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ThepotentialofDesignforBehaviourChangetofosterthetransitiontoacirculareconomy

LauraPiscicellia*,GekeDinaSimoneLuddena

aUniversityofTwente,TheNetherlands*Correspondingauthore-mail:[email protected]

Abstract: The negative environmental, social and economic effects ofoverconsumption and a throwaway culture have exposed the limits of traditionallinear‘take-make-dispose’productionandconsumptionpatterns.Recently,theshifttoa‘circulareconomy’hasattractedgrowinginterestasapossiblepathwaytowardsmore sustainableways of producing and consuming. Circular businessmodels (e.g.product-service systems, hiring and leasing schemes, collaborative consumption,incentivised return and reuse) aim to keep resources in use for longer, extractmaximum value from themwhilst in use, and recover and regenerate products orcomponents when they reach their end of life. However, these innovativepropositionsoftenencounterimportantcorporate,regulatoryandculturalbarrierstotheir introduction. This paper discusses howDesign for Behaviour Change (DfBC)–with a focus on Design for Sustainable Behaviour and Practice-oriented design –couldcontributetoaddressthelatterandfosterthetransitiontoacirculareconomy.

Keywords:circulareconomy;consumeracceptance;designforbehaviourchange

1.TowardsacirculareconomyInrecentdecades,overconsumptionandtherisingdemandforfinitenaturalresources(e.g.rawmaterials,water,energy)haveexertedgrowingpressureontheenvironmentandproducedincreasingamountsofwaste(Cohen,etal.2010;EuropeanCommission2011;Krausmann,etal.2009;Tukker,etal.2008).Asaresult,essentialresources(e.g.rareearthmetalscriticaltohigh-valuemanufacturingsectorssuchasaerospace,automotiveandcommunications)havebecomescarceandmoreexpensive,andtheirpricevolatilityhasnegativelyaffectedindustryandtheeconomy(BentonandHazell2013;EuropeanCommission2011;Gregson,etal.2015;HislopandHill2011).Withtheglobalpopulationexpectedtoreach9billioninthenext35yearsandtherisinglivingstandardsinemergingeconomies(Bastein,etal.2013;ESA2013),itisestimatedthatin2050anequivalentof

PISCICELLI,L.&LUDDEN,G.D.S.

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morethantwoplanetswouldbeneededtosustainhumanactivityatthecurrentrateofresourceuse(EuropeanCommission2011).

Resourcedepletionandtighterenvironmentalstandardsurgentlycallformoresustainablepatternsofproductionandconsumptionabletodecoupleeconomicgrowthandsalesrevenuesfromscarceresourcedemand(Accenture2014;Bastein,etal.2013;EllenMacArthurFoundation2012).Transformingtheeconomyontoaresource-efficientpathisconsideredoneofthegreatestchallengesofthe21stcentury(EuropeanCommission2011;WallaceandRaingold2012).

1.1LinearvscirculareconomySincethestartoftheindustrialrevolution,theeconomyhaslargelyoperatedonalinear‘take-make-dispose’modelofresourceuse(EllenMacArthurFoundation2012).Thismodelreliesonlargequantitiesofeasilyaccessibleresourcesthatareharvestedorextractedbycompaniestomanufactureproductswhicharesoldtoconsumersanddiscardedaswastewhentheyarewornoutornolongerneeded(EuropeanCommission2014c)(Figure1).Basedontheintensive(andofteninefficient)useofrawmaterials,naturalresourcesandenergy,thistraditionalwayofoperatinghasprovedtobeatoddswithconstraintsontheavailabilityofvirginresources(Accenture2014;EllenMacArthurFoundation2012).

Figure1 Lineareconomy.

Inrecentyears,the‘circulareconomy’–amultifacetedconceptstilllackingascientificallyendorseddefinition–hasgainedincreasedtractionas“aneconomythatprovidesmultiplevaluecreationmechanismswhicharedecoupledfromtheconsumptionoffiniteresources”(EllenMacArthurFoundationandMcKinseyCenterforBusinessandEnvironment2015,p.23).BuildingonMcDonoughandBraungart’s(2002)ideaofa‘cradletocradle’system(asopposedto‘cradletograve’),theEllenMacArthurFoundationinpartnershipwiththeconsultantsMcKinseyhaveadvanceda‘butterflymodel’ofthecirculareconomy(Figure2)characterisedbytwotypesofmaterialsflows:‘biologicalnutrients’(Figure2,left),whicharedesignedtore-enterthebiosphereandbuildnaturalcapital;and‘technicalnutrients’(Figure2,right),whicharedesignedtocirculateinclosedloopswithoutenteringthebiosphere(EllenMacArthurFoundation2012).

