Abstract
This paper defines regenerative design in relation to current collaborative, sustainability-oriented innovation. Production and consumption patterns are largely linear, with circular economy efforts largely focused on recycling. Regenerative approaches are emerging but underdeveloped. Literature describes the Regenerative worldview and theoretical framework, and the few papers on methodology and practice highlight a need for greater definition of the field. An actionable design- and innovation methodology for the regenerative field is lacking. We conduct a scoping review and define the Regenerative design approach in relation to the current Circular Oriented Design approaches. We present the characteristics of the Value Preserving and Regenerative approaches found in literature. This contributes to a clearer, more actionable method of regenerative, post-anthropocentric design for design practitioners, and addresses the gap in academic literature. This framework aims to bring implementation closer, as conducting, managing, and structuring Regenerative Design is crucial to the ecological and cultural transformation needed.
Keywords
Regenerative design, circular oriented innovation, innovation level
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1879
Citation
Nors, B., Møller Haase, L., and Nielsen, S. (2026) Designing for Radical Renewal: Innovation Outcomes Across Circular and Regenerative Approaches, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1879
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
Designing for Radical Renewal: Innovation Outcomes Across Circular and Regenerative Approaches
This paper defines regenerative design in relation to current collaborative, sustainability-oriented innovation. Production and consumption patterns are largely linear, with circular economy efforts largely focused on recycling. Regenerative approaches are emerging but underdeveloped. Literature describes the Regenerative worldview and theoretical framework, and the few papers on methodology and practice highlight a need for greater definition of the field. An actionable design- and innovation methodology for the regenerative field is lacking. We conduct a scoping review and define the Regenerative design approach in relation to the current Circular Oriented Design approaches. We present the characteristics of the Value Preserving and Regenerative approaches found in literature. This contributes to a clearer, more actionable method of regenerative, post-anthropocentric design for design practitioners, and addresses the gap in academic literature. This framework aims to bring implementation closer, as conducting, managing, and structuring Regenerative Design is crucial to the ecological and cultural transformation needed.