Why Sustainability-Driven Action Is More Than A Matter Of Choice
Behavioural change must be backed by policies.
The world continues to spiral down the road where climate concerns remain a significant threat to everything that makes up this planet.
Shifting to a more circular economy (a ‘take, make, use, reuse’ model as opposed to a ‘take, make, waste’ model) can be a multifaceted approach to systematically ease down the environmental and social burdens we’ve created over time;
It requires everyone to make bold choices at an individual capacity — choices that require turning away from the way things have been done thus far;
But behavioural change and action thereof is sometimes heavily dependent on an ecosystem that we’re a part of;
Because sometimes we can only do what we’re allowed to, and at other times — what we are equipped to.
According to the Circularity Gap Report 2024, launched by the Circular Economy Foundation — the world is becoming less circular year on year. The report also highlights the need for the critical role that policymakers can play in the transition to a circular economy.
Let’s explore 6 policies per the report that governments around the world can explore (and what it means for us consumers), to actually walk the talk — and help promote an ecosystem that makes it easy for individuals such as you and me to action sustainable choices.
1. Have Strict Environmental Product Standards
This covers policies that mandate material-and-energy-efficient manufacturing processes, to outlawing planned obsolescence and designing products for durability, repairability, as well as recycling.
What would this mean for us as consumers?
At the very least, it would mean being assured of quality while paying for a purchase; but going a step further — it would also go a long way in programming ourselves for repair and recycle as alternatives to replacement with new products when there’s a need to. Because when we know that the sellers/manufacturers have systems in place for us to choose a more sustainable route, we will — because we can.
2. Establish Environmental Scores for All Products in the Market
Consumers of this day and age have been shown to increasingly favour sustainable products, and data supports this claim as nearly 90% of Gen X consumers are willing to pay more for such products. A life cycle based approach for ecolabelling will be valuable in boosting transparency towards product information throughout the value chain — right from extraction to end-of-life.
What would this mean for us as consumers?
Such environmental scores will enable us to choose companies that provide us with credible evidence for the journey that their product took to reach us, and in doing so — helps us shift away from companies who merely engage in greenwashing efforts.
3. Develop and Operationalize Certifications and Warranties for Recycled Materials
Recycled materials have significantly lower environmental impact than virgin ones —but due to a complex regulatory landscape globally, incentives are often lacking. For instance, opting for recycled materials seems to be a risky and expensive move in the materials and emissions intensive construction sector.
What would this mean for us as consumers?
Developing certifications for recycled materials can help validate stakeholders across the value chain of their safety and quality, and weakening the stigma around their use. This would hold true of a vast majority of products for which our brain disqualifies anything but new on auto-pilot mode — apparel, appliances, real estate, and many more.
4. Strengthen ‘Right to Repair’ Legislation Worldwide
Planned obsolescence is how manufacturing has been designed for much of the Anthropocene. Many of the daily lifestyle products such as laptops, mobile phones, electrical appliances, are designed in ways that prevent users from repairing them, leaving them with no choice but to replace them — sometimes limiting product lifespans to that of their shortest lived component. The result — heaps of e-waste. The ‘Right to Repair’ legislation will be key in tackling this mounting concern.
What would this mean for us as consumers?
If we as consumers are aware about the manufacturers’ repair obligations, aided by platforms that facilitate coordination between retailers and repair services — repair will stand out to be a more attractive, easy, and affordable alternative to purchasing new — eliminating waste by keeping products in use for as long as possible.
5. Tighten Producer Responsibility Laws
This means practising an upstream flow of responsibility for management (disposal or otherwise) of obsolete or broken products. And so, producers will be incentivized to design long-lasting and easily recyclable products. The current Extended Producer Responsibility scheme aims to achieve this, but its potential is yet to be fully unlocked.
What would this mean for us as consumers?
When producers take ownership of their products once it reaches the end of its life cycle, it translates to lesser waste generated on an individual/community level. It would also mean being assured of quality owing to long-lasting nature of eco-designed and products, and better systems to rely on for disposal once we’ve used it to its full potential.
6. Reduce Taxes on Circular Products and Services—and Increase on Linear Ones
Current landscape lacks a level playing field for planet friendly products, and policymakers can make that happen with incentives such as reduced or no tax on repair services and refurbished goods.
What would this mean for us as consumers?
Affordability is a major concern for consumers, and making sustainable choices comes at a cost — incentives to make circular products easier to afford will be the first step against continued popularity of linear products (using take, make, waste model). These legislations will help shift both production and consumption patterns.
Sustainability is a choice, but it’s one that needs to be actioned top down — policies will have varying scales and impact across countries, but will require all hands on deck nevertheless.
It is our responsibility as consumers too, to be aware of how such legislations stand to impact us, in the face of a changing world.
With the right policies in place, behavioural change will no longer be an option — but a choice that every individual will need to make.
Some sustainable lifestyle choices can be made at an individual level , but some require intervention of an entire economic system coming together to action a paradigm shift as big as this.
