Sustainable consumption#Shifting consumption

Sustainable consumption (sometimes abbreviated to "SC")Consumer Council (Hong Kong), [https://www.consumer.org.hk/ws_en/competition_issues/reports/2016/sustainable-consumption.html Sustainable Consumption for a Better Future – A Study on Consumer Behaviour and Business Reporting], published 22 February 2016, accessed 13 September 2020 is the use of products and services in ways that minimizes impacts on the environment.

Sustainable consumption can be undertaken in such a way that needs are met for present-day humans and also for future generations.{{Cite book |title=Our common future |url=https://archive.org/details/ourcommonfuture00worl|url-access=registration |date=1987|publisher=Oxford University Press|author=((World Commission on Environment and Development)) |isbn=978-0192820808|location=Oxford |oclc=15489268}} Sustainable consumption is often paralleled with sustainable production; consumption refers to use and disposal (or recycling) not just by individuals and households, but also by governments, businesses, and other organizations. Sustainable consumption is closely related to sustainable production and sustainable lifestyles. "A sustainable lifestyle minimizes ecological impacts while enabling a flourishing life for individuals, households, communities, and beyond. It is the product of individual and collective decisions about aspirations and about satisfying needs and adopting practices, which are in turn conditioned, facilitated, and constrained by societal norms, political institutions, public policies, infrastructures, markets, and culture."Vergragt, P.J. et al (2016) Fostering and Communicating Sustainable Lifestyles: Principles and Emerging Practices, UNEP– Sustainable Lifestyles, Cities and Industry Branch, http://www.oneearthweb.org/communicating-sustainable-lifestyles-report.html, page 6.

The United Nations includes analyses of efficiency, infrastructure, and waste, as well as access to basic services, green and decent jobs, and a better quality of life for all within the concept of sustainable consumption.{{Cite news|url=https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-consumption-production/|title=Sustainable consumption and production|work=United Nations Sustainable Development|access-date=2018-08-15}} Sustainable consumption shares a number of common features and is closely linked to sustainable production and sustainable development. Sustainable consumption, as part of sustainable development, is part of the worldwide struggle against sustainability challenges such as climate change, resource depletion, famines, and environmental pollution.

Sustainable development as well as sustainable consumption rely on certain premises such as:

Effective use of resources, and minimization of waste and pollution
Use of renewable resources within their capacity for renewal
The reuse and upcycling of product life-cycles so that consumer items are utilized to maximum potential
Intergenerational and intragenerational equity

Goal 12 of the Sustainable Development Goals seeks to "ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns".{{cite web|url=http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-12-responsible-consumption-and-production.html|title=Goal 12: Responsible consumption, production|website=UNDP|access-date=12 March 2018}}

Consumption shifting

Studies found that systemic change for "decarbonization" of humanity's economic structures{{cite journal |last1=Forster |first1=Piers M. |last2=Forster |first2=Harriet I. |last3=Evans |first3=Mat J. |last4=Gidden |first4=Matthew J. |last5=Jones |first5=Chris D. |last6=Keller |first6=Christoph A. |last7=Lamboll |first7=Robin D. |last8=Quéré |first8=Corinne Le|author9-link=Joeri Rogelj |last9=Rogelj |first9=Joeri |last10=Rosen |first10=Deborah |last11=Schleussner |first11=Carl-Friedrich |last12=Richardson |first12=Thomas B. |last13=Smith |first13=Christopher J. |last14=Turnock |first14=Steven T. |title=Current and future global climate impacts resulting from COVID-19 |journal=Nature Climate Change |date=7 August 2020 |volume=10 |issue=10 |pages=913–919 |doi=10.1038/s41558-020-0883-0 |bibcode=2020NatCC..10..913F |s2cid=221019148 |doi-access=free }} or root-cause system changes above politics are required{{cite journal |last1=Ripple |first1=William J. |last2=Wolf |first2=Christopher |last3=Newsome |first3=Thomas M. |last4=Gregg |first4=Jillian W. |last5=Lenton |first5=Timothy M. |last6=Palomo |first6=Ignacio |last7=Eikelboom |first7=Jasper A. J. |last8=Law |first8=Beverly E. |last9=Huq |first9=Saleemul |last10=Duffy |first10=Philip B. |last11=Rockström |first11=Johan |display-authors=4 |title=World Scientists' Warning of a Climate Emergency 2021 |journal=BioScience |date=28 July 2021 |volume=71 |issue=9 |page=biab079 |doi=10.1093/biosci/biab079 |hdl=1808/30278 |hdl-access=free }} for a substantial impact on global warming. Such changes may result in more sustainable lifestyles, along with associated products, services and expenditures,{{cite journal |last1=Kanyama |first1=Annika Carlsson |last2=Nässén |first2=Jonas |last3=Benders |first3=René |title=Shifting expenditure on food, holidays, and furnishings could lower greenhouse gas emissions by almost 40% |journal=Journal of Industrial Ecology |year=2021 |volume=25 |issue=6 |pages=1602–1616 |doi=10.1111/jiec.13176 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2021JInEc..25.1602C }} being structurally supported and becoming sufficiently prevalent and effective in terms of collective greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Nevertheless, ethical consumerism usually only refers to individual choices, and not the consumption behavior and/or import and consumption policies by the decision-making of nation-states. These have however been compared for road vehicles, {{CO2}} emissions (albeit without considering emissions embedded in imports) and meat consumption per capita as well as by overconsumption.{{cite web |title=Country Overshoot Days 2022 |url=https://www.overshootday.org/newsroom/country-overshoot-days/ |website=Earth Overshoot Day |access-date=26 May 2022}}

Life-cycle assessments could assess the comparative sustainability and overall environmental impacts of products – including (but not limited to): "raw materials, extraction, processing and transport; manufacturing; delivery and installation; customer use; and end of life (such as disposal or recycling)".

