The Environmental Effects from Consumer Behaviour in the Contexts of the Circular Economy and the Sharing Economy

Dear Colleagues,

The modern phenomenon of private consumers sharing and trading products and services via the internet is increasingly gaining importance globally. This promising trend is usually referred to as the sharing economy or collaborative consumption and is even considered a vital strategy to foster the transition to the circular economy paradigm. There is a strong belief that this is a new model of sustainable consumption that will lead to an overall reduction in CO₂ emissions, resource consumption and other environmental impacts.

To date, research has been dominated by the prescription of approaches to the circular economy and the sharing economy without systematic reflections on the impacts derived from further changes in consumption behaviour.

In this Special Issue, we invite conceptual and empirical contributions reporting the environmental effects caused by changes in the consumption behaviour of users in the circular economy and sharing economy. Critical and constructive stands to emerging solutions are particularly encouraged. Topics of interest probe consumer behaviour in the circular/sharing economy, but are not limited to the following:

• Environmental rebound effects from reuse and sharing
• Circular economy rebound
• Circular/sharing economy for responsible consumption and production
• Mechanisms and solutions to avoid rebound effects

Prof. Sofia Ritzén
Dr. Rafael Laurenti
Dr. Natalia Gusmerotti
Dr. Filippo Corsini
Guest Editors

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