Two studies on the environmental impacts of the digital sharing economy
Tamar Meshulam, BGU
Please join us for our next Monday departmental seminar on the 8th of May from 15:00 to 16:00 at the Porter Auditorium
Two studies on the environmental impacts of the digital sharing economy
Tamar Meshulam, BGU
Abstract
The digital sharing economy is commonly thought to promote sustainable consumption and improve material efficiency through better utilization of existing product stocks. However, whether this is the case is not yet well understood. I will present two research projects focused on the environmental impacts of the digital sharing economy. In the first we investigate how the cost savings and convenience of using digital sharing platforms might stimulate additional demand for products and services. As a result, some or even all of the expected environmental benefits attributed to sharing could be offset, a phenomenon known as the rebound effect. Utilizing a unique dataset from a peer-to-peer food-sharing platform, we assess how much of the expected environmental benefits attributed to sharing are offset via rebound effects. In the second project we expand the research scope to review and consolidate results from empirical papers to assess the environmental impacts of the digital sharing economy. We inspect how environmental impacts vary between different factors (such as the sharing domain) and examine potential mechanisms that may affect platforms' environmental performance.
Tamar Meshulam is a PHD student in the BGU circular economy lab. She holds an MSc in environmental studies from Porter school at TAU under the supervision of Prof. Vered Blass and Dr. Tamar Makov
Alon Shepon
The Department of Environmental Studies
The Porter School of the Environment and Earth Science
Tel Aviv University | website
The Israeli Forum for Sustainable Nutrition
