It was a real pleasure to present CircleUp’s concept at this year’s International Conference on Environmental Psychology (ICEP 2025), which I attended together with my wonderful colleagues.

Thanks to Christian Klöckner, who organised our symposium “Circling the Square? Engaging Citizens in the Circular Economy”, we were able to shed light on both CircleUp’s framework to behavioural change as well as on the community-building concept: 👉 Sari Verachtert presented our theoretical framework for understanding circular economy practices at the household level 👉 and I shared how we aim to encourage a circular citizen identity through hybrid serious gaming, using storytelling and gamification. In addition, Tony Craig and Jianyu CHEN enriched our session with inspiring insights from Scotland, while Christian contributed perspectives from the CIRCOMOD project, comparing drivers of Circular practices across India, South Africa, France and Germany.

What will stay with us most is the sense of community. We’re all united by a shared motivation to find pathways out of the urgent planetary crises. The conference offered so many valuable perspectives that it was hard to choose only a few highlights, but here’s a brief look at the topics and sessions I found particularly inspiring:

🔶 Social Aspects

Anke Blöbaum put a deceptively simple yet powerful question at the heart of her inspiring opening keynote: What is participation? She highlighted the importance of keeping three stages in mind when designing interventions: moving from the mere provision of information, to shared decision-making, and ultimately to co-organising processes. She also emphasised how these stages are closely tied to context, including potential challenges and conflicts, and how these can be addressed in field interventions and living labs.

Social norms are powerful drivers of behaviour – and pro-environmental behaviour is no exception. We heard a particularly compelling session that both replicated (Wesley Schultz) and expanded on classic work on social norms (Geerte Schuitema, Markus Berquist). The key takeaway: our actions are strongly shaped by what we believe others are doing and valuing. Yet we tend to significantly underestimate this influence – it often operates beneath our awareness.

Collective action in all its forms was another recurring theme – from grassroots organising in local initiatives to protesting against unjust systems. We explored a very recent conceptualisation of Circular Citizenship and how individuals can drive systemic change towards a Circular Economy, through the Citizen Action Framework developed by Isabel Pacheco, Ellen van der Werff, and Linda Steg. Journal pre-proof : https://www.cell.com/iscience/pdf/S2589-0042(25)01167-8.pdf

If we look back in ten years, what will we wish we had done now to initiate successful change? Lillia Gurtner led an outstanding session that challenged us with this thought-provoking question - she invited us to discuss whom we want address in our research and interventions, and with whom we want to collaborate.

🔶 Imagination and Emotions

How do we overcome the crisis of imagination? When, why and how do visions of sustainable societies inspire change? In this inspiring session, Janine Stollberg put it this way: “Imagining the future means narrating the future.” Imagination is highly driven by  affective processes. The perceived threat of climate change can drive pro-environmental action through negative emotions such as anger and guilt, while positive visions of the future can motivate action through hope and a sense of being deeply moved.

For CircleUp, these insights highlight the importance of engaging not only with facts and information about the Circular Economy but also with the emotional dimensions of change. It reminds us that to motivate real change, CircleUp must not only inform but also move people – helping them imagine, and want to create, a different future.

🔶 Knowledge and Education

Beyond imagination, environmental knowledge remains crucial. And it is a chicken and egg problem, as we learned in the session “Two possible problems of environmental knowledge: Determinant of environmental consequences or consequence of environmental attitude?”

But knowledge ≠ knowledge (Lea Barbett). It’s not just about factual knowledge (e.g. knowing pollution sources), but also conceptual knowledge (like systems thinking) and procedural knowledge (e.g. how to upcycle your wardrobe). Understanding factual knowledge can be challenging, especially given the complexity of environmental footprint information. Martin Mertin showed us how using heuristics can help people manage this complexity and make it more actionable.

When it comes to education, it’s about more than knowledge alone: Mindfulness- and meditation-based methods are increasingly used in health promotion, prevention, and therapy, and they can also strengthen our sense of connectedness with the planet and all humanity. I had a lovely exchange with Dr. Elisabeth S. Blanke about her team’s impressive work: Through their Mindful Students and Teachers Programmes, they help teachers build mindfulness and environmental awareness so they can pass these tools on to children and young people. This fosters a sense of connection to nature – and while nature connectedness may not directly predict behaviour, it can guide us throughout life, support wellbeing, and encourage healthier choices for ourselves and the planet.

🌍 Last but not least, did you know where Vilnius is?

I have to admit, I didn’t before going there! The people from Vilnius even joke that it’s the city nobody knows – but once you discover it, you’ll completely fall in love. And they’re absolutely right.

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, with a stunning old town that’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s full of history, charming little streets, beautiful parks and greenery, cosy cafés, lively pubs, and a vibrant cultural scene. In 2025, it will also hold the title of European Green Capital. 💚

The picture below shows a remarkable installation in the heart of the city: a portal where people of all ages – locals, kids, tourists, passers-by – stop to connect wordlessly with others visible on the opposite side, thousands of kilometres away, yet sharing a moment of direct contact and a sense that we’re all in this together. It’s quite literally a window that reminds us how important it is to stay connected.