Does the Circular Economy Grow the Pie? The Case of Rebound Effects From Smartphone Reuse
Open accessAbstract
The environmental benefits of the circular economy (CE) are often taken for granted. There are, however, reasons to believe that rebound effects may counteract such benefits by increasing overall consumption or ‘growing the pie’. In this study, we focus on two main rebound mechanisms: (1) imperfect substitution between ‘re-circulated’ (recycled, reused, etc.) and new products and (2) re-spending due to economic savings. We use the case study of smartphone reuse in the US to quantify, for the first time, rebound effects from reuse. Using a combination of life cycle assessment, sales statistics, consumer surveying, consumer demand modelling, and environmentally-extended input-output analysis, we quantify the magnitude of this rebound effect for life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions. We find a rebound effect of 29% on average, with a range of 27% to 46% for specific smartphone models. Moreover, when exploring how rebound might play out in other regions and under different consumer behaviour patterns, we find that rebound effects could be higher than 100% (backfire effect). In other words, we estimate that about one third, and potentially the entirety, of emission savings resulting from smartphone reuse could be lost due to the rebound effect. Our results thus suggest that there are grounds to challenge the premise that CE strategies, and reuse in particular, always reduce environmental burdens.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
One third, and potentially the entirety, of emission savings resulting from smartphone reuse could be lost based in part on imperfect substitution.
“Recently, Makov and Vivanco [204] estimated that one third, and potentially the entirety, of emission savings resulting from smartphone reuse could be lost based in part on this imperfect substitution [204].”
From Material efficiency strategies to reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with buildings, vehicles, and electronics—a review (2019) · cites this paper as [204]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
The Circular Economy–A new sustainability paradigm?
Geissdoerfer, M., Savaget, P., Bocken, N. M. P., & Hultink, E. J. (2017) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.048 · Cited by 9,360 · see citing works
Ghisellini, P., Cialani, C., & Ulgiati, S. (2016) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.09.007 · Cited by 6,536 · see citing works
Deaton, A. (1980) · Oxford University Research Archive (ORA) (University of Oxford) · Cited by 4,172 · see citing works
Product design and business model strategies for a circular economy
Bocken, N. M. P., de Pauw, I., Bakker, C., & van der Grinten, B. (2016) · Journal of Industrial and Production Engineering · doi:10.1080/21681015.2016.1172124 · Cited by 4,002 · see citing works
Circular economy: The concept and its limitations
Korhonen, J., Honkasalo, A., & Seppälä, J. (2018) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.06.041 · Cited by 3,961 · see citing works
Miller, R. E., & Blair, P. D. (2009) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108676212 · Cited by 2,841 · see citing works
Greenhouse-gas emission targets for limiting global warming to 2 °C
Meinshausen, M., Meinshausen, N., Hare, W., Raper, S. C. B., Frieler, K., Knutti, R., Frame, D. J., & Allen, M. R. (2009) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature08017 · Cited by 2,775 · see citing works
Going green to be seen: status, reputation, and conspicuous conservation
Griskevicius, V., Tybur, J. M., & Van den Bergh, B. (2010) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0017346 · Cited by 2,174 · see citing works
Zink, T., & Geyer, R. (2017) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.12545 · Cited by 1,210 · see citing works
Stadler, K., Wood, R., Bulavskaya, T., Södersten, C., Simas, M., Schmidt, S., Usubiaga, A., Acosta‐Fernández, J., Kuenen, J., Bruckner, M., et al. (2018) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.12715 · Cited by 1,024 · see citing works
T., D. A., Jevons, W. S., & Flux, A. W. (1906) · Journal Of The Royal Statistical Society · doi:10.2307/2339280 · Cited by 1,017 · see citing works
Economic Implications of Mandated Efficiency in Standards for Household Appliances
Khazzoom, J. D. (1980) · The Energy Journal · doi:10.5547/issn0195-6574-ej-vol1-no4-2 · Cited by 916 · see citing works
Reck, B. K., & Graedel, T. E. (2012) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1217501 · Cited by 854 · see citing works
Fuel Efficiency and Motor Vehicle Travel: The Declining Rebound Effect
Small, K. A., & Dender, K. V. (2007) · The Energy Journal · doi:10.5547/issn0195-6574-ej-vol28-no1-2 · Cited by 805 · see citing works