Raw materials Production Distribution Consumption Waste


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Figure2 Thecirculareconomy(EllenMacArthurFoundation2012,p.24).Reproducedwithpermission

fromtheEllenMacArthurFoundation.

Thevalueofbiologicalnutrients,consistingofbiomassandbioticwastestreams,ismaximisedthroughbiorefiningprocessesthatenablethe‘extractionofbiochemicalfeedstock’(e.g.fuels,materialsandhigh-qualitychemicals),althoughofteninsmallvolumes.The‘anaerobicdigestion/composting’–aprocessinwhichmicro-organismsbreakdownorganicmaterialintheabsenceofoxygen–allowsfortheproductionof‘biogas’(methane)thatcanbeusedasanenergycarrier,therebycontributingtoenergysupplies.Finally,biologicalnutrientscanbereturnedtothesoilasnutrients(i.e.‘restoration’),forexampleintheformofagriculturalfertilisers(i.e.‘farming/collection’)(Bastein,etal.2013;EllenMacArthurFoundation2012).

Technicalnutrients,consistingofmanufacturedproductsandmaterials,arefirstkeptintocirculationthroughtheir‘maintenance’andrepair.Subsequently,itispossibleto‘reuse/redistribute’them,e.g.throughsecond-handmarkets.The‘refurbish/remanufacture’loopinvolvesrepairingorreplacingfaultycomponentstoreturnaproducttogoodworkingconditions,ortakingoutfailedpartsofausedproductandusingtheminanewone.Theseprocessesgenerallyincludequalitycontrolstoensurethequalityofthefinalproduct,whichisoftensoldwithaguarantee.Recycling(i.e.‘recycle’)shouldbethefinaloptionattheend


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ofthecascadinguseoftechnicalnutrients,whichmakesitpossibletorecovermaterialscontainedinaproductandputthembackintootherproductionprocesses(Bastein,etal.2013;EllenMacArthurFoundation2012).Maintenance,reuse/redistributeandrefurbish/remanufacturearepreferredoptionscomparedtorecyclingsincesmallerinnerloopsretainthehighestvalue.Forexample,areportfromtheCircularEconomyTaskForce–agovernmentsupported,businessledgroupconvenedbyGreenAllianceintheUK–indicatesthatareusediPhoneretainsaround48%ofitsvalue,thevalueofreusingitscomponentsis28%,whereasitsvalueasrecyclateisjust0.24%ofitsoriginalvalue(BentonandHazell2013).

Atransitionfromalineartoacirculareconomyhasthepotentialtobenefitboththeenvironmentandtheeconomy(Bakker,etal.2014a;EllenMacArthurFoundationandMcKinseyCenterforBusinessandEnvironment2015;Gregson,etal.2015;HouseofCommons2014).Fromanenvironmentalpointofview,using‘waste’streamsasaresourcecouldprovidesecureandaffordablesuppliesofrawmaterials,thusreducingthepressureontheenvironmentconnectedwithprimaryextraction,processing,production,transportationanddisposal(Bastein,etal.2013;HislopandHill2011).Thiswouldalsogeneratenetsavingsforcompaniesonmaterialandenergycosts,whilereducingtheirdependencyonresourcemarketsandexposuretoresourcepricevolatilityandsupplyrisks(Accenture2014;Wallace,etal.2015).Apartfrombuildingresilience(bothatacompanyandnationallevel),amorecirculareconomycanalsoprovideopportunitiesforincreasedbusinesscompetitivenessandprofitability,whileboostingemployment(EuropeanCommission2011).

Intermsofeconomics,theEllenMacArthurFoundation(2012)estimatedthatatEuropeanlevelthecirculareconomyrepresentsamaterialcostsavingsopportunityofbetweenUSD380andUSD630billionperyear.IntheUK,materialssavingsofbetween£30-60billionareexpectedtobeachievedbyadoptingacircularapproachtodesigningandusingcars,vans,washingmachinesandmobilephones(EllenMacArthurFoundation2012).Basteinetal.(2013)estimatedthattheoverallimpactofmovingtowardsacirculareconomyintheNetherlandswouldbe€7.3billion,involvingthecreationofapproximately54,000jobs.

1.2CircularbusinessmodelsAcirculareconomyinwhichproductshavemultiplelifecycles(i.e.theinnerloopsinFigure2)requiresbusinessmodelsbasedonlongevity,reuse,repair,upgrade,refurbishment,renewability,capacitysharinganddematerialisation(Accenture2014;Wallace,etal.2015).Differentauthorshaveproposedvariouslistsof‘circularbusinessmodels’(alsoreferredtoas‘innovative’or‘resourceefficient’businessmodels).Table1comparestheclassificationsadoptedbyAccenture(2014),Bakkeretal.(2014b),Kiørboeetal.(2015)andREBUS(2015)bygroupingthemunderthebroadcategoriesof‘product-based’,‘service-based’,‘sharing-based’and‘supplychain-based’circularbusinessmodels.


