People-Powered Circularity: Behavior, Story & Scale | Milan Longevity Summit 2026

*The circular economy will not scale through technology alone. It also requires people to change how they choose, use, share, repair, reuse, and value the things around them.* New materials, circular business models, recycling technologies, and smarter systems are essential to the transition. But even the best solutions cannot create systemic change if people do not understand them, trust them, participate in them, or ultimately change behaviour. In this session from the *Vitality Stage at the Milan Longevity Summit 2026*, *Nicola Tagliafierro, Jacopo Mele, Jessica Sagratella, and Alessandro Armillotta* explore the human side of circularity through four interconnected perspectives spanning sustainability, innovation, behaviour, communication, and citizen engagement. Together, their talks tell a larger story about what it takes to move circularity from concept to culture. How do we turn sustainability from something people understand intellectually into something they act on? How can storytelling make complex environmental challenges relevant to everyday life? What motivates people to change established behaviours? And how can digital tools, communities, and new forms of participation turn millions of individual actions into collective impact? The session also challenges a persistent assumption in sustainability: that better information automatically leads to better choices. In reality, behaviour is shaped by *culture, convenience, incentives, identity, emotion, social norms, and the stories we tell about what a better future could look like*. Designing circular systems therefore means understanding people just as deeply as we understand technology, materials, and infrastructure. *Speakers:* • Nicola Tagliafierro – Scientific Director, European Institute for Innovation and Sustainability, EIIS • Jacopo Mele – Chief Executive Officer, Moonstone • Jessica Sagratella – Copy & Branding Consultant • Alessandro Armillotta – Chief Executive Officer, AWorld Across the four talks, circularity emerges not simply as a new model of production, but as a new relationship between *people, products, resources, businesses, and communities*. Because systemic change ultimately depends on participation. *The circular economy will scale when circular behaviours become not exceptional choices, but intuitive, desirable, and accessible parts of everyday life.* *Powered by Mott Studios* _The *Vitality Stage* at the Milan Longevity Summit explores how innovation moves from ideas and scientific breakthroughs into the markets, technologies, products, services, and business models shaping healthier lives and a healthier planet._ *Learn more about the Milan Longevity Summit:* https://www.milanlongevitysummit.org #MilanLongevitySummit #CircularEconomy #BehaviourChange #CircularInnovation #ConsumerBehaviour #Storytelling #Sustainability #CitizenEngagement #Vitality #SystemicChange