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Integrating the Lifestyle Perspective into the Circular Economy

Traditional business models, relying on large quantities of cheap and easily accessible materials and energy, are reaching their physical limits. Innovative business approaches, based on eco-design, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling, coupled with the spreading of a more sustainable lifestyle culture are fundamental!

The European Commission adopted the Circular Economy Package 2015. This package refers to the effective potential of circular business models to stimulate Europe’s transition towards a circular economy as well as to their challenges and trade-offs, but recurrent questions have been emerging.

Increasing attention has been given to innovative business-to-business interactions requiring substantial changes throughout the value chain ranging from product design and technology, extending product lifetime, to turning waste into a resource. In the meantime, limited attention has been given to understanding drivers of consumer behaviour in support of the circular economy transition. Consumers are still only marginally considered, usually as key actors for take-back schemes or waste stream separation.

Closing the loop and moving away from the non-linear use of resources and energy require  actively engaged consumers to make innovative circular business models (and other circular solutions) successful in the long-term. The CSCP has been working on closing the consumer gap, by bringing the lifestyle perspective into the circular economy discourse, policy solutions, and social engagement, posing additional question of ‘how lifestyles can become more circular’.

In this context, we have actively engaged in knowledge dissemination and awareness raising, to integrate the consumer and lifestyle perspective into the circular economy realm. This is reflected in the our article “Business Model Innovation as an Enabler for a Circular Economy”, by Francesca Grossi and Mariana Nicolau, published in December 2016 in the SWITCH-Asia Magazine.

Engaging companies, NGOs, public organisations, and civic society to better understand and tackle the implications of circular economy connected to business models and sustainable lifestyles is the driving force to making the vision of a circular economy truly systemic and a reality.

Please contact Francesca Grossi if you have any questions.

 

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