Product User Well-being in a Circular Economy

Abstract

Alternative economic models, such as the Doughnut Economy and Circular Economy (CE), are often introduced in response to increasing concerns regarding the environmental degradation and social inequality linked to the current growth-oriented economic paradigm. These economic models are often designed to foster a sustainable development, allowing for the satisfaction of the needs of today's generations without harming the opportunities of future generations to meet their needs. It requires balancing resource use with changes to how human needs are fulfilled - ensuring that social, economic, and environmental dimensions all work together. This dissertation explores how alternative economic models can be designed to fully consider individuals' well-being, hence maximizing their quality of life whilst minimizing their environmental footprint. This entails clarifying what these models may look like when fully implemented and examining how such economies could influence various aspects of well-being, including happiness, social belonging, and meaning.

A CE constitutes a pathway towards sustainability; in a CE, waste and resource extractions - hence, negative environmental impact - are largely eliminated, accomplished through the continuous recirculation and valorization of goods and materials within economic systems. The commitment to a CE is increasing worldwide and policymakers, business leaders, and organizations are currently making consequential decisions about whether and how CE principles are interpreted and implemented, thus shaping the specific forms that a CE may take. This has far-reaching implications for individuals in their role as "product users" in a CE, namely how they are expected to engage in so-called "CE behaviors", e.g., reuse, recycling and sharing, and how this impacts their quality of life. Such outcomes are important to consider as an economic system that is not feasible or viable for its participants can be expected to fail. As such, for the success of a CE and the people living in such an economy, it is imperative that CE behaviors are structured to not only promote sustainability, but to also enhance product users' well-being. However, the everyday impacts of a fully realized CE on individual product users - and the associated well-being outcomes from normalized engagement in CE behaviors - remain poorly understood. This gap risks undermining both human flourishing and sustainability, potentially causing unintended consequences for quality of life and social stability.

To address this gap, this dissertation elucidates the connections between a CE and product user well-being by offering both substantive guidance and methodological tools for examining how a CE may transform consumption practices and, by extension, the opportunities, challenges and trade-offs for product user well-being within such a future. This work clarifies: (1) terminology and understanding of the movement of materials and the roles of product users in a CE; (2) the product user's experience of CE behaviors; (3) the dimensions of well-being as they relate to product users; (4) the specific conditions of CE behaviors with the greatest impact on well-being; (5) the system actors that influence these salient conditions; and (6) the implications of different CE versions for the quality of life of product users - using integrated systems models. These findings contribute to designing economic systems that jointly advance sustainability and enhance quality of life.