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Table1 Circularbusinessmodels.

Accenture2014 Bakker,etal.2014b Kiørboe,etal.2015 REBUS2015

PRODUCT-BASED

Productlifeextensiona.Resellb.Repair/Upgradec.Remanufacture

ClassiclonglifemodelProductdesign Longlife

Reuse Incentivisedreturn&re-use

Repair

Hybridmodel

SERVICE-BASED

ProductasaservicePerformancemodel

Service-andfunctionbasedmodels ProductServiceSystem

Dematerialisedservices

Accessmodel Hire&Leasing

SHARING-BASED

Sharingplatforms Collaborativeconsumption

Collaborativeconsumption

SUPPLYCHAIN-BASED

MadetoorderCircularsupplies Recyclingandwaste

management

Resourcerecoverya.Re-/upcycleb.Wasteasaresourcec.Returningbyproducts

Assetmanagement

Gapexploitermodel Collectionofusedproducts

Product-basedcircularbusinessmodelsarebuiltaroundhighqualityproductsdesignedtolast(e.g.‘theclassiclonglifemodel’inBakker,etal.2014b;‘productdesign’inKiørboe,etal.2015;‘longlife’inREBUS2015)andoptimisedforbeinglaterdisassembled,remanufacturedandreused(e.g.‘reuse’and‘repair’modelsinKiørboe,etal.2015).Whenthesedurableproductsaresoldtotheconsumer(asopposedtobeingleasedorrented,i.e.service-basedcircularbusinessmodel),thereareincentivesoragreementsinplacetoensurethattheyarereturnedafteruse,collected,refurbishedandsoldforre-useonappropriatemarkets(e.g.‘productlifeextension’inAccenture2014;‘incentivisedreturn&reuse’inREBUS2015)(EllenMacArthurFoundation2012).Durableproductscanalsobecombinedwithdedicatedshort-livedconsumables(e.g.tonercartridges,coffeepads)whoserepeatsalegeneratestheprimaryrevenuestream(e.g.‘thehybridmodel’inBakker,etal.2014b).

Inservice-basedcircularbusinessmodelsthemanufacturerorretailerretainstheownershipoftheproduct(inordertointernalisethebenefitsofcircularresourceproductivity)andactsasaserviceprovider,thussellingtheuseof(oraccessto)theproductforalimitedperiodoftimeorafixedamountofcyclesratherthanitsone-wayconsumption(e.g.‘productasaservice’inAccenture2014;‘theaccessmodel’inBakker,etal.2014b;‘service-andfunctionbasedmodels’inKiørboe,etal.2015;‘productservicesystem’inREBUS2015)(EllenMacArthurFoundation2012).Whenaproductisleasedorrentedtotheconsumeranditsownershipremainswiththemanufacturerorretailer(e.g.‘hire&leasing’inREBUS2015),productdurability,alongerservicelife,lowermaintenanceload,loweruseofmaterials,


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easeofdisassemblyandrefurbishment,andtheexistenceofefficientandeffectivetake-backsystemsbecomeessentialforthemodeltofunction.Asecondpossibilityistoprovideaserviceofferingthebenefitsofaproduct(i.e.deliveringperformanceoutputs),withouttheneedforaphysicalproduct(e.g.‘performancemodel’inBakker,etal.2014b;‘dematerialisedservice’inREBUS2015).

Sharing-basedcircularbusinessmodelsenableanincreasedutilisationrateofproductsbymakingpossibletheirshareduse,accessorownership(e.g.‘sharingplatforms’inAccenture2014;‘collaborativeconsumption’inKiørboe,etal.2015andREBUS2015).Therentalofproductsbetweenconsumers(P2P)orbetweenbusinesses(B2B)cangenerateanincomefortheproductownerandprovidecheaperaccesstoaproductfortherenter.However,transactionscanalsobenon-incomebasedasinthecaseofP2Ponlineand/orofflineexchangeandre-use(REBUS2015).

