Is circular consumption more sustainable? Uncovering consumer-level rebound effects of circular business models.

In this session, Michał Bączyk will present his doctoral research on the link between circular business models and sustainable consumption.

Achieving the promised environmental benefits of circular economy depends on consumer behaviour. However, our understanding of how consumers engage with circular business models and the extent to which this engagement contributes to a more sustainable consumption remains limited. In this study, we examine the evidence from real-life accounts of consumer behaviour from the perspective of rebound effects. We identified consumer behaviours leading both to increased consumption as well as to reduction of environmental costs of consumption. We also observed that consumer behaviour was influenced by contextual factors and by the characteristics of the circular business models. Our findings suggest that circular business models may only enable sustainable consumption in some specific contexts.