A roadmap developed by Monash University’s BehaviourWorks Australia has identified three key consumer trends needed to achieve a circular economy: borrowing/renting, second-hand sourcing and buying long-term items.
The Behavioural Roadmap to Circular Consumption claimed these are the key areas where policy makers and industry can intervene in the production/consumption cycle to reduce Australia’s material footprint and encourage an efficient use of limited resources to combat the waste crisis.
Different from a carbon footprint, a material footprint is an indicator of raw material extraction used to meet the final demand of the economy.
Available online at Monash University, the Behavioural Roadmap sets out connections between all parties, consumers and their behaviours to better understand relationships and influences in the system.
Together with the online behavioural system map, Monash added that policy makers can explore these connections to develop or review systemic behavioural public policies that encourage 'responsible consumption' and reduce Australia's material footprint.
Lead researcher Jennifer Macklin said the connections are between consumers and other stakeholders in the system such as designers, producers, importers, retailers, service providers, as well as government and the civil sector.
“The point is that we're not just placing responsibility on consumers, but looking at the roles of everyone in the production and consumption cycle,” Macklin said.
“It’s the first time policy makers have a tool that highlights the behaviours with the most transformation potential in order to achieve a circular economy.
“The Behavioural Roadmap highlights eight core circular behaviours as options consumers and policy makers could adopt to help reduce Australia’s material footprint, including three key places that policy makers can intervene to speed up the transformation of the whole-of-production and consumption system.”
This includes encouraging both individual and organisational consumers to borrow or rent items instead of buying, mainstreaming second-hand sourcing for individual consumers and exploring scalable practices for organisations, and ensuring retailed products are built to last, through minimum design and import standards, and then including 'built to last' into sustainable and circular procurement policies of organisations.
“The impact of consumer demand on product choice is well known but a change at any stage of the supply chain can also influence customer action beyond simply what products are placed on the market,” Macklin said.
“Third-party service providers and community organisations can also influence consumers, while government and civil society can also have a direct, and indirect impact respectively on all stakeholders.”