Axis 1: Change and Transition Management

The proposal takes a broad look at the phenomenon of fast fashion (FF) and, more specifically, at the destruction of unsold inventory by retailers. It considers the upstream decisions that are responsible for the harmful practices and the lack of circular end-of-life options for unsold goods. The theoretical model that is developed will explore how public policy influences the environmental impact of FF.

The project is in follow-up to the confirmation of the linearity of the apparel sector and additional burden created by FF and reinforces the need to develop a model of mechanisms and incentives that can have a positive impact on decision-making by retailers with respect to their unsold inventories.

This action research study is led in partnership with the consulting firm 5REDO, which has already created an in-house capacity to facilitate decision making and the assessment and analysis of scenarios with respect to mechanical and chemical recycling technologies, as well as the use of more sustainable plastic materials. But that capacity does not consider how consumers could contribute to recycling efforts.

The main objective of the partnership is to expand 5REDO’s capacity to consider and leverage consumer behaviours when developing circular solutions for plastic. The project will complement and broaden 5REDO’s expertise in the area through three key objectives:

1. Provide a comprehensive overview of how consumer engagement can be leveraged to accelerate the transition to a circular economy for plastics.
2. Estimate the influence of internal and external consumer factors and their interactions to assess how consumers could be involved in initiatives to improve the end-of-life management of plastics.
3. Prospectively assess plastics flows in Canada to 2030 through different scenarios based on the influence of consumer behaviours and specific consumer engagement initiatives.

Bécancour’s industrial park and port are home to 11 industrial enterprises and more than 15 service companies. Collectively, they use a number of energy sources for their industrial processes and heating. Some also generate energy locally as a main product or co-product. It is possible to decarbonize this energy consumption through various circular economy strategies, including process optimization and the local reuse of waste heat, as well as the establishment of local energy co-product exchanges and joint infrastructures for co-product sharing.

Rooted in industrial ecology, the strategy involves the identification and implementation of industrial synergies within a park, territory or region to spark a culture of industrial by-product recovery, collaboration and resource sharing within industrial symbioses. The technical and economic analysis and eventual optimization of the options to implement the opportunities require a more comprehensive view of the networking possibilities for local stakeholders and a more local perspective to ensure stakeholders’ long-term participation. In the case of industrial synergies involving pooling or joint investments, the participation of all stakeholders is required.

The overarching objective is two-fold. The first is scientific and relates to the development of a mixed integer linear programming model to optimize the opportunities for synergies and industrial networking within an industrial park. The second is practical and relates to the realization of a technical and economic study of the opportunities to decarbonize the energy sources used in Bécancour’s industrial park and port.

The project examines the CE vision, governance and practices at a municipal level.

It focuses on three key CE sectors: food, energy (including transportation) and waste (Keblowski et al 2020). Two key research issues are raised:

1. How do stakeholders understand CE as a concept and what is their understanding of CE practices and assessment in a city and region like Victoriaville?
2. How is CE governed and practiced by different political and social stakeholders?

The questions will be explored from the perspectives of the concepts of the socio-technological vision and the governance of the socioecological transition.

The project aims to study different ways of thinking about cooperation in Québec and Canada (which are far from being circular but still have a strong tradition of social economy) in an effort to shed new light on the challenge.

Three variants of cooperation that are similar and different in their own ways and important in the Québec context will be explored: cooperatives and the cooperative movement, the tree of cooperation and First Nations, common goods and degrowth.

The project explores the relationship between ecoanxiety and the circular economy.

While ecoanxiety can affect the conditions of environmental commitment at the individual level (Clayton, 2020), pedagogical intervention practices were found to be an effective means of transforming the anxiety stemming from ecoanxiety into a motivator for environmental action (Gousse-Lessard and Lebrun-Paré, 2022).

The research aims to determine whether a similar dynamic is at work from an organizational perspective. While it is widely known that environmental damage is largely the result of organizational activities (Ones et al., 2018), it is also acknowledged that many organizations are striving to reduce their carbon footprint by implementing dedicated practices across production cycles for the sound use of resources, recycling and energy conservation (Francoeur and Paillé, 2022).

These elements raise several questions: is there a tangible link between circular economy practices and the consideration of ecoanxiety? Does the implementation of circular economy practices at the micro-organizational level help regulate the possible rebound effects of ecoanxiety (absenteeism, dropping out, lack of attraction)? Under what conditions do circular economy practices foster employee actions for the environment?

The growing interest in the circular economy (CE) as a response to the requirements of sustainable development raises many questions about the transformations CE will bring about, particularly in the labour market.

The research therefore aims to describe, categorize and assess the quality of core circular jobs in SEEs.

There are two types of circular jobs: core jobs and enabling jobs. This study focuses on core jobs, which sustain material loops and constitute the pillars of the CE. It is essential to understand their characteristics and ensure their quality upstream of eventual mutations. For that reason, the research will also consider the social and solidarity economy, which brings together organizations and businesses whose objective is to promote social well-being.

The research project is part of the literature on sustainable consumption, the relationship to objects and daily life. It aims to explore how everyday objects (e.g., clothing, computers, furniture, books, decorations, etc.) gain a second life after falling out of common use.

The objectives are three-fold:

1. Understand the process by which objects fall out of common use and are reappropriated in relation to, among other things, the symbolic aspect, the culture and social norms, the spaces in which they circulate and stakeholders, as well as the broader social context, including institutions and regulations.
2. Identify levers to transform consumption practices, extend the service life of objects and reduce material resource consumption.
3. Formulate recommendations to promote different ways of optimizing the use of everyday objects and ensure concerns about sustainable consumption and circular economy research initiatives are aligned.

An ethnographic survey will be conducted in different spaces where objects are repaired, sold, exchanged or donated (e.g., fab labs, garage sales, online ads, stores, repairers, etc.) and follow the journeys of the objects themselves.