= Sustainable food consumption =

{{Further|Environmental impact of meat production#Alternatives to meat production and consumption}}

File:Per capita annual meat consumption by region.png

File:Environmental-impact-of-food-by-life-cycle-stage.png of GHG emissions for foods]]

File:Average greenhouse gas emissions associated with different food products.png

File:Amazon Rainforest, Brazil Timelapse 1984-2018.gif

The environmental impacts of meat production (and dairy) are large: raising animals for human consumption accounts for approximately 40% of the total amount of agricultural output in industrialized countries. Grazing occupies 26% of the Earth's ice-free terrestrial surface, and feed crop production uses about one third of all arable land.{{Citation |last1=Steinfeld |first1=Henning |last2=Gerber |first2=Pierre |last3=Wassenaar |first3=Tom |last4=Castel |first4=Vincent |last5=Rosales |first5=Mauricio |last6=de Haan |first6=Cees |year=2006 |title=Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options |publisher=FAO |location=Rome |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/climatechange/doc/FAO%20report%20executive%20summary.pdf}} A global food emissions database shows that food systems are responsible for one third of the global anthropogenic GHG emissions.{{cite news |title=Food systems account for more than one third of global greenhouse gas emissions |url=http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1379373/icode/ |access-date=22 April 2021 |work=www.fao.org}}{{cite journal |last1=Crippa |first1=M. |last2=Solazzo |first2=E. |last3=Guizzardi |first3=D. |last4=Monforti-Ferrario |first4=F. |last5=Tubiello |first5=F. N. |last6=Leip |first6=A. |title=Food systems are responsible for a third of global anthropogenic GHG emissions |journal=Nature Food |date=March 2021 |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=198–209 |doi=10.1038/s43016-021-00225-9 |pmid=37117443 |doi-access=free }} Moreover, there can be competition for resources, such as land, between growing crops for human consumption and growing crops for animals, also referred to as "food vs. feed" (see also: food security).{{cite journal |last1=Manceron |first1=Stéphane |last2=Ben-Ari |first2=Tamara |last3=Dumas |first3=Patrice |title=Feeding proteins to livestock: Global land use and food vs. feed competition |journal=OCL |date=July 2014 |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=D408 |doi=10.1051/ocl/2014020 |doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |last1=Steinfeld |first1=H. |last2=Opio |first2=C. |title=The availability of feeds for livestock: Competition with human consumption in present world |journal=Advances in Animal Biosciences |date=2010 |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=421 |doi=10.1017/S2040470010000488 |doi-access=free }}

Therefore, sustainable consumption also includes food consumption – shifting to more sustainable diets.

Novel foods such as under-development{{cite web |title=Lebensmittel aus dem Labor könnten der Umwelt helfen |url=https://www.sciencemediacenter.de/alle-angebote/research-in-context/details/news/lebensmittel-aus-dem-labor-koennten-der-umwelt-helfen/ |website=www.sciencemediacenter.de |access-date=16 May 2022}} cultured meat and dairy, existing small-scale microbial foods and ground-up insects (see also: pet food and animal feed){{cite journal |last1=Sánchez-Muros |first1=María-José |last2=Barroso |first2=Fernando G. |last3=Manzano-Agugliaro |first3=Francisco |title=Insect meal as renewable source of food for animal feeding: a review |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |date=15 February 2014 |volume=65 |pages=16–27 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.11.068 }} are shown to have the potential to reduce environmental impacts by over 80% in a study.{{cite web |title=Lab-grown meat and insects 'good for planet and health' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61182294 |website=BBC News|date=25 April 2022 |access-date=25 April 2022}}{{cite journal |last1=Mazac |first1=Rachel |last2=Meinilä |first2=Jelena |last3=Korkalo |first3=Liisa |last4=Järviö |first4=Natasha |last5=Jalava |first5=Mika |last6=Tuomisto |first6=Hanna L. |title=Incorporation of novel foods in European diets can reduce global warming potential, water use and land use by over 80% |journal=Nature Food |date=April 2022 |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=286–293 |doi=10.1038/s43016-022-00489-9 |pmid=37118200 |hdl=10138/348140 |s2cid=257158726 |hdl-access=free }} Many studies such as a 2019 IPCC report{{cite journal |last1=Schiermeier |first1=Quirin |title=Eat less meat: UN climate-change report calls for change to human diet |journal=Nature |date=15 August 2019 |volume=572 |issue=7769 |pages=291–292 |doi=10.1038/d41586-019-02409-7 |pmid=31409926 |bibcode=2019Natur.572..291S |s2cid=199543066 }} and a 2022 review about meat and sustainability of food systems, animal welfare, and healthy nutrition concluded that meat consumption has to be reduced substantially for sustainable consumption. The review names broad potential measures such as "restrictions or fiscal mechanisms".{{cite news |title=Meat consumption must fall by at least 75% for sustainable consumption, says study |url=https://phys.org/news/2022-04-meat-consumption-fall-sustainable.html |access-date=12 May 2022 |work=University of Bonn}}{{cite journal |last1=Parlasca |first1=Martin C. |last2=Qaim |first2=Matin |title=Meat Consumption and Sustainability |journal=Annual Review of Resource Economics |date=5 October 2022 |volume=14 |pages=17–41 |doi=10.1146/annurev-resource-111820-032340 |doi-access=free }} In {{Dts|June 2023}}, science advisors in the European Commission's Scientific Advice Mechanism came to the identical conclusion, finding that "our diets need to shift towards more plant-based ingredients, rich in vegetables, fruits, wholegrains and pulses. Our diets should be limited in red meat, processed meat, salt, added sugar, and high-fat animal products, while fish and seafood should be sourced from sustainably managed stocks".{{Cite web |title=Towards sustainable food consumption – SAPEA |url=https://sapea.info/topic/food-consumption/ |access-date=2023-06-29 |language=en-GB}}

