Circular economy
CONSUMER INVOLVEMENT
Civil society must be involved to achieve a circular economy. Recycling and waste reduc-tion starts in the home and in schools, as does learning about sustainability choices. Consumer choices play an essential role in the circular economy, because they determine the quality and quantity of goods and services as well as
130 the way those goods and services are produced.
Goods and services that are produced in an envi-ronmentally sound and sustainable manner can be very competitive (Ambec 2017, this volume).
Consumers are not driven by price alone, and distorted price signals that ignore the cost of environmental damage reduce consumers’ oppor-tunity to obtain sustainable products and services.
Taxes and fees can be used to influence consumer behaviour. Reward schemes for returned items and deposit-refund systems can motivate consumers to return products at the end of their life to the producer or to a recycling facility (Forlin and Scholz 2017).
Many citizens, in addition, want to be informed about the origins and sustainability of products, services and processes. Information tools such as product sustainability information, awareness campaigns, or corporate sustainability reporting help consumers make informed choices. The efforts behind information-based instruments–
environmental data collection and dissemina-tion, development of indicators, environmental valuation, energy audits, education and train-ing, eco-labelling or certification schemes, public disclosure of enterprises’ sustainabil-ity performance–not only provide information and knowledge to the end consumer. They also complement and strengthen the effectiveness of other policy instruments, such as sustainable
public procurement, environmental taxes, regula-tions, bans and restrictions that expedite transi-tion to a circular economy.
Educational initiatives combined with product sustainability information further enable better consumption choices (Anastasio 2016). When designing educational programmes, policymak-ers need to address the gap between knowledge and action and to explore smart means of moti-vation: Even consumers with pro-environment attitudes do not always engage in behaviour that is environmentally responsible. The reason for this gap is that consumer behaviour can be influ-enced by rather irrational tendencies, such as cognitive biases and force of habit (Frederiks et al. 2015). Also, convenience makes a big difference for consumer decisions. Research has found that as convenience is improved in the design of recy-cling systems, participation rates increase (Samu-elsen and Støyle 2016).
Increasing numbers of people, as citizens and consumers, are aware of the benefits of closed cycle, circular economies. Green consum-erism organizations are emerging in many countries and communities demanding more durable, well-designed, sustainable products and processes. Policymakers can support such move-ments as important drivers of change towards circular economies.
6. CONCLUSION
To stay within planetary boundaries and to make today’s industrial production sustaina-ble, economies inevitably have to become circu-lar. This chapter has shown that change comes with substantial benefits of increased economic stability, natural resource conservation, inclusion of socially disadvantaged groups, job creation and greener growth opportunities for all coun-tries. It has also become clear that to promote circular economies, no single instrument can achieve the goal. Instead, a combination of coher-ent instrumcoher-ents is needed to fully optimise the environmental, social and economic benefits of circular economies. This policy mix would typi-cally include regulations and financial incentives to promote circular product design, set up waste collection systems, support new business models and encourage change in consumer behaviour, among others. It requires a broad consensus among various actors, including the realignment of incentives.
So far, no single country has become fully circular.
That means that no known pathway to achieving a fully circular economy exists. Although devel-oping countries can benefit from some of the experience in developed economies, such as the technologies and implementation of successful waste collection and recycling systems, measures to promote circularity are far more comprehen-sive and must be tailored to realities in individual communities and countries. Any governmental plan for promoting the circular economy should include well-defined targets for each stakeholder group based on clear, measurable indicators and the mix of policy instruments selected should be coherent and socially inclusive. Any policy imple-mentation will be successful only if there is align-ment, coherence and stakeholder coordination.
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