HOW CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT CAN DRIVE CIRCULARITY
A Report by GlobeScan and GreenBiz We need to be working “ together to ensure that our lifestyles, our consumption and everything that is associated with becoming more circular is the result of the fact that each choice a consumer makes is a good choice. ” introduction
The shift to a more circular economy offers a compelling solution to the way the world currently conducts business. Circularity has the potential to change economic systems and help avoid devastating impacts to our climate and society.
The concepts that provide the foundation for circularity can be found throughout history, but post-World War II saw a radical shift by both consumers and industry to a hyper-linear economic model of take-make-waste. Factors such as environmental degradation, resource constraints and consumer sentiment are forcing a reassessment of this linear model and point to a path forward for circularity.
But circularity cannot happen in a vacuum. Migrating to a circular economy requires systemic change, not only to current business models, but also to consumption patterns. Much of the recent writing about circularity highlights the importance of a collective commitment and a need for greater collaboration by industry, government and non-governmental entities. Perhaps most critically, success will require consumers to play an important role in shifting the paradigm as they have the power to choose every time they make a purchase.
For this white paper, we engaged 20 experts from around the world to get their views on the pathway to a more circular economy. The thought leaders we spoke with were selected because of their expertise and contributions in the area.
These conversations build on GlobeScan’s latest global consumer research, entitled Healthy & Sustainable Living: A Global Consumer Insights Project. The
A Report by GlobeScan and GreenBiz 3 study involved 25,000 people across 25 countries and partners, including GlobeScan, IKEA, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, VF Corp., Visa, and WWF International, with the objective of helping companies and other influential actors better understand the barriers and enablers of living in a way that is good for people and the planet.
This report identifies barriers that may inhibit circularity from scaling and explores how to effectively engage consumers as a driver toward a more circular economy. Our intention is to help companies and other influential actors to work together to catalyze more sustainable consumption. We believe that circular business models have tremendous potential to do so.
barriers to consumer engagement
There are significant barriers to enticing consumers of consumers also point to a lack of support from to embrace the concepts associated with circularity. business and 27 percent admit to not knowing how to Some are economical and some are cultural. do it, again highlighting the need for more consumer The experts we interviewed recognize that the education around achieving a more sustainable most prominent among these barriers is a lack of lifestyle. knowledge of how to participate in a Our experts also notice that there are other barriers to circular economy. introducing the concepts associated with circularity, When consumers across the 25 countries surveyed in such as culturally embedded objections to reuse, GlobeScan’s 2019 Healthy & Sustainable Living project or substituting services for product ownership, were asked to indicate the most significant barriers although there are clear disparities across cultures, to improving their lifestyles to be healthier and more generations and social strata in terms of how sustainable, nearly half indicate that affordability (49 consumers value and perceive their quality of life percent) and lack of support from government (47 and the value of owning a product or using a service. percent) are two major obstacles. Thirty-one percent These cultural and generational differences can also
4 How Consumer Engagement Can Drive Circularity Barriers to Improving Lifestyle to Be More Healthy and Sustainable Average of 25 Countries, 2019