Abstract for: Circular Economy at the Household Level: A Framework for Modelling Circular Behaviours and Supporting Interactive Learning

In recent years, the role of System Dynamics and Systems Thinking in supporting Circular Economy transitions has been increasingly explored. Despite advances, research largely overlooks household-level analysis, highlighting a gap in understanding how SD modelling and Interactive Learning Environments may support the adoption of circular practices at the consumption and use stages of products and services. The CircleUp project is developing a combination of behavioural approaches to promote material efficiency and increase the diffusion of CE practices. SD modelling is used to develop Interactive Learning Environments (ILEs) for four consumption areas to facilitate learning about the effects of CE practices at the household level. Throughout the project, the ILEs are developed in Stella Architect and will be accessed by partners, NGOs, participating households, and policymakers. Models for food, packaging, eletronics and textiles consumption areas, and respective ILEs, have been developed for a pre-test phase. The models present prototypical dynamics of product purchase, consumption/use and discard, with total annual household waste stocks as one of the indicators of consumption impacts. CE practices are acessed comparing their effects on business-as-usual scenarios. ILEs will receive feedback conducted in four countries: Latvia, Norway, Germany and the UK. The work contributes to increasing the SD reach in CE transitions discussions with bottom-up approaches. CE-oriented ILEs at the household level are innovative tools. Furthermore, ILEs will be tested in 100 households in Europe, collecting real-world feedback. Subsequent simulation stages will support impact analysis of CE policies such as the CEAP, rounding up the contributions of this application to the SD field.