Policies that encourage consumers to make circular economy-consistent decisions are more effective if they are designed taking into account factors that influence individual consumer behaviour, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) note published on Tuesday 17 May.
The EEA believes that consumers can play a key role and stresses that beyond economic factors, such as product prices, which are of primary importance in influencing consumer purchasing behaviour and choices, there are other factors at play, the importance of which is more difficult to measure.
These include the ability of products to meet consumer needs, the information available to the consumer, social factors such as adherence to social norms, and individual preferences and beliefs related to, for example, prestige, brand loyalty or personal values, the EEA says.
Therefore, the Agency advocates exploring a range of future policy options through different levels of governance, including tax breaks and subsidies, legally binding regulations, preventing greenwashing (i.e. falsely green claims), making circular options more practical, using eco-labels and measures targeting consumers to, for example, strengthen the emotional attachment to products.
See the EEA note: https://aeur.eu/f/1ox (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)