A considerable proportion of consumers of food produced by the food system may be non-livestock animals such as pet-dogs: the global dog population is estimated to be 900 million,{{cite book |last=Gompper |first=Matthew E. |year=2013 |chapter=The dog–human–wildlife interface: assessing the scope of the problem |title=Free-Ranging Dogs and Wildlife Conservation |editor-last=Gompper |editor-first=Matthew E. |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0191810183 |pages=9–54}}{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2014.01.032|title=Warring brothers: The complex interactions between wolves (Canis lupus) and dogs (Canis familiaris) in a conservation context|journal=Biological Conservation|volume=171|pages=232–245|year=2014|last1=Lescureux|first1=Nicolas|last2=Linnell|first2=John D.C.|bibcode=2014BCons.171..232L }}{{update inline|date=May 2022}} of which around 20% are regarded as owned pets.{{cite journal|doi= 10.1016/j.beproc.2012.10.009|title= Variation in reproductive traits of members of the genus Canis with special attention to the domestic dog (Canis familiaris)|year= 2013|last1= Lord|first1= Kathryn|last2= Feinstein|first2= Mark|last3= Smith|first3= Bradley|last4= Coppinger|first4= Raymond|journal= Behavioural Processes|volume= 92|pages= 131–142|pmid= 23124015|s2cid= 9748685}}{{update inline|date=May 2022}} Sustainable consumption may also involve their feed. Beyond reduction of meat consumption, the composition of livestock feed and fish feed may also be subject of sustainable consumption shifts.

=Product labels=

The app CodeCheck gives versed smartphone users some capability to scan ingredients in food, drinks and cosmetics for filtering out some of the products that are legal but nevertheless unhealthy or unsustainable from their consumption/purchases.{{cite web |last1=Mulka |first1=Angela |title=Apps for Earth Day: 5 options to keep your green goals |url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Earth-Day-apps-eco-conscious-apps-17108115.php |website=SFGATE |access-date=26 May 2022 |date=21 April 2022}} A similar "personal shopping assistant" has been investigated in a study.{{cite journal |last1=Asikis |first1=Thomas |last2=Klinglmayr |first2=Johannes |last3=Helbing |first3=Dirk |last4=Pournaras |first4=Evangelos |title=How value-sensitive design can empower sustainable consumption |journal=Royal Society Open Science |year=2021 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=201418 |doi=10.1098/rsos.201418 |pmid=33614080 |pmc=7890503 |arxiv=2004.09180 |bibcode=2021RSOS....801418A }} Studies indicated a low level of use of sustainability labels on food.{{cite journal |last1=Grunert |first1=Klaus G. |last2=Hieke |first2=Sophie |last3=Wills |first3=Josephine |title=Sustainability labels on food products: Consumer motivation, understanding and use |journal=Food Policy |date=1 February 2014 |volume=44 |pages=177–189 |doi=10.1016/j.foodpol.2013.12.001 |doi-access=free }} Moreover, existing labels have been intensely criticized for invalidity or unreliability, often amounting to greenwashing or being ineffective.{{cite news |last1=Arratia |first1=Ramon |title=Full product transparency gives consumers more informed choices |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/blog/full-product-transparency-life-cycle-consumers |access-date=26 May 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=18 December 2012}}{{cite news |title=Certification schemes such as FSC are greenwashing forest destruction |url=https://www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/press/13254/certification-schemes-such-as-fsc-are-greenwashing-forest-destruction/ |access-date=26 May 2022 |work=Greenpeace Africa}}{{cite journal |last1=Cazzolla Gatti |first1=Roberto |last2=Velichevskaya |first2=Alena |title=Certified 'sustainable' palm oil took the place of endangered Bornean and Sumatran large mammals habitat and tropical forests in the last 30 years |journal=Science of the Total Environment |date=November 2020 |volume=742 |pages=140712 |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140712 |pmid=32721759 |bibcode=2020ScTEn.742n0712C |s2cid=220852123 }}

