Radeha Godina Kosil and Meta Pezdir of Circulatory Change explain how small lifestyle changes can make a significant contribution to the global circular economy movement.
Founded in Slovenia in 2016, Circular Change is a stakeholder engagement platform designed to drive a circular transition by offering a variety of solutions, projects, reports, events and more. The organization works with a strong international network to bring expert insights and support into a circular journey. Ladeja Godina Košir, founder and executive director of Circular Change, is a renowned circular economy expert and contributes to over 50 international events each year, connecting with global circular economy and sustainability leaders. Ladeja is also co-chair of Brussels’ European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP).
An important part of Circular Change’s work is participation in European projects designed to accelerate the circular economy. In particular, one project with active cyclical change is the PSLifestyle project. Pslifestyle is an innovative carbon dioxide emissions calculator designed to provide insight into individual carbon footprints and offer suggestions on how to reduce it through lifestyle changes. Users of this tool will answer a series of questions as part of a “lifestyle test.” It was co-created with residents in a series of living lab workshops hosted in eight European countries: Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Turkey. Meta Pezdir is the project manager for Circular Change, the PSLifestyle project.
Editor Georgie Purcell wants to learn more about the work of cyclical change as a whole and the PSLifstyle tool.
Can you provide an overview of cyclical changes and their purpose?
Ladeja Godina Košir (LGK): Circular Change is a private non-profit organization. It was established as my personal ambition to contribute to circular transformation, not only nationally, but also at the European and global level.
Our slogan: “We are the perfect entry point for your circular economy journey,” and he has already spoken much about our mission and position. We are genuinely network personnel and have a good overview of the global circular economy that we have worked in this field for almost ten years. Since then, we have not only been actively involved in many projects, but also actively participate.
The main purpose of our work is to follow the development of the circular economy. Initially, we focused on letting others know about the concept of circular economy, and then expanded our efforts to include involvement. We wanted to engage with different stakeholders, so we do it on different levels through different projects.
Can you elaborate on the key successes since the organization’s launch?
LGK: Circular Change does not measure success primarily based on business growth or increased profits. Of course, it is important to balance financially with the costs incurred, but the most important impact for us is related to social and environmental aspects. From my perspective, our great success has achieved engagement with so many stakeholders around the world. It’s difficult to count the number of people who have attended workshops and events that they’ve hosted over the years. Letting people know, appeal and connect is our biggest influence and our proudest achievement.
Another factor is pioneering topics related to the circular economy. When we started, the circular economy was primarily related to recycling and waste management, with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) being the most active in the field. We set out to prove that it was more than that. At the national and European level, the creative industry has encouraged it to become more involved and more relevant to change. It’s not just about business models, but also about ready-to-use thinking and creative spirit. Designers and storytellers can make many contributions.
Additionally, we also targeted transition brokers. Through our work, we have learned that we need an orchestrator of the process. It’s relatively easy to bring people around the table, but you need a leader with the specific ability to lead and organize such transformational processes. We worked with Professor Jacqueline Cramer from the Netherlands to promote recognition of the role of transition brokers.
Another dimension of our work is culture and values. Whenever I talk about circular economy, I start with values. You cannot copy and paste concepts from one country to another. You need to understand the background, history, lifestyle, preferences, and more. In 2016, we introduced a circular triangle, a model that connects circular culture, circular economy, and cyclical change. As I said before, one is related to citizen values and their behavior, one is related to business models and the economy, and the third is related to circular transformation.
The entire policy model. Without this systematic approach, we believe that transformations would not actually happen.
Can you explain in detail about the PSLifestyle project?
Meta Pezdir (MP): The PSLifestyle project is a Horizon 2020 project funded by the European Union. It stands for positive and sustainable lifestyle. The project was born in Finland and is led by a Finnish research institute called Citra. Citra invented the Finland-favored individual carbon dioxide calculator. Around 1.4 million Finns completed the test, and Citra attracted keen interest from research institutes in other European countries to take the test in their countries. Following funding from the EU, 16 project partners currently working on the distribution and adaptation of the computer from eight European countries are working on the other countries.