Miller, F. P., Vandome, A. F., & McBrewster, J. (2009) · Alphascript Pub. eBooks · Cited by 706 · see citing works
The greenhouse effect: the fallacies in the energy efficiency solution
Brookes, L. G. (1990) · Energy Policy · doi:10.1016/0301-4215(90)90145-t · Cited by 473 · see citing works
The Potential for Cannibalization of New Products Sales by Remanufactured Products*
Guide, V. D. R., & Li, J. (2010) · Decision Sciences · doi:10.1111/j.1540-5915.2010.00280.x · Cited by 453 · see citing works
Limitations of Carbon Footprint as Indicator of Environmental Sustainability
Laurent, A., Olsen, S. I., & Hauschild, M. Z. (2012) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es204163f · Cited by 421 · see citing works
Increased energy efficiency and the rebound effect: Effects on consumption and emissions
Brännlund, R., Ghalwash, T., & Nordström, J. (2005) · Energy Economics · doi:10.1016/j.eneco.2005.09.003 · Cited by 382 · see citing works
Scheepens, A. E., Vogtlander, J. G., & Brezet, J. C. (2015) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.05.075 · Cited by 364 · see citing works
Remanufactured Products in Closed‐Loop Supply Chains for Consumer Goods
Abbey, J. D., Meloy, M. G., Guide, V. D. R., & Atalay, S. (2014) · Production and Operations Management · doi:10.1111/poms.12238 · Cited by 347 · see citing works
The Environmental Impacts of Reuse: A Review
Cooper, D. R., & Gutowski, T. G. (2017) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.12388 · Cited by 337 · cited 10× · see citing works
“For example, while it appears that firms and governments believe that sales of used products cannibalize sales of new ones, research suggests that such displacement is likely limited (Thomas, 2003; Guide and Li, 2010; Frota Neto et al., 2016; Cooper and Gutowski, 2017).”
BackgroundInfluentialInduced demand and rebound effects in road transport
Hymel, K. M., Small, K. A., & Dender, K. V. (2010) · Transportation Research Part B Methodological · doi:10.1016/j.trb.2010.02.007 · Cited by 334 · see citing works
Allwood, J. M. (2014) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-396459-5.00030-1 · Cited by 327 · see citing works
A view from the macro side: Rebound, backfire, and Khazzoom–Brookes
Saunders, H. D. (2000) · Energy Policy · doi:10.1016/s0301-4215(00)00024-0 · Cited by 326 · see citing works
The economics of cell phone reuse and recycling
Geyer, R., & Blass, V. D. (2009) · The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology · doi:10.1007/s00170-009-2228-z · Cited by 319 · see citing works
Durable Goods Theory for Real World Markets
Waldman, M. (2003) · The Journal of Economic Perspectives · doi:10.1257/089533003321164985 · Cited by 310 · see citing works
Ghose, A., Smith, M. D., & Telang, R. (2006) · Information Systems Research · doi:10.1287/isre.1050.0072 · Cited by 288 · see citing works
Building synergies between climate change mitigation and energy poverty alleviation
Ürge-Vorsatz, D., & Herrero, S. T. (2012) · Energy Policy · doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2011.11.093 · Cited by 261 · see citing works
Remanufacturing and Energy Savings
Gutowski, T. G., Sahni, S., Boustani, A., & Graves, S. C. (2011) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es102598b · Cited by 260 · see citing works
How to deal with the rebound effect? A policy-oriented approach
Vivanco, D. F., Kemp, R., & van der Voet, E. (2016) · Energy Policy · doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2016.03.054 · Cited by 251 · see citing works
Chitnis, M., Sorrell, S., Druckman, A., Firth, S. K., & Jackson, T. P. (2014) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.07.003 · Cited by 250 · see citing works
Thomas, B. A., & Azevedo, I. L. (2013) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.12.003 · Cited by 213 · see citing works
The Role of Perceived Quality Risk in Pricing Remanufactured Products
Abbey, J. D., Kleber, R., Souza, G. C., & Voigt, G. (2016) · Production and Operations Management · doi:10.1111/poms.12628 · Cited by 208 · see citing works
The Greening of Industrial Ecosystems
National Academy of Engineering (1994) · National Academies Press eBooks · doi:10.17226/2129 · Cited by 206 · see citing works
Economic and Environmental Assessment of Remanufacturing Strategies for Product + Service Firms
Ovchinnikov, A. S., Blass, V. D., & Raz, G. (2013) · Production and Operations Management · doi:10.1111/poms.12070 · Cited by 198 · see citing works
An empirical study on the rebound effect considering capital costs
Mizobuchi, K. (2008) · Energy Economics · doi:10.1016/j.eneco.2008.01.001 · Cited by 159 · see citing works
Marginal abatement costs of greenhouse gas emissions: A meta-analysis
