Critical barriers for a circular economy implementation in the EU
SUCCeSS congratulates Tiina Häyhä for securing The Mistra Challenge Project funding.
Tiina Häyhä, a SUCCeSS affiliated researcher from the Stockholm Resilience Centre has been awarded a research grant from Mistra, the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research to investigate barriers and opportunities to reduce global resource use while promoting sustainable development. Her research project explores systemic challenges and opportunities for creating a circular economy in the European Union.
“Solutions to reduce resource consumption and accelerate the transition to a circular economy are urgently needed to create a more sustainable society. However, despite techno-economic advances, progress remains slow. Techological and business innovations are undoubtedly pivotal to improve the reuse of resources but alone they may not be disruptive enough to achieve a sustainable circular economy.” Häyhä says.
She adds, “The ‘Mistra Challenge’ funding provides us with an opportunity to better understand the underlying patterns that sustain the linear economy and drive over-consumption. Our focus will be on identifying environmental and social externalities that currently hinder the implementation of a circular economy” Häyhä continues.
The aim of the ‘Mistra Challenge’ is to fund groundbreaking new research ideas that challenge conventional approaches. The funded projects focusses on two areas: reducing resource consumption and accelerating the circular economy, and diplomacy for sustainability.
“We hope that this research project can contribute to the knowledge base needed to design circular systems that enable both a just and accelerated transition.” Häyhä concludes.
The project led by Häyhä will kick off in July and will run over three years.
Last updated: March 21, 2025
Source: SUCCeSS