Circular Society Innovations for place-based equitable, inclusive & environmentally sustainable living

Advocates of the circular economy promote it as a more sustainable alternative to the linear (take-make-waste) economy. While the economic and environmental benefits of circular initiatives are targeted and trumpeted, the social implications remain poorly understood, vaguely defined and marginal, especially in relation to social equity and justice. The outcomes of circular initiatives are contingent on many factors that manifest themselves in 'places'. And yet, place-based circular initiatives have only recently begun to intentionally foreground social objectives. There is an emerging reformist agenda that refers to 'circular society' -as opposed to circular economy- where social justice and wellbeing are central and where outputs, outcomes and approaches are inclusive and participatory. We translate these imperatives into a set of four social dimensions that circular society innovation (CSI) processes involve:
1. Foregrounding discreet social imperatives;
2. Anticipating unintended social consequences;
3. Designing-in explicit social objectives; and
4. Prioritising the quality of job creation and training, and value non-work activities.

CSI could emerge in the context of closing the loop of local food consumption and production through urban farms; repairing and repurposing textiles and electronic appliances through community hubs; extending tools and equipment sharing through lending libraries; reusing construction industry 'waste' by connecting supply and demand; and so on. Consideration of the four dimensions is important for evaluating the embeddedness of societal objectives within CSI projects.

The aim of our project is to explore the processes by which places can become more equitable, inclusive and environmentally sustainable by developing, implementing and scaling CSI. Our objectives are to:

(1) Assess how policy, practitioners and projects address sustainability challenges through the development and implementation of place-based CSI;

(2) Evaluate what solutions can be co-created to scale CSI; and

(3) Develop recommendations for policy makers, practitioners and civic society organisations to stimulate place-based CSI.

Our main research 'place' is Greater Manchester (GM), arguably the most advanced region of the UK in terms of devolution and cooperative working across local authorities, offering a 'test-bed' for learning about scaling CSI. Within GM there are emerging policies, practitioners and projects that promote circular initiatives and community wealth building. To identify projects that meet our CSI dimensions, we will collaborate closely with our non-academic project partners: Greater Manchester Combined Authority; local authorities in Oldham, Stockport, Manchester City; ReLondon, the local government circular economy network; and,CLES, the community-focused national think-tank for local economies. We will engage the wider community, relevant agencies and decision makers in the UK, and learn from - and share learning with - international places in the vanguard of CSI, namely Chicago, Turku and Utrecht.

We will employ a variety of research methods to co-create knowledge on 100 CSI projects, 50 of which we'll study in-depth. Knowledge will be translated into evidence-based recommendations for policymakers and practitioners to scale CSI for place-based equitable, inclusive and environmentally sustainable living. Places, and the communities that inhabit them, will be the main beneficiaries of the project, but support will be directed to policy makers, practitioners and those involved in CSI projects through a process of 'longitudinal participatory formative evaluation'. This process will generate impactful outcomes by supporting key stakeholders to implement and scale place-based CSI. Through our deep engagement with stakeholders, we anticipate multiple, inter-related social outcomes to be delivered alongside the environmental and economic benefits usually associated with mainstream CE.