Kuik, O. J., Brander, L., & Tol, R. S. J. (2009) · Energy Policy · doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2008.11.040 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Demand and Dematerialization Impacts of Second‐Hand Markets
Thomas, V. M. (2003) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1162/108819803322564352 · Cited by 139 · see citing works
The foundations of the environmental rebound effect and its contribution towards a general framework
Font Vivanco, D., McDowall, W., Freire-González, J., Kemp, R., & van der Voet, E. (2016) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.02.006 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Comparative life cycle assessment of smartphone reuse: repurposing vs. refurbishment
Zink, T., Maker, F., Geyer, R., Amirtharajah, R., & Akella, V. (2014) · The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment · doi:10.1007/s11367-014-0720-7 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Market prices of remanufactured, used and new items: Evidence from eBay
Neto, J. Q. F., Bloemhof‐Ruwaard, J. M., & Corbett, C. J. (2015) · International Journal of Production Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2015.02.006 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
Living up to expectations: Estimating direct and indirect rebound effects for UK households
Chitnis, M., & Sorrell, S. (2015) · Energy Economics · doi:10.1016/j.eneco.2015.08.026 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
Santarius, T., & Soland, M. (2017) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.12.009 · Cited by 121 · see citing works
Osibanjo, O., & Nnorom, I. C. (2007) · Environmental Impact Assessment Review · doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2007.06.002 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Murray, C. K. (2012) · Energy Policy · doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2012.11.025 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
The rebound effect through industrial ecology’s eyes: a review of LCA-based studies
Vivanco, D. F., & van der Voet, E. (2014) · The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment · doi:10.1007/s11367-014-0802-6 · Cited by 109 · see citing works
Wood, R. A., Moran, D. D., Stadler, K., Ivanova, D., Steen‐Olsen, K., Tisserant, A., & Hertwich, E. G. (2017) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.12702 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
The Remarkable Environmental Rebound Effect of Electric Cars: A Microeconomic Approach
Vivanco, D. F., Freire‐González, J., Kemp, R., & van der Voet, E. (2014) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es5038063 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Re-spending rebound: A macro-level assessment for OECD countries and emerging economies
Antal, M., & van den Bergh, J. C. J. M. (2013) · Energy Policy · doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2013.11.016 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Lin, B., Yang, F., & Liu, X. (2013) · Energy · doi:10.1016/j.energy.2013.06.018 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Local Circles in a Circular Economy – the Case of Smartphone Repair in Denmark
Riisgaard, H., Mosgaard, M., & Zacho, K. O. (2016) · European Journal of Sustainable Development · doi:10.14207/ejsd.2016.v5n1p109 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Economic, Environmental, and Social Impact of Remanufacturing in a Competitive Setting
Raz, G., Ovchinnikov, A. S., & Blass, V. D. (2017) · IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management · doi:10.1109/tem.2017.2714698 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
The influence of energy efficiency on other natural resources use: An input-output perspective
Freire‐González, J., & Vivanco, D. F. (2017) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.06.050 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Correlation between production and consumption-based environmental indicators
Simas, M., Pauliuk, S., Wood, R. A., Hertwich, E. G., & Stadler, K. (2017) · Ecological Indicators · doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.01.026 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
The rebound effect, gender and social justice: A case study in Germany
Galvin, R. (2015) · Energy Policy · doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2015.08.026 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Product Life Trade-Offs: What If Products Fail Early?
Skelton, A. C. H., & Allwood, J. M. (2013) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es3034022 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Vivanco, D. F., Tukker, A., & Kemp, R. (2016) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.6b01871 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
The rebound effect: to what extent does it vary with income?