Supplychain-basedcircularbusinessmodelsreducethequantityofrawmaterialsrequiredtomeetthemarketdemandbyrecoveringusefulresourcesorenergyoutofdisposedproductsandbyproducts.Thiscanbeattainedthroughinternalcollection,re-use,refurbishingandre-saleofusedproducts(e.g.‘resourcerecovery’inAccenture2014;‘assetmanagement’inREBUS2015)orthroughtheirrecycling(e.g.‘circularsupplies’inAccenture2014;‘recyclingandwastemanagement’inKiørboe,etal.2015).Table1alsoconsidersREBUS’s(2015)‘madetoorder’model–managingproductionastominimisematerialrequirementsandproducingonlywhendemandispresent,thusavoidingpotentiallossesfromover-stockingproducts–asasupplychain-basedcircularmodel.

TheclassificationproposedinTable1doesnotallocateBakkeretal.’s(2014b)‘gapexploitermodel’(i.e.modelsthatexploitvaluegapsintheexistingsystem,e.g.apersonwhorepairssmartphonesorsellssecond-handequipment)andREBUS’s(2015)‘collectionofusedproducts’(i.e.collectionbyaserviceprovidertoensureproducts/materialsarepassedontoanappropriatere-usesystem)underanyoftheproposedmacro-categories(i.e.product-,service-,sharing-andsupplychain-basedcircularbusinessmodels).Thetwobusinessmodelscouldfallunderanyofthefourcategories.

2.DesignforacirculareconomyDesignactsasbothabarriertoandacatalystformovingawayfromthecurrent‘take-make-dispose’linearmodeltoacirculareconomy(WallaceandRaingold2012).Severalauthors(e.g.ESA2013;RSA2013;WallaceandRaingold2012)reportthatapproximately80%ofaproduct’senvironmentalimpactis‘lockedin’atthedesignstage,whenmaterialchoicesaremadeandthedurabilityoftheproduct,itseaseofreuse,disassembly,repair,upgradability,refurbishmentandrecyclingisdetermined(EuropeanEnvironmentalBureau2015).

Manyproductsarecurrentlydesignedandmanufacturedastominimiseproductioncostsandstimulatetheirfastreplacement.Moreover,theircomplexitymakeseffectiveandefficientrecoverydifficultorevenimpossible(Bastein,etal.2013;BentonandHazell2013).


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Bycontrast,inacirculareconomyproductsneedtobedesignedfor‘closed-loops’,allowingformanylifecyclesanduserswhileoptimisingtheenvironmentaleffectsofthematerialsemployed(Accenture2014).Thismeansdesigningproductstobeusedlonger,reused,repaired,upgraded,remanufacturedandeventuallyrecycled(EuropeanEnvironmentalBureau2015;EllenMacArthurFoundation2012;HislopandHill2011;Wallace,etal.2015).Furthermore,theyneedtobeadaptedtogeneraterevenuesnotonlyatpointofsalebutalsoduringuse(e.g.throughtheirmaintenance,upgrade,orshare)andbesupportedbylow-costreturnchainandreprocessing(Accenture2014;HislopandHill2011).

Currently,therearefewstudiesthatlinkdesigntoacirculareconomy.TheGreatRecoveryproject–launchedin2012intheUKbytheRoyalSocietyfortheencouragementofArts,ManufacturesandCommerce(RSA)andtheTechnologyStrategyBoard(TSB)–aimedatspecificallyinvestigatingtheroleofdesigninacirculareconomy.Four‘designmodels’wereidentified(Figure3),whicharedirectlyassociatedwiththedifferentcyclesproposedbytheEllenMacArthurFoundation’s(2012)model(Table2):(i)‘designforlongevity’entailsdesigningproductsthathavealonglifespan,extendedthroughtheirupgrade,fixingandrepair;(ii)‘designforservice’enablessharingandleasingarrangements,aswellasproductreuseandredistributionthroughdigitalplatforms;(iii)‘designforre-useinmanufacture’createstheconditionsforproductrefurbishmentandremanufacture;and(iv)‘designformaterialrecovery’supportseffectiveend-of-lifematerialrecoverability.

Figure3 Designforcircularitydiagram(RSA2013,p.34).ReproducedwithpermissionfromtheRSA.


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Table2 Circulareconomyloopsandassociateddesignstrategies.

