The potential of Design for Behaviour Change to foster the transition to a circular economy

Laura Piscicelli, Geke Ludden
2016 DRS2016: Future-Focused Thinking   unpublished
The negative environmental, social and economic effects of overconsumption and a throwaway culture have exposed the limits of traditional linear 'take-make-dispose' production and consumption patterns. Recently, the shift to a 'circular economy' has attracted growing interest as a possible pathway towards more sustainable ways of producing and consuming. Circular business models (e.g. product-service systems, hiring and leasing schemes, collaborative consumption, incentivised return and reuse)
more » ... im to keep resources in use for longer, extract maximum value from them whilst in use, and recover and regenerate products or components when they reach their end of life. However, these innovative propositions often encounter important corporate, regulatory and cultural barriers to their introduction. This paper discusses how Design for Behaviour Change (DfBC)with a focus on Design for Sustainable Behaviour and Practice-oriented designcould contribute to address the latter and foster the transition to a circular economy.
doi:10.21606/drs.2016.489 fatcat:qq2vl2lemfe7bnazdxutifmhxu