Chitnis, M., Sorrell, S., Druckman, A., & Firth, S. K. (2012) · Figshare · Cited by 8 · see citing works
The rebound effect through industrial ecology’s eyes : the case of transport eco-innovation
Vivanco, D. F. (2016) · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Purchaser Preferences On Carbon Labels: Conventional Vs. Organic Milk
Özkan, M. (2011) · Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2013). Towards the Circular Economy. Available online at: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/ publications/Ellen-MacArthur-Foundation-Towards-the-Circular-Economy- vol.1.pdf.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Hertwich, E. G., Ali, S., Ciacci, L., Fishman, T., Heeren, N., Masanet, E., Asghari, F. N., Olivetti, E., Pauliuk, S., Tu, Q., et al. (2019) · Environmental Research Letters · doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ab0fe3 · Cited by 477 · see citing works
Harris, S. E., Martin, M. A., & Diener, D. L. (2020) · Sustainable Production and Consumption · doi:10.1016/j.spc.2020.09.018 · Cited by 396 · see citing works
The rebound effect of circular economy: Definitions, mechanisms and a research agenda
Castro, C. G., Trevisan, A. H., Pigosso, D. C. A., & Mascarenhas, J. (2022) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131136 · Cited by 282 · see citing works
“Makov and Font Vivanco (2018) stated that sometimes the RE could benefit low-income groups.”
BackgroundInfluentialInformation and Communication Technology Solutions for the Circular Economy
Demestichas, K. P., & Daskalakis, E. (2020) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su12187272 · Cited by 257 · see citing works
“also highlight re-spending and imperfect substitution as two examples of the environmental rebound effect (ERE), caused by the smartphones’ reuse [107].”
BackgroundDemand, Services and Social Aspects of Mitigation
(IPCC), I. P. O. C. C. (2023) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781009157926.007 · Cited by 196 · see citing works
The transformation to a circular economy: framing an evolutionary view
Chizaryfard, A., Trucco, P., & Nuur, C. (2020) · Journal of Evolutionary Economics · doi:10.1007/s00191-020-00709-0 · Cited by 168 · see citing works
Lonca, G., Lesage, P., Majeau‐Bettez, G., Bernard, S., & Margni, M. D. (2020) · Resources Conservation and Recycling · doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105013 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
van Loon, P., Diener, D. L., & Harris, S. (2020) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125627 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Social and environmental analysis of food waste abatement via the peer-to-peer sharing economy
Makov, T., Shepon, A., Krones, J., Gupta, C., & Chertow, M. (2020) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-020-14899-5 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
Self-citationAll around the world: Assessing optimality in comparative circular economy policy packages
Fitch-Roy, O., Benson, D., & Monciardini, D. (2020) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125493 · Cited by 126 · see citing works
Implementing circular economy activities in manufacturing for environmental sustainability
Sakao, T., Bocken, N. M. P., Nasr, N., & Umeda, Y. (2024) · CIRP Annals · doi:10.1016/j.cirp.2024.06.002 · Cited by 130 · see citing works
The limits of the loops: critical environmental politics and the Circular Economy
Hobson, K. (2020) · Environmental Politics · doi:10.1080/09644016.2020.1816052 · Cited by 119 · see citing works
Siderius, T., & Poldner, K. (2021) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.125996 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
The contribution of material circularity to sustainability—Recycling and reuse of textiles
Keßler, L., Matlin, S. A., & Kümmerer, K. (2021) · Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry · doi:10.1016/j.cogsc.2021.100535 · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Rebound effect and sustainability science: A review
Vivanco, D. F., Freire‐González, J., Galvin, R., Santarius, T., Walnum, H. J., Makov, T., & Sala, S. (2022) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.13295 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Self-citationCircular value creation architectures: Make, ally, buy, or laissez‐faire
Hansen, E. G., & Revellio, F. (2020) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.13016 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
‘Fixing the World One Thing at a Time’: Community repair and a sustainable circular economy
van der Velden, M. (2021) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127151 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Metic, J., & Pigosso, D. C. A. (2022) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.133133 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Digitalisation for the transition to a resource efficient and circular economy
Barteková, E., & Börkey, P. (2022) · OECD environment working papers · doi:10.1787/6f6d18e7-en · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Niero, M., Jensen, C. L., Fratini, C., Dorland, J., Jørgensen, M. S., & Georg, S. (2021) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.13134 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“It is a study of smartphone reuse (Makov & Font Vivanco, 2018), and it combines Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), sales statistics, consumer surveying, consumer demand modeling, and environmentally extended input–output analysis (EE-IO).”
