Factors affecting social attitude and behavior for the transition towards a circular economy

Abstract

Environmental obligations of scientists, engineers and members of the research community have evolved further than the quantifiable control of emissions and waste of production. The environmental consciousness of communities as well as individual responsibility for the development of sustainable waste management strategies increased in demand, from urban planners and stakeholders to industries and business model developers. Despite this growing interest, the principal barrier to the implementation of sustainable waste management plans for the promotion of responsible production and consumption as well as the integration of Circular Economy into urban, industrial or otherwise environmentally compromised settings, remains the lack of knowledge and awareness of the benefits of sustainability as well as the active participation on behalf of the public, leading to a limited responsiveness to the individual social, economic and environmental responsibilities. The aim of this short communication is to explore the social factors that affect the transition towards circular economy. As social influence is in many cases overlooked, observation, identification, evaluation, and monitoring of social factors that have the potential to aid or delay circular transition is of imminent importance. At the same time, in line with the digital transition of today's society, the authors explore how digitalization can help with influencing the public in terms of environmental and sustainable education, social responsibility and other main areas of interest. The combination of existing educational models (i.e. gamification) where digitalization is also promoted is deemed very helpful to promote a sustainable way of thinking.