Circular Wellbeing Economy

The Hot or Cool Institute, in collaboration with the Systems Transformation Hub, the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, and the Club of Rome, has launched a significant new report Towards a Circular Wellbeing Economy: An Integrative Framework for Europe.

Despite strong political ambitions and a well-developed legislative framework, the transition to a circular economy in Europe is not accelerating. Efficiency gains in specific sectors are frequently offset by expanding production and consumption, with rebound effects eroding overall progress.

Circularity has addressed downstream, end-of-life solutions such as recycling and waste recovery, which are technologically tractable and quantifiable, but limited in their transformative potential, rather than addressing production design, consumption patterns and material use before and during the use phase.

This is where the wellbeing economy offers a relevant and practical complement. A wellbeing economy is one designed to meet the needs and rights of all people within the capacities of a thriving planet, reorienting economic success away from narrow measures of output and throughput, towards quality of life, social foundations and ecological health. It is built around four principles: pre-distribution of economic benefits by design, rather than after the fact; purpose-driven alignment of economic activity with social and ecological value; prevention through early investment in social and environmental infrastructures; and people-powered governance that ensures democratic participation in economic decision-making.

When circular strategies are explicitly linked to tangible improvements in everyday life, such as lower household costs, better housing, accessible mobility, meaningful local employment and cleaner air, they gain broader public support and become easier to implement at scale. Circularity becomes the means; wellbeing becomes the goal.

The strongest synergies of a Circular Wellbeing Economy lie in the before-use phase. Strategies of refuse, rethink and reduce engage with material flows at the point of production and pre-production, where the potential to prevent environmental and social harms is greatest, and where the scope for rethinking business models and value creation is widest. During the use phase, strategies that extend product life, such as retain, reuse, repair and remanufacture, are labour-rich and locally embedded, generating employment and distributing economic value more widely. Downstream strategies such as recycle and return remain essential for responsible end-of-life management.

Integrated measurement systems that link material use to social outcomes, such as affordability, health, job quality and equity, are needed to improve decision-making and accountability. Ensuring that the transition distributes benefits broadly across income groups, regions and generations will be critical to its durability and social legitimacy.

Four additional strategies extend circular thinking into cultural and societal domains:
Reimagine — redefining what a good life means, shifting aspirations from accumulation towards care, connection and belonging
Retell — redirecting advertising, marketing and social media narratives away from overconsumption
Relocalise — shortening supply chains and anchoring circular practices in local communities and ecosystems
Reconnect — strengthening relationships among people, between people and nature, and between citizens and their cultures.

Source: based on https://hotorcool.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/HotorCool_Towards-a-Ci…
Access the report at https://hotorcool.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/HotorCool_Towards-a-Ci…
Reference: Hot or Cool Institute. 2026. Towards a Circular Wellbeing Economy: An Integrative Framework for Europe. Hot or Cool Institute, Berlin. May 2026. ISBN 978-3-98664-027-9 (PDF)