The main idea of this project is to promote a sustainable lifestyle, but in a positive way. We want to emphasize that every individual has their own lifestyle and that we can help the planet by changing our lifestyle, but that doesn’t hurt us, and that’s Taylard. First, you need to determine what your lifestyle is now. To do this, I created a “lifestyle test” calculator with around 30 questions and four categories: lifestyle, transportation, food, and other consumption. Participants answer a series of simple questions and then receive results based on the answers. Plus, it offers 100 actions. Participants can choose which action they want to perform, and then they are immediately presented with calculations that measure the percentage of the action reducing carbon footprint. For example, flying actions could potentially reduce carbon footprint by 40%. However, if an individual does not choose to fly less, the calculator presents an alternative action to achieve this 40% reduction.
How does the Living Lab workshop contribute to the development of the tools?
MP: As I said before, the calculator worked in Finland, but it had to adapt to the local country and add additional features. The use of living labs was introduced because they wanted to understand the meaning of lifestyle for users. They had to understand the questions on the test and make sure the questions were relevant to them. We met with citizens six times in each of the eight countries and tested all the key steps. I also wanted to make sure they understood the translation. Through this process, we were able to identify specific issues related to relevance and translation and adapt the tests accordingly to resolve such issues.
Why is it important to involve communities in circulation practices?
MP: It’s important to get the opinions of users when you’re trying to understand and bring something new to the market, not just circular practices. But I think people sometimes get scared about circulation. Community involvement from the start of a project can help you build connections with end users and help your product meet your needs. Finally, they want users to be excited about the product and to communicate it to others. Communities are one of the key pillars of cyclical change and it is very natural for us to attract communities to all our practices.
What are the key challenges in implementing cyclical change at a systematic level? And how can you overcome it?
LGK: One of the major challenges encountered in implementing the circular economy roadmap is the need to work with the government as it is a key stakeholder in the process. Government involvement is extremely important, but the necessary transformation must extend beyond a single political mission. Each new administration presents difficulties as they tend to prioritize their respective initiatives rather than continuing to carry on work already in progress. As a result, maintaining continuity and successfully implementing these roadmaps can be a critical challenge.
Another challenge is trying to match the way different sectors think. For example, the business sector may not know what is happening in agriculture, or people may not be particularly interested in mobility in agriculture. Nevertheless, these sectors and segments are interconnected and interdependent. This brings back to the importance of a transition broker. It should help you take larger photos of different stakeholders with different interests and agendas and coordinate those agendas to create something concrete. You also need to create an action plan for change.
Furthermore, many people today experience considerable anxiety and pressure due to overwhelming challenges such as climate change and European conflict. These issues can lead to questions about the impact of individual efforts. That’s why we not only advocate for a positive and sustainable lifestyle, but we also encourage change in our thinking. We want individuals to realize that they can or must sacrifice a difference without feeling burdened. Our message is clear. There is no judgment. Reject the concept of “You are with us or against us.” Certainly, lasting change comes from living a balanced and inclusive life.
What’s next for the PSLifestyle project?
MP: The PSLifestyle project officially ended in September 2025, but I don’t want to waste years of work. The tool is free and accessible to everyone. Additionally, the European version is now available in English, allowing all European citizens to test themselves. This was our first step towards sustainability of our project beyond the deadline. We have already established a leadership group within the Project Consortium with clear and bold ambitions. Promoting PSL to a global tool that everyone can access. We have a robust network of partners and supporters and are actively invited to all interested in participating in this transformational effort.
What are the next steps to implement and scale circular practices globally? How does Circular Change support these developments?
LGK: We are engaged in several projects that we are working to implement and accelerate circulation practices.
An example of our work is the global initiative of the Circular Economy Roadmap, led by Chatham House in the UK. Since its inception over two years ago, we have been helping countries and organizations around the world engage.
An important aspect of my job is co-chairing the European Circular Economic Stakeholder Platform (ECESP). As we enter a new chapter in the platform, our focus is shifting to stronger internationalization and collaboration with other continents, moving forward with what I call “circular diplomacy.”
The Circular Change team is deeply committed to education, from promoting circular economy programs and summer schools to teaching young children the fundamentals of the circular economy. Through keynotes around the world, I aim to encourage critical thinking and encourage people to co-create solutions tailored to the future we imagine.
This article will also be featured in the 19th edition of Quarterly Publication.
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