The LDE CfS Talks are organized every second Wednesday. In this edition, Ryu Koide (Senior Researcher at Japan’s National Institute for Environmental Studies and visiting researcher at TU Delft) discusses how agent-based modelling can simulate behavioural change for circularity.
Short summary
Consumer behaviour has been recognised for decades as a key driver in the transition toward a circular economy. However, we still lack tools that can capture the complexity of consumer behaviour and societal transitions and link them with sustainability impacts.
In this presentation, Ryu provided an overview and demonstrate how social simulation, using an agent-based model, combined with life cycle thinking, can be a useful approach for exploring various types of circular business models and identifying pathways toward circularity targets.
Key takeaways:
- Circular transitions require an early-phase decision support tool grounded in empirical analysis and simulation techniques.
- Combining life cycle thinking with agent-based modelling offers a powerful tool for assessing circular behaviour and its sustainability implications.
- Empirical grounding of agent-based modelling is challenging, but consumer surveys and choice experiments provide promising avenues.
- Scenario discovery offers a useful approach for exploring the benefits and risks of diverse configurations of circular business models.
The LDE CfS Talks
Every two weeks, the LDE CfS hosts Talks, a series of online webinars where experts from academia, research institutes, businesses, and government come together to share knowledge and best practices for shaping a more sustainable and just society. The topics covered range from technical to social, including resource use & circularity, green energy, healthy environments, and social & economic transitions. The talks are organized on Wednesday morning from 10:00 to 11:00, and are online (Microsoft Teams).