CIRCULARECONOMYLOOPS(EllenMacArthurFoundation2012)

DESIGNSTRATEGIES(RSA2013)

Maintenance Designforlongevity

Reuse/Redistribute Designforservice

Refurbish/Remanufacture Designforre-useinmanufacture

Recycle DesignformaterialrecoveryBakkerandcolleagues(Bakker,etal.2014a,2014b)haveconductedextensiveresearchonhowproductdesigncanaddressproductlifeextension(throughlongerproductlife,refurbishmentandremanufacturing)andproductrecyclinginacirculareconomy.Intheirrecentlypublishedbook‘Productsthatlast’,Bakkeretal.(2014b)haveproposedamethodologyforapplyingcircularbusinessmodelsandthefollowingsix‘designstrategiesforalongproductlifespan’toproductsatdifferentstagesoftheirlifecycle(i.e.introduction,growth,maturityanddecline):

• Designforattachmentandtrust• Designfordurability• Designforstandardisationandcompatibility• Designforeaseofmaintenanceandrepair• Designforadaptabilityandupgradability• Designfordis-andreassembly

3.Theeconomic,politicalandculturalbarrierstothecirculareconomyWhileafewattemptstoimplementcircularbusinessmodelsanddesignapproachesinto(B2BorB2C)commercialpropositionshavebeenmade(e.g.oftencitedexamplesincludePhilips’s‘Pay-per-lux’modelorBundles’spay-per-usemodelforwashingmachines),thesehavenotyetbeenimplementedonalargescaleandtheiruptakeonthemarketisstillverylimited(Bastein,etal.2013;Gregson,etal.2015;Tukker2015).Therearesignificanteconomic,politicalandculturalbarriersthatneedtobeovercomeforthecirculareconomytobecomemainstream(EuropeanCommission2014c;WallaceandRaingold2012).

3.1EconomicbarriersFromabusinessperspective,operatinginacirculareconomyrequiresasignificantchangeinbusinessplanningandstrategy(Accenture2014).Furthermore,companiesshiftingtoacirculareconomyfaceeconomicchallengesthatrangefromtheriskofcannibalisation(e.g.theintroductionofaservice-basedpropositionmighthaveanegativeimpactonthesalesperformanceofthecompany’sproductportfolio)tofinancialrisk(e.g.leasingarrangementsrequiremanufacturerstomakehigherinitialinvestmentsandfinancingofupfrontproductioncosts).Inaddition,amorewidespreadreuseofproductsisexpectedtolowerthe


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salesofnewproducts,thusweakeningbusinessrevenueandprofits(EllenMacArthurFoundation2012;WallaceandRaingold2012).

Nevertheless,acirculareconomyislargelyportrayedasofferingnewbusinessopportunities,strengtheningcompetitiveness,generatingemployment(e.g.inthelogisticsservicessector)andoutweighingthecostsinthelongrun(Accenture2014;Bastein,etal.2013;EllenMacArthurFoundation2012;WallaceandRaingold2012).

3.2PoliticalbarriersManyeconomicobstaclescouldbeovercomebychangingexistingpolicies,rulesandregulations(WallaceandRaingold2012).Currently,naturalresourcesareconsideredas“free”commoditiesandtheireconomicvalueisnotproperlyaccountedforonthemarket(EuropeanCommission2011).Thelowcostofvirginmaterialsmakestheuseofrecycledorreusedpartslessappealingforcompanies.Furthermore,rulesandregulationsinforcetendtotreatend-of-lifeproductsas‘wastetogetridof’ratherthanaresource(e.g.rawmaterialsthatcanfeedbackintheproductionsystem)(Bastein,etal.2013)andrecyclatestrugglestomeetthequalitystandardsdemandedbythemarketforrecycledproducts(Gregson,etal.2015).

Toavoidthis,measuresthatareoftenadvocatedbyproponentsofacirculareconomyincludetheintroductionoftaxinitiatives(e.g.shiftingtaxationfromlabourtoresources;implementingtaxpremiumsfortheuseofregeneratedresources;reducingtherateofVAToncircularservicessuchasrepairsandreuseofcomponents),settingrecyclingtargetsforindustries,makingcompaniesresponsibleforproductsthroughouttheirlifecycle,andcreatinganinternationalstandarddefinitionofwaste(Accenture2014;Bastein,etal.2013).

3.3CulturalbarriersCulturalresistancecouldalsopreventtheimplementationanduptakeofcircularbusinessmodelsinthemarket(EllenMacArthurFoundation2012).Acirculareconomyrequiresachangeinbusinesspracticesaswellasconsumerbehaviour(EllenMacArthurFoundationandMcKinseyCenterforBusinessandEnvironment2015).Leasingmodels,pay-per-useschemes,productswithsharedownershipandpersonalisedmaintenanceorupgradeservicesdependuponashifttowardsaccessoverownershipandrepairoverrepurchase(Gregson,etal.2015;WallaceandRaingold2012).Basteinetal.(2013)arguethatconsumers’cravingformaterialpossessions,theirsensitivitytothelatestfashion,theimportanceattributedtoprice(asopposedto,forexample,lookingatwhetheraproductcontainssustainablerawmaterialsoritcanbeeasilydisassembled)andshort-termconsiderations(e.g.lookingatthepriceofaproductratherthanitsentirelifecyclecosts)areallpossiblebarrierstomovingtowardsamorecirculareconomy.

