Consumption patterns and environmental awareness as enablers of transition to circular economy

The transition to a circular economy is key to reducing pressures on natural resources. It is also a prerequisite to achieve the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality target and to halt biodiversity loss. Sustainable consumption and production are key elements in the societal transition to a competitive circular and sustainable economy. Decoupling economic activities and human well-being from natural resource use and environmental impacts is essential and necessary. As part of the transition, with the emergence of circular and sustainable products, consumers will play an even more important role in making sustainable choices. Consumer empowerment encourages sustainable choices, which in return contribute to pollution reduction and climate neutrality.

Proposals should address the gaps in public awareness about the environmental impacts of the mainstream consumption patterns and between prevalent consumer knowledge/awareness and actual behaviour. Proposals should make use of social innovation and should analyse and identify the economic, social, behavioural, psychological, technical and legal barriers and levers for the uptake of circular and sustainable products, solutions and services. The analysis should address relevant aspects of fairness, equality, diversity, inclusion, and gender.

Proposals should first assess the patterns and underlying motivations of consumption habits through experimentation within various cultural, geographical, social, demographic, and economic groups. Based on this assessment, projects should draw and evaluate possible pathways to behavioural change of various economic actors (municipalities, companies including retailers and service providers, end-users) to enable the transition to circular and sustainable economy. These pathways should show how to change the demand for products and services with high environmental impacts and resource intensity, towards more circular and sustainable ones, including used and second-hand products, sharing services, repairability and durability. Possible environmental impacts in this context should be seen from a lifecycle perspective, including and valuing in monetary terms environmental externalities and building on rules set in Environmental Footprint methods wherever possible. The pathways should include policy, governance and business recommendations in all relevant areas (economic, behavioural, educational, technical, legal, cultural, etc.).

Power imbalances between industry and civil society should be addressed, and the impact and potential of Ecodesign, Ecolabel, green claims, and of digital infrastructures and Digital Product Passports should be explored with a view to changing vantage points and consumer behaviour.

Convincing narratives, framing strategies and storytelling tactics should be developed, improving knowledge of selling points, i.e. which features and qualities make a product or service attractive for consumers.

Proposals should explore the territorial and geographical dimensions of consumption patterns, and aim at synergies with the New European Bauhaus and the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI). Proposals are strongly encouraged to organise joint activities, ensure synergies and undertake clustering activities with CCRI projects and the CCRI CSO.

For this topic, the engagement of citizens and civil society in the project activities is central to achieving the targeted outcomes. This topic also requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.

Proposals are encouraged to consider, where relevant, the services offered by European research infrastructures such as ESS ERIC or other relevant research infrastructures[[ The catalogue of European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) research infrastructures portfolio can be browsed from ESFRI website https://ri-portfolio.esfri.eu/]].(opens in new window)

The JRC may provide expertise in circular economy policy and foster coordination with on-going related activities and participate, potentially, in the projects Scientific Advisory Board.