1Helping our models transition toward a circular economy requires efforts by the private sector actors involved in producing goods and services, public sector actors regulating the economic and social spheres, and consumers, whose purchasing choices influence businesses’ current and future strategies. So, how can we nurture the emergence of new ways of consuming and producing? To answer this question, we need to examine the levers at our disposal for shifting the behavior of individuals, authorities and businesses. From new lifestyles and public policies to management indicators and industrial strategies, countless mechanisms exist for influencing the behavior of socio-economic actors and fostering the rollout of circular practices.

Alter consumer behavior

2The transition to a circular economy depends on the participation of consumers, who drive companies’ demand for new products manufactured at low cost in emerging economies. The challenge here is to switch from mass consumption within a paradigm of limitless resources to lifestyles that are more environmentally friendly. Moving beyond reuse, recycling and eco-design, Professor Valérie Guillard from Paris-Dauphine University invites us to change our relationship with the world, rooted in our knowledge, skills and attitudes, encouraging us to shift to less resource-intensive lifestyles where quality is valued above quantity.

Rethink legal frameworks

3While consumers appear increasingly receptive to environmental considerations, their buying habits still need directing and guiding so they can identify the products that are the most sustainable. This is the idea behind France’s law on the circular economy and combatting waste (AGEC), passed on February 17, 2020, and outlined for us by HOP, an NGO actively involved in drafting the new law alongside manufacturers and retailers of electronic devices, repairers and public bodies. This collective process led to the creation of an incentive-based scheme that will provide consumers with more information about the reparability and durability of electronic products while also promoting access to repair services at lower cost. At the local level, the example set by the town council in Aalborg, Denmark, shows how public and private sector actors can cooperate to transform municipalities’ procurement practices and encourage businesses to change their habits in a wide range of spheres, from IT equipment to children’s play areas.

The ambivalence of digital technology

4In addition, Xavier Verne, from the Shift Project, stresses the importance of taking into account the material footprint of digital technology, given that only 17% of electronic waste is recycled worldwide, and that it is difficult for companies to take into account, in their environmental assessments, the carbon impact of materials extraction and electronic equipment manufacturing. If digital technology can contribute to the emergence of more virtuous uses and behaviors in terms of consumption and mobility, it can also generate side effects if its impact is not analyzed throughout the value chain

Develop industrial symbioses inspired by nature

5Shifting to a circular economy also means looking to the natural world for inspiration, primarily by developing industrial symbioses that center on flows of materials and energy that are exchanged between regional businesses. Zhao Kai, Vice-President and Secretary General of the China Circular Economy Association, explains how Chinese policy aims to foster ecological transformation at industrial parks and describes a series of projects for green industrial parks developed in China to encourage synergies between actors from different sectors, including metallurgy, energy and agri-food.

Define circularity indicators

6It is critical that new management tools are created to drive the rollout of circular practices within businesses. Specifically, businesses need new indicators for defining targets and measuring their performance in this area. However, circularity indicators represent a complex issue that requires establishing a delicate balance between effectively addressing the systemic nature of exchanges of flows and materials and ensuring the clarity of information provided to pilot corporate strategies as accurately as possible. This painstaking work has been undertaken by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. In this issue they present two tools for measuring circularity: Circulytics and the Circular Transition Indicators.

Promote industrial partnerships and cooperation

7Aside from the question of how collective actions can be piloted, many technical obstacles face industrial companies seeking to transform their production processes so they can reduce their environmental impact, whether in terms of materials used or waste generated. SEB and Veolia describe how they set about creating an industrial cooperation project based on the introduction of recycled materials into the plastics production process. The initiative enabled them to solve an array of technical obstacles and lay the structural groundwork for a new-look production sector.