In one study, individuals were given a set budget, "which could be spent once a week on a wide range of food and drink products", then data "on each item's carbon footprint was clearly presented, and individuals could view the [unlimited] carbon footprint of their supermarket basket on their shopping bill."{{cite journal |last1=Panzone |first1=Luca A. |last2=Ulph |first2=Alistair |last3=Zizzo |first3=Daniel John |last4=Hilton |first4=Denis |last5=Clear |first5=Adrian |title=The impact of environmental recall and carbon taxation on the carbon footprint of supermarket shopping |journal=Journal of Environmental Economics and Management |date=September 2021 |volume=109 |pages=102137 |doi=10.1016/j.jeem.2018.06.002 |url=http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/34631/1/Clear%20et%20al%20-%20The%20Impact%20of%20Environmental%20Recall%20and%20Carbon%20Taxation%20on%20the%20Carbon%20Footprint%20of%20Supermarket%20Shopping%20AAM.pdf }}

=The processes of consumption=

Not only selection, quantity and quality of consumed products may be of relevance to sustainable consumption, the process of consumption, including how selected products are distributed or gathered could be considered a component of it as well: for instance, ordering from a local store online could substantially reduce {{CO2}} emissions (in terms of transportation emissions and when not considering which options are available).{{cite web |title=Ordering from a local store can curb online shopping's CO₂ emissions |url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ordering-local-store-curbs-online-shopping-carbon-dioxide-emissions |website=Science News |access-date=28 May 2022 |date=26 February 2020}} Bundling items could reduce carbon emissions of deliveries and carbon footprints of in-person shopping-trips can be eliminated e.g. by biking to the shop instead of driving.

=Product information transparency and trade control=

{{Further|Produce traceability|Emission intensity#Estimating emissions|Standardization#Environmental protection}}

File:Comparison of footprint-based and transboundary pollution-based relationships among G20 nations for the number of PM2.5-related premature deaths.webp

If information is linked to products e.g. via a digital product passport, along with proper architecture and governance for data sharing and data protection, it could help achieve climate neutrality and foster dematerialization.{{cite web |title=Digitalisation for a circular economy: A driver for European Green Deal |url=https://www.epc.eu/en/events/Digitalisation-for-a-circular-economy-A-driver~30dbd0 |website=www.epc.eu |access-date=26 May 2022}} In the EU, a Digital Product Passport is being developed. When there is an increase in greenhouse gas emissions in one country as a result of an emissions reduction by a second country with a strict climate policy this is referred to as carbon leakage.{{citation |title=Emissions Loophole Stays Open in E.U. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/19/business/energy-environment/emissions-loophole-stays-open-in-eu.html |accessdate=1 April 2015 |author=Andrés Cala |work=The New York Times |date=18 November 2014}} In the EU, the proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism could help mitigate this problem,{{cite news |last1=Abnett |first1=Kate |title=EU countries support plan for world-first carbon border tariff |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-countries-back-plan-world-first-carbon-border-tariff-2022-03-15/ |access-date=26 May 2022 |work=Reuters |date=16 March 2022}} and possibly increase the capacity to account for imported pollution/harm/death-footprints. Footprints of nondomestic production are significant: for instance, a study concluded that PM_2.5 air pollution induced by the contemporary free trade and consumption by the {{tooltip|2=the EU as a whole (not a nation) is not included here|19}} G20 nations causes two million premature deaths annually, suggesting that the average lifetime consumption of about ~28 people in these countries causes at least one premature death (average age ~67) while developing countries "cannot be expected" to implement or be able to implement countermeasures without external support or internationally coordinated efforts.{{cite news |title=Air pollution from G20 consumers caused two million deaths in 2010 |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2295873-air-pollution-from-g20-consumers-caused-two-million-deaths-in-2010/ |access-date=11 December 2021 |work=New Scientist}}{{cite journal |last1=Nansai |first1=Keisuke |last2=Tohno |first2=Susumu |last3=Chatani |first3=Satoru |last4=Kanemoto |first4=Keiichiro |last5=Kagawa |first5=Shigemi |last6=Kondo |first6=Yasushi |last7=Takayanagi |first7=Wataru |last8=Lenzen |first8=Manfred |title=Consumption in the G20 nations causes particulate air pollution resulting in two million premature deaths annually |journal=Nature Communications |date=2 November 2021 |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=6286 |doi=10.1038/s41467-021-26348-y |pmid=34728619 |pmc=8563796 |bibcode=2021NatCo..12.6286N }}