Whilesomeauthors(e.g.EllenMacArthurFoundation2012;WallaceandRaingold2012)consideranon-goingsocietalshifttowardsaccessratherthanownership(suchasleasingmobilephonesandcarclubs)asapromisingtrendforthewidermarketpenetrationof


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circularbusinessmodels,thereissomeconsensusontheneedforconsumeracceptancetogrowsignificantlytomakecirculareconomyamainstreamparadigm(EuropeanCommission2014c;WallaceandRaingold2012).

4.TheuntappedpotentialofdesigningforbehaviourchangeResearchondesigninthecontextofthecirculareconomyhasbeenlargelylimitedtotheidentificationofdesignstrategiesforcircularbusinessmodels,productsandservices(e.g.Bakker,etal.2014a,2014b;McDonoughandBraungart2002;RSA2013).Astheculturalbarriersdescribedabovesuggest,theseoftenrequireconsumerstochangetheirbehaviour.However,littleattentionhasbeendevotedsofartothepotentialofDesignforBehaviourChange(DfBC)tofosterthetransitionfromalineartoacirculareconomy.Thissectiondiscusseshowthisemergingfieldofdesignresearchcouldaccountforbehaviouralfactorsandaddressconsumeracceptance,thuscontributingtothewiderintroductionanddiffusionofcircularbusinessmodels,productsandservicesinthemarket.

4.1The(underexplored)consumerdimensioninthecirculareconomyMostavailableliteratureonthecirculareconomyconsistsofreportsproducedbyvariousorganisations(e.g.Bastein,etal.2013;BentonandHazell2013,2014;EllenMacArthurFoundation2012;HislopandHill2011;WallaceandRaingold2012;Wallace,etal.2015)andbusinessconsultancies(e.g.Accenture2014;JWT2014).Thesepublicationsstrivetomakethebusinesscaseformovingtowardsacirculareconomy,whilegovernmentssupporttheircausebyexploringwhatactionscanbetakentofacilitatethetransitionandremoveexistingregulatoryhurdles(e.g.HouseofCommons2014;EuropeanCommission2011,2014a,2014b,2014c;Kiørboe,etal.2015;RLI2015).Sofarthecirculareconomyhasbeenmainlyportrayed“asanidealisedproducer-ledmodel”towhichacademicstendtoattributeinherentpositivevaluesbyvirtueofitspossiblecontributiontosustainabledevelopment(cf.Gregson,etal.2015,p.225).Whilethispaperdoesnotgointothemeritsofwhetherornotperfectresourcecircularitycanbeachieved(e.g.Gregson,etal.2015;Moreno,etal.2014)ortheethicsofdesignforbehaviourchange(e.g.LilleyandWilson2013;PettersenandBoks2008),thissectiondrawsattentiontohowcurrentdiscourseonthecirculareconomyhastendedtounderestimatetheroleplayedbyconsumersinthetransitionfromalineartoacirculareconomy.

Theconsumerdimensioninthecirculareconomyremainslargelyunexplored,whichisatoddswiththefactthatmostcircularbusinessmodelsrequire(andrelyon)asignificantchangeinconsumerbehaviourandconsumptionpatterns.Howconsumersviewandinterprettheirroleinacirculareconomyisasyetunclear(Bastein,etal.2013)anddifferent(ifnotcontradicting)evidenceandassumptionsfeatureintheliteraturereviewed.Forexample,consumeracceptanceisdescribedasamajorbarriertothetransitiontowardsacirculareconomybyWallaceandRaingold(2012),whereasitisexpectedtosimplyoccurwhencircularbusinesspracticehasreachedatippingpointintheEllenMacArthurFoundation’s(2012)report.Resultsofastudyontheneedsandconcernsofcitizensabout


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the‘BiobasedEconomy’conductedbyTertiumandtheCSGCentreforSocietyandtheLifeSciencesintheNetherlandsdemonstratehowthematterofconsumeracceptanceofcircularbusinessmodelsisacomplexoneandneedsfurtherinvestigation.

