity-Centered Design, that investigate the relationship between our species and nature, classifying them according to definition, keywords, approach to Health paradigms, and adherence to the concept of Sustainability within Sustainable Development. The aim is to take a position on which of the above-mentioned approaches offers a perspective that allows humankind to perceive itself as a community as well as to be “in nature with nature”, without conflict and matricide, accepting our finiteness and not denying death. Hence, design practices must be able to develop good practices for Sustainable Development towards Industry 5.0, respecting the planetary and social boundaries of the “Doughnut”. Finally, the paper dwells on the sustainability assessment methods of industrial practices to highlight the consistency between the criteria selected by the different tools, and the concepts of Sustainability and Health inherent in the methodological approach of design. It converges to identify under-researched aspects of implemented practices on which design can focus to develop Industry 5.0.