When I bought a laptop in Switzerland, I noticed something interesting. Part of the price included a tax for recycling. So, when that laptop eventually dies, I can take it back to any electronics store, and they handle the recycling. No extra charge. Of course, it makes the laptop I buy more expensive at the time I buy it. It includes more of the real cost of the laptop.

Imagine if we did this for services. What if our prices covered all future costs, including environmental and societal costs that would happen in the future? It'd make services more expensive upfront, sure. But it also makes the true cost of the service visible right now.

Take transportation in Europe as an example. The real cost of travel isn’t reflected in ticket prices. Aviation fuel is subsidized by governments, making flights cheaper than trains between big cities. If flight tickets showed the real price, they would be so much more expensive that a good old train ticket.

Action question

Which parts of your service do not reflect the real price and the real cost it has on the world?

Daniele's notes

• This is the first shitty draft of this principle

• This principle might one day make it in the fifth book in the "Service Design Principles" series that explores how to better serve humans and the planet.

• If you're curious about service design principles, you can get the four previous books in the series, with proofread principles and less grammatical creativity.

• Written with AI help: This principle draft is based on an audio note I took while walking that was transcribed and cleaned using Audiopen. I then reviewed and improved the text by hand.