Transparency of supply chains is important for global goals{{cite journal |last1=Gardner |first1=T. A. |last2=Benzie |first2=M. |last3=Börner |first3=J. |last4=Dawkins |first4=E. |last5=Fick |first5=S. |last6=Garrett |first6=R. |last7=Godar |first7=J. |last8=Grimard |first8=A. |last9=Lake |first9=S. |last10=Larsen |first10=R. K. |last11=Mardas |first11=N. |last12=McDermott |first12=C. L. |last13=Meyfroidt |first13=P. |last14=Osbeck |first14=M. |last15=Persson |first15=M. |last16=Sembres |first16=T. |last17=Suavet |first17=C. |last18=Strassburg |first18=B. |last19=Trevisan |first19=A. |last20=West |first20=C. |last21=Wolvekamp |first21=P. |title=Transparency and sustainability in global commodity supply chains |journal=World Development |date=1 September 2019 |volume=121 |pages=163–177 |doi=10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.05.025 |pmid=31481824 |pmc=6686968 |s2cid=49584357 }} such as ending net-deforestation.{{cite journal |last1=Nepstad |first1=Daniel |last2=McGrath |first2=David |last3=Stickler |first3=Claudia |last4=Alencar |first4=Ane |last5=Azevedo |first5=Andrea |last6=Swette |first6=Briana |last7=Bezerra |first7=Tathiana |last8=DiGiano |first8=Maria |last9=Shimada |first9=João |last10=Seroa da Motta |first10=Ronaldo |last11=Armijo |first11=Eric |last12=Castello |first12=Leandro |last13=Brando |first13=Paulo |last14=Hansen |first14=Matt C. |last15=McGrath-Horn |first15=Max |last16=Carvalho |first16=Oswaldo |last17=Hess |first17=Laura |title=Slowing Amazon deforestation through public policy and interventions in beef and soy supply chains |journal=Science |date=6 June 2014 |volume=344 |issue=6188 |pages=1118–1123 |doi=10.1126/science.1248525|pmid=24904156 |bibcode=2014Sci...344.1118N |s2cid=206553761 }}{{cite journal |last1=Nolte |first1=Christoph |last2=le Polain de Waroux |first2=Yann |last3=Munger |first3=Jacob |last4=Reis |first4=Tiago N. P. |last5=Lambin |first5=Eric F. |title=Conditions influencing the adoption of effective anti-deforestation policies in South America's commodity frontiers |journal=Global Environmental Change |date=1 March 2017 |volume=43 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2017.01.001 }}{{cite journal |last1=McAlpine |first1=C. A. |last2=Etter |first2=A. |last3=Fearnside |first3=P. M. |last4=Seabrook |first4=L. |last5=Laurance |first5=W. F. |title=Increasing world consumption of beef as a driver of regional and global change: A call for policy action based on evidence from Queensland (Australia), Colombia and Brazil |journal=Global Environmental Change |date=1 February 2009 |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=21–33 |doi=10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2008.10.008 |url=https://repositorio.unal.edu.co/handle/unal/79486 |url-access=subscription }} Policy-options for reducing imported deforestation also include "Lower/raise import tariffs for sustainably/unsustainably produced commodities" and "Regulate imports, e.g., through quotas, bans, or preferential access agreements".{{cite journal |last1=Bager |first1=Simon L. |last2=Persson |first2=U. Martin |last3=Reis |first3=Tiago N. P. dos |title=Eighty-six EU policy options for reducing imported deforestation |journal=One Earth |date=19 February 2021 |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=289–306 |doi=10.1016/j.oneear.2021.01.011 |bibcode=2021OEart...4..289B |s2cid=233930831 |doi-access=free }} However, several theories of change of policy options rely on (true / reliable) information being available/provided to "shift demand—both intermediate and final—either away from imported [forest-risk commodities (FRC)] completely, e.g., through diet shifts (IC1), or to sustainably produced FRCs, e.g., through voluntary or mandatory supply-chain transparency (IS1, RS2)."

As of 2021, one approach under development is binary "labelling" of investments as "green" according to an EU governmental body-created "taxonomy" for voluntarily financial investment redirection/guidance based on this categorization.{{cite news |last1=Abnett |first1=Kate |title=EU passes first chunk of green investment rules, contentious sectors still to come |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/eu-passes-first-chunk-green-investment-rules-contentious-sectors-still-come-2021-12-09/ |access-date=24 March 2022 |work=Reuters |date=9 December 2021}} The company Dayrize is one organization that attempts to accurately assess environmental and social impacts of consumer products.{{cite web |title=The Latch Teams With SunCorp To Launch New Storefront To Help Shoppers Make Sustainable Choices |url=https://www.bandt.com.au/the-latch-teams-with-suncorp-to-launch-new-storefront-to-help-shoppers-make-sustainable-choices/ |website=B&T |access-date=26 May 2022 |date=3 May 2022}}

Reliable evaluations and categorizations of products may enable measures such as policy-combinations that include transparent criteria-based eco-tariffs, bans (import control), support of selected production and subsidies which shifts, rather than mainly reduces, consumption. International sanctions during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine included restrictions on Russian fossil fuel imports while supporting alternatives, albeit these sanctions were not based

on environment-related qualitative criteria of the products.

= Fairness and income/spending freedoms =

The bottom half of the population is directly responsible for less than 20% of energy footprints and consume less than the top 5% in terms of trade-corrected energy. High-income individuals usually have higher energy footprints as they disproportionally use their larger financial resources{{snd}}which they can usually spend freely in their entirety for any purpose as long as the end user purchase is legal{{snd}}for energy-intensive goods. In particular, the largest disproportionality was identified to be in the domain of transport, where e.g. the top 10% consume 56% of vehicle fuel and conduct 70% of vehicle purchases.{{cite journal |last1=Oswald |first1=Yannick |last2=Owen |first2=Anne |last3=Steinberger |first3=Julia K. |title=Large inequality in international and intranational energy footprints between income groups and across consumption categories |journal=Nature Energy |date=March 2020 |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=231–239 |doi=10.1038/s41560-020-0579-8 |bibcode=2020NatEn...5..231O |s2cid=216245301 |url=http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/156055/3/Submission%2520manuscript%25202.05%2520Y.O.%2520A.O.%2520J.K.S%5B1%5D.pdf }}

=Techniques and approaches=

Choice editing refers to the active process of controlling or limiting the choices available to consumers.

