On 9 October 2025, an online workshop was held within the framework of the Circular Minds Interreg Europe project. The topic of the event was the form, method, messages, etc. of mindset change in order to implement circular procurement on a wider scale than currently.
The presentation was given by Lisanne van Geffen on behalf of the Dutch Rijkswaterstaat (Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management), representing the Technical University of Delft. Twenty people participated in the discussion, mostly Partners and stakeholders of the Circular Minds project.
What is a mindset change, what drives it, what hinders it?
In the Western world, rationality and money (financial resources) are often the most important factors motivating decisions. In the vast majority of cases, we start from heuristics (intuitive problem-solving methods), which also name the determining conditions and circumstances of the decision. However, in the end, decisions are often not made in the coordinates of rationality and money, and moreover, they do not follow the prescribed conditions and circumstances. Therefore, it is not uncommon for mistakes and bad decisions to occur.
The role of mindset formation is therefore decisive in the successful implementation of the above processes. Despite the Maslow pyramid, many people make decisions based on change, achieving social goals, maintaining stability, and other individual motives, which also determine their behavior. Behavior is fundamentally influenced by capabilities, motivation, and windows of opportunity.
Decision-making, whether at an individual or organizational level, is often accompanied by resistance. This can be aversion (don’t force it on me, I’ll decide – this is more directed at the proposer, the initiator of the change), skepticism (this circular procurement is a good thing, but… – the message itself is not sympathetic), or inertia (I want/would like it, but others should do it first, or it’s too hard a task, or any similar excuse). There are solutions to all three types of resistance, for example, flashing additional options (in the case of aversion), convincing ourselves, introducing a trial period (in the case of skepticism), and also making the change easy, or talking about it consistently, making it sympathetic (in the case of inertia). The point is also that the person or organization affected feels safe and comfortable after the change. The environment is also decisive in terms of specific opportunities: do I have the time, what (organizational) rules I will face, what cultural and social aspects I need to confront in order to change.
Circular (public) procurement and mindset change
Given the above, how do we procure in a sustainable, circular way? This (unfortunately) requires a change in current attitudes. It is questionable whether the top management within the organization also supports it? What do my colleagues say about this? Mentioning people is important because their behavior also sets new standards for the organization. At this point, the workshop referred to the ECO-CORNER Good Practice of Circular Minds in Spain (repairing and refurbishing electronic devices) and the Dutch Sustainable Furniture Use System Good Practice (refurbishing furniture instead of buying new ones, and purchasing refurbished furniture) as instructive examples.
At the individual level, mindset change has been reviewed and explored from many angles, and there is also a wide literature on it. Organizational mindset change has been explored and documented much less, but it has a common denominator with individual mindset change that it also depends on people. What can work here is that people see that the new mindset is truly successful, so they follow it more easily at both the individual and organizational levels.
In the case of individuals, the application of financial, personalized incentives often brings about change. For organizations, financial, material motivations are even more important. At the same time, all decision-making levels must be involved in the change in order for it to be successful.
Of course, the change also needs to be measured somehow, and the Dutch speaker gave an example of a study that illustrated adaptation to climate change.
How can change be promoted in local municipalities?
By mentioning previous good examples, which can also be „opinion leaders” for change in a cost-effective and motivating way. Circular Minds Good Practices are also previous examples.
The role of individuals is decisive in change, so that people see beyond, go beyond the boundaries of their job for the sake of change. The higher an obstructing person is, the slower the (organizational) change is. In addition, the scattered roles and responsibilities of the organizational units also prove to be effective obstacles. Conflicting (political) priorities within the organization are also obstacles, and these must be addressed.
Change can often be achieved by providing the right information. Training can also make a lot of progress in terms of changing individual attitudes. Even more important than training is that there is also a related practical, implementation, and work expectation.
Questions and answers
The workshop was concluded with a question-and-answer session.
How can change be achieved so that it is not implemented through pressure, but rather colleagues take the lead themselves? The answer is that we do not necessarily have to focus on the employees concerned, but on other key people in the organization. Both groups of people need to be addressed simultaneously. It is also important that change appears as an opportunity, and not as an obligation.
Indirectly, this also includes targeted, understandable, and simple language-based communication towards the local community, which sows the seed well.
The participation of the South Transdanubia Regional Innovation Agency in the Circular Minds Interreg Europe project is co-financed by the European Union and Hungary.
