Sari Verachtert

Postdoctoral fellow at NTNU

Sari Verachtert is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). She is originally from Belgium but started working in May 2024 at the Department of Psychology and is part of the research group Citizens, Environment and Safety. Sari has a multidisciplinary background with a master’s in educational sciences and a PhD in political sciences from the University of Leuven. During her PhD, she conducted research related to citizenship and the role of socialization processes, with a particular interest on young people’s engagement for a sustainable world. Today, at NTNU, she is involved in a project focusing on circular economy and consumer behaviour. Within the project Sari will investigate how pro-environmental behaviour and attitudes can be explained and will specifically look at drivers and barriers regarding environmental consumer behaviour

Tell us about your project!

I am involved in the project of CircleUp: 100 households, 100 circular stories: inspiring sustainable living in Europe. CircleUp is an interdisciplinary research project that aims to strengthen circular economy practices in households. It is an international research project funded by the European Commission through the EU Horizon Europe programme. The project seeks to achieve its goal by developing, implementing, and evaluating a behavioural intervention package. More specifically, the project seeks to investigate the role of digital technology in a transition to sustainability by implementing a social game that builds on the theory of self-identity. The aim of the digital tool is to stimulate people to interact with others and engage in pro-environmental behaviour. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods will be used to conduct interviews and surveys and to analyze behavioural diaries. The overall goal of the project is to understand what fosters or hinders circular economy practices among people across different countries in the domains of food, clothes, packaging, and electronic devices. Furthermore, the project wants to investigate circular economy practices in the acquisition, use and disposal phase of a product life cycle.

“The overall goal of the project is to understand what fosters or hinders circular economy practices among people across different countries in the domains of food, clothes, packaging, and electronic devices”

— Verachtert Sari on her researh project “CircleUp: 100 Households, 100 Circular Stories: Inspiring Sustainable Living in Europe”