Personal Carbon Allowances (PCAs) refers to technology-based schemes to ration GHG emissions.{{cite journal |last1=Fuso Nerini |first1=Francesco |last2=Fawcett |first2=Tina |last3=Parag |first3=Yael |last4=Ekins |first4=Paul |title=Personal carbon allowances revisited |journal=Nature Sustainability |date=16 August 2021 |volume=4 |issue=12 |pages=1025–1031 |doi=10.1038/s41893-021-00756-w |doi-access=free |bibcode=2021NatSu...4.1025F }}

==Degrowth==

Degrowth refers to economic paradigms that address the need to reduce global consumption and production whereby metrics and mechanisms like GDP are replaced by more reality-attached measures such as of health, social and environmental well-being and more needs-based{{cite journal |last1=Koch |first1=Max |last2=Buch-Hansen |first2=Hubert |last3=Fritz |first3=Martin |title=Shifting Priorities in Degrowth Research: An Argument for the Centrality of Human Needs |journal=Ecological Economics |date=1 August 2017 |volume=138 |pages=74–81 |doi=10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.03.035 |url=https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/d3408674-19df-4c34-890f-b0fbc7cf5df4 }}{{cite journal |last1=Hoehn |first1=Daniel |last2=Laso |first2=Jara |last3=Margallo |first3=María |last4=Ruiz-Salmón |first4=Israel |last5=Amo-Setién |first5=Francisco José |last6=Abajas-Bustillo |first6=Rebeca |last7=Sarabia |first7=Carmen |last8=Quiñones |first8=Ainoa |last9=Vázquez-Rowe |first9=Ian |last10=Bala |first10=Alba |last11=Batlle-Bayer |first11=Laura |last12=Fullana-i-Palmer |first12=Pere |last13=Aldaco |first13=Rubén |title=Introducing a Degrowth Approach to the Circular Economy Policies of Food Production, and Food Loss and Waste Management: Towards a Circular Bioeconomy |journal=Sustainability |date=January 2021 |volume=13 |issue=6 |pages=3379 |doi=10.3390/su13063379 |doi-access=free |hdl=10902/21665 |hdl-access=free }}{{Cite web |last=Nelson |first=Anitra |date=2024-01-31 |title=Degrowth as a Concept and Practice: Introduction |url=https://commonslibrary.org/degrowth-as-a-concept-and-practice-introduction/ |access-date=2024-02-24 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}} structures. Broadly, degrowth would or does aim to address overconsumption "by addressing real need, reducing wants, ensuring greater distributive equality and ultimately by suppressing production",{{cite journal |last1=Murphy |first1=Mary P. |title=Translating Degrowth into Contemporary Policy Challenges: A Symbiotic Social Transformation Strategy |journal=Irish Journal of Sociology |date=November 2013 |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=76–89 |doi=10.7227/IJS.21.2.6 |s2cid=56085976 |url=http://eprints.maynoothuniversity.ie/6673/1/MM-Degrowth.pdf }} or "downscaling of production and consumption that increases human wellbeing and enhances [i.e. "grows"] ecological conditions and equity on the planet".{{cite web |title=Saving the Planet: Translating Degrowth into Everyday Life by Reframing Consumption as Savings Toward Meaningful Goals |url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/PBS/assets/documents/Translating-Degrowth-into-Everyday-Life-by-Reframing-Consumption.pdf |access-date=28 May 2022}}

A common denominator of degrowth is a decline in the metric GDP. More concrete degrowth proposals are diverse, dispersed throughout the growing body of literature and include:

"reducing and redistributing income alone" along with GHG-pricing{{cite journal |last1=Bodirsky |first1=Benjamin Leon |last2=Chen |first2=David Meng-Chuen |last3=Weindl |first3=Isabelle |last4=Soergel |first4=Bjoern |last5=Beier |first5=Felicitas |last6=Molina Bacca |first6=Edna J. |last7=Gaupp |first7=Franziska |last8=Popp |first8=Alexander |last9=Lotze-Campen |first9=Hermann |title=Integrating degrowth and efficiency perspectives enables an emission-neutral food system by 2100 |journal=Nature Food |date=May 2022 |volume=3 |issue=5 |pages=341–348 |doi=10.1038/s43016-022-00500-3 |pmid=37117564 |s2cid=248848530 |url=https://publications.pik-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_27061_2/component/file_27146/27061.pdf }} and wealth redistribution into a global food systems transformation{{cite journal |last1=Lenzen |first1=Manfred |last2=Keyβer |first2=Lorenz |last3=Hickel |first3=Jason |title=Degrowth scenarios for emissions neutrality |journal=Nature Food |date=May 2022 |volume=3 |issue=5 |pages=308–309 |doi=10.1038/s43016-022-00516-9 |pmid=37117569 |s2cid=248845780 }}
One tool that could possibly be used in large-scale policies{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} is an app that "will guide users to prioritize reduction in high-footprint categories".
Another broad proposal suggests that "different roles of labour, work, and action should be acknowledged and scrutinized in detail" which could prompt or be necessary for an "organization of an alternative society"{{cite journal |last1=Heikkurinen |first1=Pasi |last2=Lozanoska |first2=Jana |last3=Tosi |first3=Pierre |title=Activities of degrowth and political change |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |date=20 February 2019 |volume=211 |pages=555–565 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.11.119 |hdl=10138/322065 |s2cid=158597472 |url=http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/150607/3/Activities%20of%20degrowth%20and%20political%20change.pdf |hdl-access=free }} (see also: green job, life-cycle assessment, certification and job evaluation)
Consumption such as "domestic water consumption" could be [made to be] considered as a collectively ordered activity especially when such data and contextual education is available the respective collective.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Demonetized activities [as well as currently financially unrewarded and unprofitable activities] are important for degrowth.