“Thecirculareconomyseemstodovetailwellwithcitizens’viewsofabiobasedeconomy.Manybelievethattheyshould‘bemoreconsciousaboutrawmaterials,recyclingandreducingwaste’(My2030’s,p.24).Butproductservicesystemsareadifferentstory.‘Thatisnottrueyetforasignificantvariationofthecirculareconomy:“theleasesociety”,inwhichconsumers’belongingsareallprettymuchonloaninsteadofowned....Thisvisionofthefutureevokesafundamentaldiscussion.A“leasesociety”isadesirablethingforsomepeople,whileforothersitisanunrealisticandundesirablevisionofthefuture’.”(Bastein,etal.2013,p.76)

AfewempiricalstudieshaverecentlyattemptedtofillthisgapinknowledgebyexploringconsumeracceptanceofPSSs(e.g.Antikainen,etal.2015;Lidenhammar2015)andrefurbishedproducts(e.g.vanWeelden,etal.2016).Thelatter,inparticular,analysedthefactorsinfluencingconsumeracceptanceofrefurbishedmobilephonesateachphaseoftheconsumerdecision-makingprocess(i.e.pre-purchase,orientation,evaluationandpost-purchasephase)andsuggestedsomepracticalguidelinestoincreaseconsumeracceptance.Thethree-stepapproachproposed–‘attract’,‘convince’and‘involve’–aimsatpurposefullychangingconsumerbehaviourthroughdesign.

4.2DesignforbehaviourchangeDesignforBehaviourChange–anemergingfieldofdesignresearchandpracticethatfocusesontheinfluenceofdesignonhumanbehaviour–hassomeuntappedpotentialtobeappliedinthecontextofacirculareconomy.ThissectionprovidesabriefoverviewofDfBC(foraliteraturereviewseeBhamraandLilley2015;Niedderer,etal.2014;Wever2012)andhowitcouldcontributetoawideracceptanceofcircularbusinessmodels.

DfBCdrawsfromdifferenttheoriesinthebehaviouralandsocialsciencesinordertounderstandhumanbehaviourandhowthiscanbechangedbyandthroughdesigninkeyareassuchassustainability,healthandwellbeing,safetyandsocialdesign.DfBCstrategiesandapproachesareasdiverseasthetheoriesthatinformthem.Sometheoriesaddressbehaviourbylookingatthecognitionoftheindividual,othersbyaccountingforthecontextinwhichthebehaviourtakesplace,andothersagainmediatethemiddlegroundbetweenindividualandcontextualunderstandingsofhumanbehaviour(Niedderer,etal.2014)(Figure4).


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Figure4 Nieddereretal.’s(2014,p.52)categorisationofDesignforBehaviourChangeapproachesin

relationtobehaviouraltheories.ReproducedwithpermissionfromProfKristinaNiedderer.

Forexample,theapproachproposedbyvanWeeldenetal.(2016)toincreaseconsumeracceptanceofrefurbishedproductsisinformedbybehaviouraleconomicstheoriesandfallsunderthecategoryofDesignforSustainableBehaviourstrategies(seealsoLilleyandWilson2013).Aimedatreducingthenegativeenvironmentalandsocialimpactsofproductsbymoderatingusers’interactionwiththem,thesestrategiesusuallydrawonmechanismssuchasfeedback,constraintsandaffordancesaswellaspersuasivetechnology(i.e.technologythatisintentionallydesignedtochangeaperson’sattitudeorbehaviour).However,theeffectivenessof‘attract-convince-involve’interventionsinpracticestillneedstobetestedanditisnotyetknownwhethertheycouldalsobeappliedtoothercircularbusinessmodels(e.g.PSSs,collaborativeconsumption).

Moregenerally,DesignforSustainableBehaviourapproacheshavebeencriticisedbyproponentsofPractice-orienteddesign(informedbysocialpracticetheory)for:

• theirfocusonincrementalsavingsthattendtodisappearinlargertrends(e.g.inthecaseofrefurbishedmobilephones,materialsavingsachievedcanbereducedornullifiedbythetrendofshorteninglifespansofmobilephones);

• ariskoffailingtoachievetheintendedbehaviourchangeorevenattainingoppositeeffectsofthoseaimedfor(e.g.higheracceptanceofcheaperrefurbishedmobilephonescouldeventuallyincreasethefrequencyandnumberofmobilephonespurchasedbyanindividual);

• astrongrhetoricofrightandwrongbehavioursthatispresentintheDesignforSustainableBehaviourliterature(e.g.itisinherentlyassumedthatbuyingarefurbishedmobilephoneismoredesirablethanbuyinganewone);


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• arisktomissopportunitiesonlargerscalesofchangeduetoafocusontheindividualconsumerlevel(KuijerandBakker2015).

Practice-orienteddesignisbelievedtoovercometheselimitationsbylookingatconsumptionastheresultofmoreorlessresourceintensivesocialpractices(e.g.eating,showering,driving)ratherthanindividualconsumerchoice(Shove,etal.2012).Assuch,opportunitiesforsustainabledesignarisefromthepossibilitytomodifyordisruptexistingpractices(asopposedtochangingconsumerbehaviour)andestablishnewones(KuijeranddeJong2012).Thiscanbeachievedbyprovidingnewmaterialelementsthatcanbeintegratedintonovelpractices(KuijeranddeJong2012)orchallengingexistingnormstocreatenewwaysoflivinganddoing(Scottetal.2012).