Pauliuk, S., Fishman, T., Heeren, N., Berrill, P., Tu, Q., Wolfram, P., & Hertwich, E. G. (2020) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.13023 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Missions and mission-oriented innovation policy for sustainability: A review and critical reflection
Kirchherr, J., Hartley, K., & Tukker, A. (2023) · Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions · doi:10.1016/j.eist.2023.100721 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
What Affects the Secondhand Value of Smartphones: Evidence from eBay
Makov, T., Fishman, T., Chertow, M. R., & Blass, V. D. (2018) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.12806 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Self-citationOttelin, J., Çetinay, H., & Behrens, P. (2020) · Environmental Research Letters · doi:10.1088/1748-9326/abaa78 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Koide, R., Murakami, S., & Nansai, K. (2021) · Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.rser.2021.111858 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Makov, T., & Fitzpatrick, C. (2021) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127561 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Self-citationStephenson, P. J., & Damerell, A. (2022) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su141710643 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Should we fear the rebound effect in smart homes?
Walzberg, J., Dandres, T., Merveille, N., Cheriet, M., & Samson, R. (2020) · Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.rser.2020.109798 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Greene, M., Hobson, K., & Jaeger‐Erben, M. (2023) · Cleaner and Responsible Consumption · doi:10.1016/j.clrc.2023.100157 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
“Strategies that focus on ‘greener ’ purchasing can often lead to rebound effects, undermining sustainability efforts (Zink and Geyer, 2017; Makov and Font Vivanco, 2018; Castro et al., 2022).”
BackgroundRecycling is not enough to make the world a greener place: Prospects for the circular economy
Guo, J., Ali, S., & Xu, M. (2023) · Green Carbon · doi:10.1016/j.greenca.2023.10.006 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Roadmap to Rebound: How to Address Rebound Effects from Resource Efficiency Policy
Vivanco, D. F., Sala, S., & McDowall, W. (2018) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su10062009 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Thapa, K., Vermeulen, W. J. V., Deutz, P., & Olayide, O. E. (2022) · Business Strategy & Development · doi:10.1002/bsd2.222 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
“Others question such views and show rebound effects of CE (Makov & Font Vivanco, 2018; Zink & Geyer, 2017).”
BackgroundCordella, M., Alfieri, F., & Sanfelix, J. (2021) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.13119 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Sharing economy rebound: The case of peer‐to‐peer sharing of food waste
Meshulam, T., Vivanco, D. F., Blass, V. D., & Makov, T. (2022) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.13319 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Self-citationIndirect rebound effects on the consumer level: A state-of-the-art literature review
Reimers, H., Jacksohn, A., Appenfeller, D., Lasarov, W., Hüttel, A., Rehdanz, K., Balderjahn, I., & Hoffmann, S. (2021) · Cleaner and Responsible Consumption · doi:10.1016/j.clrc.2021.100032 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
How to manage the Circular Economy Rebound effect: A proposal for contingency-based guidelines
Zerbino, P. (2022) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134584 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Rabiu, M. K., & Jaeger‐Erben, M. (2022) · Cleaner and Responsible Consumption · doi:10.1016/j.clrc.2022.100081 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Towards a systemic view on rebound effects: Modelling the feedback loops of rebound mechanisms
Guzzo, D., Walrave, B., Videira, N., de Oliveira, I. C., & Pigosso, D. C. A. (2023) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2023.108050 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
“…boundaries, terminologies, methodologies, and data sources (Font-Vivanco et al., 2016; Freire-Gonz ´ alez, 2017; Sorrell et al., 2009), resulting in up to 84% variation in estimated RE magnitudes (Makov and Vivanco, 2018; Sor-rell, 2009; Sorrell et al., 2009; Sorrell and Dimitropoulos, 2008).”
Winterich, K. P., Reczek, R. W., & Makov, T. (2023) · Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · doi:10.1007/s11747-023-00981-z · Cited by 55 · see citing works
“Yet this assertion lacks empirical grounding, and the limited evidence that is available suggests that, in most cases, used goods are purchased in addition to, rather than instead of, new ones (Makov & Font Vivanco, 2018).”