Degrowth also emphasizes the need to 'degrow' various sectors of the economy without a negative connotation usually associated with such measures such as at least temporary job-loss. If no immediate retraining occurs, leisure time may increase at least temporarily.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} There are some suggestions that in general, increases in leisure time do not per se translate to increased sustainability – in particular that some time saved did not decrease total distance of car travel.{{cite news |last1=Network |first1=Sarah DeWeerdt for Conservation magazine, part of the Guardian Environment |title=How green is online shopping? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/feb/17/how-green-is-online-shopping |access-date=28 May 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=17 February 2016}}{{clarify|date=May 2022}}{{additional citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Strong and weak sustainable consumption

{{tone|section|date=October 2017|reason=should be rephrased as encyclopedic definition, not as action plan from the proponents' PoV. Also, who coined these terms?}}

Some writers make a distinction between "strong" and "weak" sustainability.{{cite journal |last1=Ross |first1=Andrea |title=Modern Interpretations of Sustainable Development |journal=Journal of Law and Society |date=2009 |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=32–54 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-6478.2009.00455.x |jstor=40206877 |s2cid=154594989 |doi-access=free }}

Strong sustainable consumption refers to participating in viable environmental activities, such as consuming renewable and efficient goods and services (such as electric locomotive, cycling, renewable energy). Strong sustainable consumption also refers to an urgency to reduce individual living space and consumption rate.
Weak sustainable consumption is the failure to adhere to strong sustainable consumption. In other words, consumption of highly pollutant activities, such as frequent car use and consumption of non-biodegradable goods (such as plastic items, metals, and mixed fabrics).

In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also referred to as the Earth Summit, recognized sustainable consumption as a concept.{{Cite web|title=United Nations Conference on Environment & Development|url=https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/Agenda21.pdf|website=Sustainable Development}} It also recognized the difference between strong and weak sustainable consumption but set efforts away from strong sustainable consumption.{{cite journal |last1=Fuchs |first1=Doris A. |last2=Lorek |first2=Sylvia |title=Sustainable Consumption Governance: A History of Promises and Failures |journal=Journal of Consumer Policy |date=September 2005 |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=261–288 |id={{ProQuest|198357968}} |doi=10.1007/s10603-005-8490-z |s2cid=154853001 |url=https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/files/7053414/Fuchs05sustainable.pdf }}

The 1992 Earth Summit found that sustainable consumption rather than sustainable development was {{clarify|text=the center of political discourse|date=March 2022}}. Currently, strong sustainable consumption is only present in {{clarify|text=minimal precincts|date=March 2022}} of discussion and research. International government organizations’ (IGOs) prerogatives have kept away from strong sustainable consumption.{{clarify|reason=what does all that abstract verbiage mean in practical terms?|date=March 2022}} To avoid scrutiny,{{clarify|reason=from whom?|date=March 2022}} IGOs have deemed their influences{{clarify|reason=influences on them or from them?|date=March 2022}} as limited, often aligning its{{clarify|reason=whats?|date=March 2022}} interests with consumer wants and needs. In doing so, they advocate for minimal eco-efficient improvements, resulting in government skepticism{{clarify|how does A result in B?|date=March 2022}} and minimal commitments to strong sustainable consumption efforts.{{cite journal |last1=Perrels |first1=Adriaan |title=Wavering between radical and realistic sustainable consumption policies: in search for the best feasible trajectories |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |date=July 2008 |volume=16 |issue=11 |pages=1203–1217 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2007.08.008 }}

In order to achieve sustainable consumption, two developments have to take place: an increase in the efficiency of consumption, and a change in consumption patterns and reductions in consumption levels in industrialized countries and rich social classes in developing countries which have a large ecological footprint and set an example for increasing middle classes in developing countries.{{clarify|reason=break up run-on sentence|date=March 2022}}{{Cite book|date=2009|editor-last=Meier|editor-first=Lars|editor2-last=Lange|editor2-first=Hellmuth|title=The New Middle Classes|doi=10.1007/978-1-4020-9938-0|isbn=978-1-4020-9937-3}} The first prerequisite is not sufficient on its own and qualifies as weak sustainable consumption. Technological improvements and eco-efficiency support a reduction in resource consumption. Once this aim has been met, the second prerequisite, the change in patterns and reduction of levels of consumption is indispensable. Strong sustainable consumption approaches also pay attention to the social dimension of well-being and assess the need for changes based on a risk-averse perspective.{{clarify|reason=make this less vague|date=March 2022}}{{cite journal |last1=Lorek |first1=Sylvia |last2=Fuchs |first2=Doris |title=Strong sustainable consumption governance – precondition for a degrowth path? |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |date=January 2013 |volume=38 |pages=36–43 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2011.08.008 |url=http://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/25726 }} In order to achieve strong sustainable consumption, changes in infrastructures as well as the choices customers have are required. In the political arena, weak sustainable consumption is more discussed.

