Abstract for: Could System Dynamics be a solution for analysing rebound effects of Circular Economy initiatives?

Circular Economy (CE) is widely recognised as a promising approach for sustainable development. However, when circular activities can cause a counterintuitive enhancement of the production levels, which reduces their expected benefit (i.e. lead to the so-called “rebound effects”). Currently, research mostly disregards that rebound effects are a reflection of complex mechanisms in the system subjected to dynamic interactions with causal links and responses (feedback loops) from many socio- technical and economic aspects over time. To better comprehend the intricacy of the rebound effects, some authors argue that dynamic models should be used. In this paper, we would like to discuss whether SD could potentially support addressing the characteristics to be able to model and simulate rebound effects which then could provide multi-dimensional perspective on the incorporation of environmental, social, and economic aspects, as well as interdependencies with other systems, identify high leverage points, avoid policy resistance and make decisions consistent with enhanced sustainability performance.