Consumer information: a strategy for circularity
Małgorzata Grzywińska-Rąpca (University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland) Nelson Duarte (School of Management and Technology, Porto Polytechnic, Portugal)Motivation
Interest in the circular economy is growing from government, business, society and academia. It is widely recognized that the transition from a linear economy model to a circular economy model brings environmental, social and financial benefits. According to Kirchherr’s definition of the circular economy, circular consumption is the process of acquiring, appropriating, appreciating, devaluing, selling and disposing of products and services that allows for the reduction or alternatively reuse, recycling and recovery of materials (Mentink, 2014; Kirchherr, Reike and Hekkert 2017).
In December 2019 the European Commission presented the European Green Deal, that aims to make the European Continent as the first climate-neutral. For that several measures and regulations have been approved. Among those documents some might be referred: A New Industrial Strategy for Europe and An SME Strategy for a Sustainable and Digital Europe. In both documents is clear the concern in supporting the European Industry for the twin transition that companies are facing. Another relevant document, and one of the main blocks of the European Green Deal published in 2020 was the Circular Economy Action Plan[1] targeting several activity sectors, such as electronics and ICT, batteries and vehicles, packaging, plastics, textiles, construction and buildings, food, water and nutrients. With this plan, among others one of the objectives is to empower customers and public buyers. One of the measures to empower customers is the Digital Product Passport (Walden et al., 2021; King et al., 2023).
Efficient use or reuse of resources and the resulting lower overall expenditure on resources, energy, emissions and waste leakage can reduce negative environmental impacts without reducing welfare, while achieving a better balance between the economy, environment and society (Manninen et al. 2018; Geissdoerfer et al. 2018). However, the transition to a circular economy requires an active role from several stakeholders such as companies, governments and consumers. This must be a global change required and accepted by all. If we will be able to do this, as argued by many, this change to a circular economy might be a great opportunity for new businesses and businesses models (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2015).
According to some authors, one of the main barriers to the development of the circular economy is market support or consumer demand. In (Rizos et al. 2016)response to such a thesis, it is important to conduct research and analysis on changes in consumer behavior in the context of the circular economy. Important from the researcher’s point of view is the “new” definition and classification of consumers and the process of consumer consumption, as well as detailed explanations of what closed circulation means for consumption and the role of consumers.
References
Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2015). Growth within: a circular economy vision for a competitive Europe, Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Available at: https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/growth-within-a-circular-economy-vision-for-a-competitive-europe
Geissdoerfer, M., Morioka, S.N., De Carvalho, M.M., & Evans, S. (2018). Business Models and Supply Chains for the Circular Economy. Journal of Cleaner Production 190, 712–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.04.159
King, M. R. N., Timms, P. D., & Mountney, S. (2023). A proposed universal definition of a Digital Product Passport Ecosystem (DPPE): Worldviews, discrete capabilities, stakeholder requirements and concerns. Journal of Cleaner Production, 384, 135538. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2022.135538
Kirchherr, J., Reike, D., & Hekkert, M. (2017). Conceptualizing the Circular Economy: An Analysis of 114 Definitions. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 127 (September), 221–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.09.005
Manninen, K., Koskela, S., Antikainen, R., Bocken, N., Dahlbo, H., & Aminoff, A. (2018). Do Circular Economy Business Models Capture Intended Environmental Value Propositions? Journal of Cleaner Production 171, 413–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.10.003
Mentink, B. (2014). Circular Business Model Innovation: A process framework and a tool for business model innovation in a circular economy, Delft University of Technology. Deft University of Technology & Leiden University. Available at: https://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid:c2554c91-8aaf-4fdd-91b7-4ca08e8ea621
Rizos, V., Behrens, A., Kafyeke, T., Hirschnitz Garbers, M., & Ioannou, A. (2021). The Circular Economy: Barriers and Opportunities for SMEs; CEPS: Brussels, Belgium, 2015.
Walden, J., Steinbrecher, A., & Marinkovic, M. (2021). Digital Product Passports as Enabler of the Circular Economy. Chemie-Ingenieur-Technik 93, 11. https://doi.org/10.1002/cite.202100121
[1] https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/circular-economy-action-plan_en
