{"id":1039,"date":"2026-05-20T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T07:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/?p=1039"},"modified":"2026-05-26T16:01:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T16:01:13","slug":"behaviour-change-without-changing-behaviours-improving-system-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/businesssinglesmeet.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/behaviour-change-without-changing-behaviours-improving-system-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Behaviour change without changing behaviours: Improving system design"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u00a0<\/div>\n

\"re-universe\"<\/h4>\n

Tony McGurk, founder of re-universe, and Steve Clarke, commercial director for re-universe, explain why better system design is the key to encouraging people to change their behaviours.\u00a0<\/h4>\n

For the best part of two decades, the circular economy conversation has been built on a familiar premise: if we can encourage people to behave differently, we can solve the waste problem.<\/p>\n

Better labelling, clearer messaging, and financial incentives and penalties have all been deployed as strategies \u2013 each designed to nudge individuals toward better choices.<\/p>\n

And yet, despite progress, the core challenge remains. Behaviour change at scale is slow, inconsistent and highly sensitive to context. Even the most well-intentioned consumers default to convenience under time pressure.<\/p>\n

The uncomfortable truth is that we are still placing too much of the burden on the individual. It is time to reframe the problem.<\/p>\n

What if the goal is not to change behaviours but to remove the need altogether?<\/p>\n

The limits of behaviour-led reuse<\/h2>\n
\"Reuse\"
Each step in the return process adds unnecessary complexity.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Reuse systems have historically underperformed not because of a lack of demand, but because they introduce friction into otherwise simple transactions.<\/p>\n

Consumers are asked to:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Download apps.<\/li>\n
  • Register details.<\/li>\n
  • Understand deposit systems.<\/li>\n
  • Scan items multiple times.<\/li>\n
  • Actively remember to return.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Each step adds complexity. Each moment of hesitation reduces participation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    In controlled pilot environments, these systems can work, but when adopted at scale across busy campuses, venues, and transport hubs, friction accumulates and performance drops.<\/p>\n

    Operators, faced with inconsistency and operational overhead, often revert to single-use for reasons that are entirely rational from a commercial perspective. This is not a behavioural failure. It is a system design failure.<\/p>\n

    Engineer the outcome, not the behaviour<\/h2>\n

    Single-use systems succeed for one simple reason: they are effortless.<\/p>\n

    You buy. You use. You dispose. No cognitive load.<\/p>\n

    If reuse is to compete, it must meet this standard of simplicity, not approximate it. This is where\u00a0true one-tap technology represents a structural shift.<\/p>\n

    This is what we call \u2018invisible returns\u2019, where the customer sees no real difference in how they need to behave.<\/p>\n

    Rather than asking consumers to adapt, the system is designed so that returning an item becomes the natural, frictionless continuation of the journey.<\/p>\n