Practice-orienteddesignisstillinitsinfancyandthereareonlyafewexamplesofitsapplicationinempiricalstudies.Moreover,thesestudiesdonotdirectlyaddressconsumeracceptanceofnovelpractices,whichisparamountinthecontextofacirculareconomytoensurethatcircularbusinessmodels(andtheirassociatedpractices)arewellreceivedbythemarket.Apromisingwaytoaccountforconsumeracceptanceindevelopingcircularbusinessmodels,productsandservicesistolookatthetwo-wayrelationshipbetweenconsumersandmeanings(i.e.culturalconventionsandsocialexpectations)thatunderlietheirassociatedpractices(e.g.buyingrefurbishedproducts,sharing,repairing).Preliminaryresearchinthisdirectionsuggeststhatthedynamicsoftherelationship–mediatedbyindividualvaluesandperceptionsofvalue(i.e.theperceivedconvenienceandpracticalityofacertainbehaviour/practice)–isabletoexplainacceptance(orrejection)ofsometypesofcircularbusinessmodels(e.g.collaborativeconsumption)(seealsoPiscicelli,etal.2015).

5.Conclusion:SettingtheDfBCresearchagendaforacirculareconomyThecirculareconomyaimsatdecouplinggrowthfromthepressureofproductionandconsumptiononworld’sfiniteresourcesandtheenvironment(EuropeanCommission2014a).Theconceptisgainingmomentumandincreasingrecognitionatinternationallevel,withtheEuropeanCommissionadoptingitaspartofbothitsresourceefficiencyandwastepolicyprogrammes(HouseofCommons2014;EuropeanCommission2011,2014a,2014b,2014c).Basedontheideaofeliminatingwastefromtheindustrialchainbycreating‘closed-loops’throughwhichresourcescanberecoveredtogeneratevalue,thecirculareconomypromisessignificantsavingsonproductioncostsandlessdependenceonvirginmaterialsandscarceresources,thusreducingcompanies’exposuretofluctuatingcommodityprices(HouseofCommons2014).

Thereare,however,fewexamplesofcircularbusinessmodelsinthemarket.Thisismainlyduetotheexistenceofoutstandingeconomic,politicalandculturalbarriershinderingthetransitiontoacirculareconomy.ThispaperfocussedonthelatterandsuggestedthatconsumeracceptancecouldbeaddressedbyintegratingDfBCknowledgeinthedevelopmentofcircularbusinessmodels,productsandservices.DesignforSustainable


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BehaviourandPractice-orienteddesignhavebeenpresentedastwoalternativeapproachesthatcouldbeappliedinthecontextofthecirculareconomy.Theformeroffersinsightsonhowtoinfluenceconsumerdecisionmakingtowardscircularbusinessmodels,whereasthelatterhassomeuntappedpotentialtoaddresstheirconsumeracceptancebycapturingtheinterplaybetweenindividualvalues,perceptionofvalueandmeaningsunderlyingcirculareconomy-relatedpractices.

DespitetheexistingdifferencesbetweenDesignforSustainableBehaviourandPractice-orienteddesign,integratingDfBC(andtheirunderpinningtheoriesfromthesocialsciences)inthedesignforacirculareconomycouldensureabetterunderstandingofconsumerbehaviourandtheenablingconditionsforachievingamorewidespreadconsumeracceptanceofcircularbusinessmodels.Inparticular,itcouldoffervaluableinsightsonhowtostimulatedemandforremanufacturedgoods,second-handproductsandleasingarrangements,howtosupportthesharingofconsumerproducts,andhowtoencouragerepairingandmaintenanceactivitiesthatcouldhelptoextendtheproductlifespan.

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AbouttheAuthors:

Laura Piscicelli is a post-doctoral researcher at the University ofTwente (theNetherlands). She holds a PhD fromNottinghamTrentUniversity (UK). Laura’s research interests include sustainableproduction and consumption, consumer behaviour, design forbehaviour change, collaborative consumption and the circulareconomy.

GekeLuddenisassistantprofessorintheInteractionDesigngroupatthe University of Twente. Her work focuses onthe (theoreticallyinformed)developmentandevaluationofproductsandservicesthatsupport healthybehaviouror that otherwise contribute to people’swellbeing.

the potential of design for behaviour change to foster the ... · (ellen macarthur foundation and...

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