Circular Learning Hub (CL-hub): A learning hub for the engagement and ecosystem transition towards circular thinking

Despite alarms on the need to unlock financial capitals to reverse the trend of the climatechange has been rising for years, humans’ cognitive biases have prevailed. This project workson an awareness-intention-action path fostering problem-owners in the ecosystem to adeeper understanding of circular thinking. On the basis of a debiasing experiment, the cocreationof innovative learning and nudging initiatives on circular thinking and investing willbe carried out in 2020.

 

Based on empirical behavioral economics, firstly we will test on a defined group of investorsand entrepreneurs some de-biasing videos specifically designed to overcome the hyperbolicdiscount bias on one of the priori1es for the contrast to the climate change, which is theimplementation of circular thinking in the industry production to reduce waste and gasemissions coming from the materials’ processes and the re-orientation of capitals towardscircular models. The information collected during the experiment will allow for the cocreationof innovative learning initiative on circular thinking adding to previous pilotexperiences that ENEA and AESS realized in 2019 with a particular focus on the constructionsector. Nudging initiatives on circular investing will also be co-created and designed tosimulate capital inflows to circular businesses, also supported and endorsed by the active rolethat CONSOB (the supervisory authority for the Italian financial products market) will play inthe project.

 

The pan-European extension of this project (Italy, Greece and Bulgaria) will also allow for amore effective co-creation of scaled nudging and learning solutions based on the experiencesof the different geographical contexts involved. The project will be led by UniversitaPolitecnica delle Marche (Italy, project coordinator: Mazzolli Camilla) and supported byAgenzia Nazionale per le Nuove Tecnologie (Italy), l’Energia e lo Sviluppo EconomicoSostenibile (Italy), Modena Energy and Sustainable Development Agency, Cleantech Bulgaria(Bulgaria, project coordinator: Hamanova Mariyana) and ATHENA RC (Greece, projectcoordinator: Prof. Phoebe Koundouri, School of Economics and ReSEES Laboratory, AUEB,Director EIT Climate KIC Greece).