Leverage points for sustainability transformation: Identifying past and future changes in the Finnish (circular) plastic packing system

The circular economy is hailed in the policymaking and industrial communities as a key solution to reduce material and energy throughput in our economic system, The “leverage points” concept helps to understand how sustainability transformations can be accelerated. Leverage points are places to intervene in a system. The concept postulates that transformative change is unlikely if only shallow leverage points are acted upon, while recognizing that intervening at deep leverage points is difficult in practice, even if the benefits might be substantial. This article refines the leverage points concept and applies it to the circular economy, exploring the mechanisms for transformative change. First, we examined what kind of leverage points have been identified in scientific literature in general and how they are said to introduce changes in the system. Second, we examined what kind of leverage points towards circularity were identified in the Finnish plastic packing system through a collaborative workshop with practitioners. Our results show that such leverage points vary from concrete ones at the parameter level (e.g., incentives, regulations), societal ones at the design level (e.g., increased collaboration at industry level, reformulation of company strategies) to abstract ones towards the system intent (e.g., renewed environmental values, changing ways of thinking). Regarding the packaging system, practitioners found it easier to think within existing structures rather than to come up with disruptive amendments. Thus, leverage point research requires creative thinking that challenges both stakeholders' and scientists' worldviews.