Self-citationMethods to estimate the circular economy rebound effect: A review
Lowe, B., Bimpizas-Pinis, M., Zerbino, P., & Genovese, A. (2024) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.141063 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Casey, K., Lichrou, M., & Fitzpatrick, C. (2019) · Resources, Conservation and Recycling · doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.02.015 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Serna-Guerrero, R., Ikonen, S., Kallela, O., & Hakanen, E. (2022) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.133984 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Assessing behavioural change with agent-based life cycle assessment: Application to smart homes
Walzberg, J., Dandres, T., Merveille, N., Cheriet, M., & Samson, R. (2019) · Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.rser.2019.05.038 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
McLaren, D. P., Niskanen, J., & Anshelm, J. (2020) · Resources Conservation & Recycling X · doi:10.1016/j.rcrx.2020.100046 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Richter, J. L., Svensson-Höglund, S., Dalhammar, C. J., Russell, J. D., & Thidell, Å. (2022) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.13315 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Environmental rebound effect of energy efficiency improvements in Colombian households
Vélez-Henao, J. A., Mazo, C. M. G., Freire‐González, J., & Vivanco, D. F. (2020) · Energy Policy · doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111697 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Multidisciplinary perspectives on rebound effects in sustainability: A systematic review
Andrew, E. M., & Pigosso, D. C. A. (2024) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.143366 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Schultz, F. C., Valentinov, V., Reinhardt, R. J., & Pies, I. (2024) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.13485 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
“The literature has identified two main CER “mechanisms” (Makov & Font Vivanco, 2018; Siderius & Poldner, 2021; Zink & Geyer, 2017): (a) Imperfect and/or insufficient substitution between virgin and recycled, reused, etc., materials: In this case, the rebound occurs because re-circulated products…”
BackgroundConsumer behavior in circular business models: Unveiling conservation and rebound effects
Bączyk, M., Tunn, V. S. C., Worrell, E., & Corona, B. (2024) · Sustainable Production and Consumption · doi:10.1016/j.spc.2024.10.022 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Wiedenhofer, D., Streeck, J., Wiese, F., Verdolini, E., Mastrucci, A., Ju, Y., Boza‐Kiss, B., Min, J., Norman, J., Wieland, H., et al. (2025) · Annual Review of Environment and Resources · doi:10.1146/annurev-environ-111523-102441 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Glöser‐Chahoud, S., Pfaff, M., & Schultmann, F. (2021) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.13123 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
The role of consumer preferences in reducing material intensity of electronic products
Kasulaitis, B. V., Babbitt, C. W., & Tyler, A. C. (2020) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.13052 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Reviewing circular economy rebound effects: The case of online peer-to-peer boat sharing
Warmington-Lundström, J., & Laurenti, R. (2020) · Resources, Conservation & Recycling: X · doi:10.1016/j.rcrx.2019.100028 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Life Extension of Electronic Products: A Case Study of Smartphones
Hazelwood, D. A., & Pecht, M. G. (2021) · IEEE Access · doi:10.1109/access.2021.3121733 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
“[86] T. Makov and D. F. Vivanco, ‘‘Does the circular economy grow the pie?”
BackgroundAdvancing environmental assessment of the circular economy: Challenges and opportunities
Ravikumar, D., Keoleian, G. A., Walzberg, J., Heath, G. A., & Heller, M. C. (2024) · Resources Conservation & Recycling Advances · doi:10.1016/j.rcradv.2024.200203 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
“(Makov and Font Vivanco, 2018) Due to the above reasons, the full displacement assumption in LCA is largely invalid and systematically underestimates the environmental impacts of recycling product systems.”
BackgroundData mining techniques for the investigation of the circular economy and sustainability relationship
Daglis, T., Tsironis, G., & Tsagarakis, K. P. (2023) · Resources Conservation & Recycling Advances · doi:10.1016/j.rcradv.2023.200151 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Refurbishment and remanufacturing planning model for pre-owned consumer electronics
Schepler, X., Absi, N., & Jeanjean, A. (2023) · International Journal of Production Research · doi:10.1080/00207543.2023.2218942 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
“First, Makov and Font Vivanco (2018) considered the rebound effect for life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions from smartphone reuse, that they evaluated to 29% on average.”
BackgroundMerino‐Saum, A., Jemio, P. R., Hansmann, R., & Binder, C. R. (2023) · Resources Conservation and Recycling · doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2023.107121 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
A Note on Data-driven Actor-differentiation and SDGs 2 and 12: Insights from a Food-sharing App
Lucas, B., Francu, R. E., Goulding, J., Harvey, J., Nica‐Avram, G., & Perrat, B. (2021) · Research Policy · doi:10.1016/j.respol.2021.104266 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
A framework for environmental evaluation of business models: A test case of solar energy in Kenya
Mukoro, V., Sharmina, M., & Gallego‐Schmid, A. (2022) · Sustainable Production and Consumption · doi:10.1016/j.spc.2022.09.007 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
A versatile approach to assess circularity: The case of decoupling
Lonca, G., Bernard, S., & Margni, M. D. (2019) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118174 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Claudelin, A., Tuominen, K., & Vanhamäki, S. (2022) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su14116627 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Hansmann, R., & Binder, C. R. (2023) · International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology · doi:10.1080/13504509.2023.2205831 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
The sharing economy is not always greener: a review and consolidation of empirical evidence
Meshulam, T., Goldberg, S., Ivanova, D., & Makov, T. (2023) · Environmental Research Letters · doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ad0f00 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
“The rebound effect can occur when platform users save money (by collecting free food for example) and then use these savings to buy other things (Druckman et al 2011, Makov and Font Vivanco 2018, Sorrell et al 2020).”
