Consumer involvement plays a major role in the circular economy (CE), which requires a new and more active role of consumers. However, consumer awareness of and interest and involvement in the CE is low. Therefore, we aimed to find the starting points for consumer involvement in activities that promote a CE by exploring consumers’ general perceptions of the CE and several practice cases. Four focus group discussions were conducted (N = 24) in the Netherlands. The group discussions showed that most consumers did not have a clear understanding of the term “circular economy,” although their associations pointed in the right direction. Perceptions, attitudes, motives and barriers in terms of advantages and disadvantages varied among the participants and were related to (1) the functionalities of the products, (2) the production system, (3) economic aspects and (4) emotions such as concern about risks. We identified four key messages: targeting with regard to behaviours, attitudes and product functionalities; aligning with emotions; linking to practical cases; and applying multidimensional CE-related behaviour in everyday life and involving consumers in its innovation. These key messages are helpful in overcoming obstacles and barriers, raising awareness and providing input for sustainable consumption and production in the CE.

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This paper presents the results of an exploration into the adoption of biodiversity-friendly practices by the real estate sector, by researching which factors determine companies’ intentions to use nature-inclusive design and construction concepts (NID). NID represents practices in which nature and building are inextricably linked when (re)designing building projects. We applied the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), a well-known framework for studying behavior. A telephone survey was carried out among 103 employees at different types of companies in the real estate sector. The findings showed that attitude, social norms, and perceived behavioral control are all significant explanatory variables for the intention of using NID. Perceived behavioral control is the strongest predictor. In addition, interest in NID strengthens the predictive value of perceived behavioral control. The empirical findings in this study serve as a first attempt to provide insights into the determinants of behavior in favor of using NID and, by extension, looking for drivers for change. The study was carried out in the Netherlands, but the results may be applicable or interesting to other countries as well when looking for opportunities to enhance biodiversity in urban areas or considering how the real estate sector could give substance to their vital role in spatial developments.

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