BackgroundSelf-citationToward More Realistic Estimates of Product Displacement in Life Cycle Assessment
Yang, J., Duan, L., Peng, S., Heijungs, R., Geng, X., Wang, P., Chen, W., & Yang, Y. (2024) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.4c04006 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Consumer-oriented interventions to extend smartphones’ service lifetime
Bieser, J. C. T., Blumer, Y., Burkhalter, L., Itten, R., Jobin, M., & Hilty, L. M. (2022) · Cleaner and Responsible Consumption · doi:10.1016/j.clrc.2022.100074 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
André, H., & Björklund, A. (2023) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.13408 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
The circular economy potential of reversible bonding in smartphones
Parchomenko, A., Smet, S. D., Pals, E., Vanderreydt, I., & Opstal, W. V. (2023) · Sustainable Production and Consumption · doi:10.1016/j.spc.2023.08.017 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Circular economy rebound effect in the context of second-hand clothing consumption
Ciechelska, A., Matel, A., Poskrobko, T., & Sidorczuk-Pietraszko, E. (2024) · Economics and Environment · doi:10.34659/eis.2023.87.4.635 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Eickhoff, H. (2024) · Humanities and Social Sciences Communications · doi:10.1057/s41599-024-02815-x · Cited by 18 · see citing works
“…life cycle and information on systemic interactions between interventions on different levels is scarce which is particularly unfortunate as the results of interventions on the product level can foster large and unintended rebound effects on the societal or macro level (Makov and Vivanco, 2018).”
Circular economy, circularity, and sustainability: A systematic review and conceptual framework
Sewenet, A. D., Boulaksil, Y., & Pisano, P. (2026) · Cleaner Environmental Systems · doi:10.1016/j.cesys.2026.100405 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Expert and Diffuse Design of a Sustainable Circular Economy in Two German Circular Roadmap Projects
Melles, G. B., Wölfel, C., Krzywinski, J., & Opeskin, L. (2022) · Social Sciences · doi:10.3390/socsci11090408 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Amatuni, L., Yamamoto, T., Baldé, K., Clemm, C., & Mogollón, J. M. (2023) · Resources Conservation and Recycling · doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2023.107103 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Circular economy and its restriction
Bartoszczuk, P. (2023) · Economics and Environment · doi:10.34659/eis.2023.86.3.650 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Towa, E., Zeller, V., & Achten, W. (2021) · Sustainable Production and Consumption · doi:10.1016/j.spc.2021.02.012 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Melles, G. B. (2023) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su151914160 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Reuse of consumer products: Climate account and rebound effects potential
Bubinek, R., Knaack, U., & Cimpan, C. (2025) · Sustainable Production and Consumption · doi:10.1016/j.spc.2024.12.019 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Alberich, J. P. (2022) · Journal of Innovation Economics & Management · doi:10.3917/jie.pr1.0125 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Lowe, B., Genovese, A., Vivanco, D. F., & Zink, T. (2025) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.70121 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Sarancic, D., Metic, J., Pigosso, D. C. A., & McAloone, T. C. (2023) · Procedia CIRP · doi:10.1016/j.procir.2023.02.092 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Engaging the citizen in the circular economy: Transcending the passive consumer role
Milios, L. (2022) · Frontiers in Sustainability · doi:10.3389/frsus.2022.980047 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
RetractedResource recovery from desalination, the case of small islands
Parada, M. P., Randazzo, S., Gamboa, G., Ktori, R., Bouchaut, B., Cipollina, A., Micale, G., & Xevgenos, D. (2023) · Resources Conservation and Recycling · doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2023.107287 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
The Circularity Paradox: The Rebound Effect, Governance, and the Limits of Corporate Sustainability
dos Santos, T. V., Alvez, S. M. D., Sehnem, S., & Julkovski, D. J. (2025) · Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management · doi:10.1002/csr.70181 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Environmental rebound effect of wind and solar technologies in the Colombian household sector
Vélez-Henao, J. A., & García‐Mazo, C. (2022) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.13326 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
The Collapse of the Global Consumption Model: in Search of Sustainability
Бобылев, С. Н., Solovyeva, S., & Kiryushin, P. (2022) · World Economy and International Relations · doi:10.20542/0131-2227-2022-66-11-92-100 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Jemio, P. R., Merino‐Saum, A., Hansmann, R., & Binder, C. R. (2024) · Cleaner and Responsible Consumption · doi:10.1016/j.clrc.2024.100210 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
1.5° lifestyle changes: Exploring consequences for individuals and households
Richter, J. L., Lehner, M., Elfström, A., Henman, J., Vadovics, E., Brizga, J., Plepys, A., & Mont, O. (2024) · Sustainable Production and Consumption · doi:10.1016/j.spc.2024.07.018 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Dekhili, S., Achabou, M. A., & Nguyen, T.-P. (2024) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.144399 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Nichifor, B., Zaiț, L., & Turcu, O. L. (2025) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su17073010 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Okorie, O., & Russell, J. D. (2021) · Smart innovation, systems and technologies · doi:10.1007/978-981-16-6128-0_28 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
André, H. (2024) · Journal of Industrial Ecology · doi:10.1111/jiec.13475 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“RE2 and RE3 can be compared to the assessment by Makov and Font Vivanco (2018) of the rebound effects of secondhand sales of mobile phones.”
BackgroundMethodResultExploring rebound effects in Access-Based services (ABS)
Munten, P., Swaen, V., & Vanhamme, J. (2024) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114758 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Arpin, M.-L., Leclerc, S. H., & Lonca, G. (2024) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su16156364 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Mallari, C. B., Juan, J. L. S., & Li, R. C. (2025) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.146165 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Schilling, H., Ritter, M., Kühner, C., Hirschberger, S., Zacher, H., & Kauffeld, S. (2026) · Industrial and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1017/iop.2026.10071 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“For example, Makov and Vivanco (2018) quantified the environmental rebound effect resulting from smartphone reuse via second-hand markets in the US in terms of life cycle greenhouse gas emissions.”
Assessing the emission consequences of an energy rebound effect in private cars in Israel
Steren, A., Rosenzweig, S., & Rubin, O. D. (2022) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119332 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Circular Economy Rebound: The Third Wheel on the Date Between Circularity and Sustainability
Zerbino, P. (2023) · Circular Economy · doi:10.55845/ureh6873 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Drivers for circular economy development: making businesses more environmentally friendly
Kurita, A. E., Espuny, M., Campos, T. L. R., Kazançoğlu, Y., Kandsamy, J., & de Oliveira, O. J. (2023) · Environmental Science and Pollution Research · doi:10.1007/s11356-023-28048-0 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Beyond efficiency: rebound effects and the socio-material complexities of circular consumption
Greene, M., Kloppenburg, S., Dan, S. V., & Ruzzenenti, F. (2025) · Consumption and Society · doi:10.1332/27528499y2025d000000053 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Uncovering rebound effects of sufficiency-oriented product-service systems: a systematic review
Andrew, E. M., van den Bergh, J. C. J. M., & Pigosso, D. C. A. (2024) · Proceedings of the Design Society · doi:10.1017/pds.2024.121 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“…Rebound effects (RE) are the partial or complete offsetting of potential environmental savings triggered by sustainability-oriented interventions that arise due to changes in human behavior and system structure (Hertwich, 2005; Suffolk & Poortinga, 2016; Makov & Vivanco, 2018; Gava et al., 2020).”
Background
- Authors
- Makov, T., & Font Vivanco, D.
- Affiliations
- Yale University (US)
- ORCID
- Makov, Tamar
- Venue
- Frontiers in Energy Research
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2018-05-09
- Volume
- 6
- ISSN
- 2296-598X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2799409500
- Cited by
- 160
- References
- 61
- Citations by year
- 2026: 24 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 18.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Frontiers in Energy Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- European Commission (702869)
- Yale University
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Sustainable Supply Chain Management
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Environmental Impact and Sustainability
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Energy, Environment, and Transportation Policies
- Keywords
- circular economy, rebound effect, product reuse, life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, imperfect substitution, consumer behavior
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