The so-called attitude-behaviour or values-action gap describes an obstacle to changes in individual customer behavior. Many consumers are aware of the importance of their consumption choices and care about environmental issues, however most do not translate their concerns into their consumption patterns. This is because the purchase decision process is complicated and relies on e.g. social, political, and psychological factors. Young et al. identified a lack of time for research, high prices, a lack of information, and the cognitive effort needed as the main barriers when it comes to green consumption choices.{{cite journal |last1=Young |first1=William |last2=Hwang |first2=Kumju |last3=McDonald |first3=Seonaidh |last4=Oates |first4=Caroline J. |title=Sustainable consumption: green consumer behaviour when purchasing products |journal=Sustainable Development |date=2009 |volume=18 |pages=20–31 |doi=10.1002/sd.394 |hdl=10059/1015 |hdl-access=free }}

Culture shifts

= Ecological awareness =

{{See also|Environmental education|Media policy|Solutions journalism}}

There is a growing recognition that human well-being is interwoven with the natural environment, as well as an interest to change human activities that cause environmental harm.{{clarify|reason=|date=April 2023}}{{Cite journal|last1=Ruby|first1=Matthew B.|last2=Walker|first2=Iain|last3=Watkins|first3=Hanne M.|date=2020|title=Sustainable Consumption: The Psychology of Individual Choice, Identity, and Behavior|journal=Journal of Social Issues |volume=76|issue=1|pages=8–18|doi=10.1111/josi.12376 |doi-access=free}} This is evident in the United Nations Paris Agreement goal of maintaining average global warming to optimistically 1.5 °C, and at least below a threshold of 2.0 °C.{{Cite web |last=United Nations |title=Paris Agreement |url=https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/english_paris_agreement.pdf |access-date=2023-04-01 |website=unfccc.int}} Western culture tends to celebrate consumer sovereignty and free market solutions to political economy problems.{{Cite book |last=Arrow |first=Kenneth J. |title=Social Choice and Individual Values |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1951 |location=New Haven |language=English}} Yet climate change, and the associated tragedy of the global atmospheric commons, represent a large market failure.{{Cite book |last=Stern |first=Nicolas |title=The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2007 |location=Cambridge |pages= }} There are at least three options for achieving cultural shifts and greater ecological awareness. Private solutions labeled as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strive to incorporate sustainability concerns into market supply and demand forces by increasing the transparency of productive processes, as well as awareness of ecological footprints of consumption.{{Cite journal |last1=Ye |first1=Nan |last2=Kueh |first2=Tung-Boon |last3=Hou |first3=Lisong |last4=Liu |first4=Yongxin |last5=Yu |first5=Hang |date=2020 |title=A bibliometric analysis of corporate social responsibility in sustainable development |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122679 |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |volume=272|page=122679 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122679 |s2cid=224903736 |url-access=subscription }} Public solutions apply regulatory frameworks such as the cap and trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. An alternative approach adopts polycentric governance strategies across governmental institutions and non-governmental organizations to achieve greater citizen engagement and self-governance systems.{{Cite journal |last=Ostrom |first=Elinor |date=2009 |title=A Polycentric Approach for Coping with Climate Change: Background Paper to the 2010 World Development Report. |url=https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/480171468315567893/pdf/WPS5095.pdf |journal=Policy Research Working Paper 5095, World Bank.}} Increasing levels of sustainable consumption to contribute to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12 will likely require supportive educational resources.{{Cite journal |last1=Kiely |first1=L |last2=Parajuly |first2=K |last3=Green |first3=JA |last4=Fitzpatrick |first4=C |date=2021 |title=Education for UN Sustainable Development Goal 12: A Cross-Curricular Program for Secondary Level Students. |journal=Frontiers in Sustainability |volume=2|doi=10.3389/frsus.2021.638294 |doi-access=free }}{{Cite book |last=Amadae |first=SM |url=https://atarca.eu/wp-content/uploads/SustainableConsumptionAmadaeEtAl2023.pdf |title=Sustainable Consumption: Political Economy of Sustainable Food |publisher=Aalto University |year=2023 |isbn=978-952-64-1109-5 |location=Otakaari, Finland |language=English |archive-url= |archive-date= |url-status=}}

= Surveys and trends =

File:Education on sustainable consumption should be prioritised. More specifically, concerning consumption, which two actions should be prioritised to combat climate change?.svg

Surveys ranking consumer values such as environmental, social, and sustainability, showed sustainable consumption values to be particularly low.{{Cite web|title=Consumer Market Monitor |publisher=UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School |url=https://www.ucd.ie/quinn/media/businessschool/rankingsampaccreditations/profileimages/docs/consumermarketmonitor/CMM_Q1_2016.pdf|access-date=2020-12-08|website=www.ucd.ie}} Surveys on environmental awareness saw an increase in perceived “eco-friendly” behavior. When tasked to reduce energy consumption, empirical research found that individuals are only willing to make minimal sacrifices and fail to reach strong sustainable consumption requirements.{{Cite journal |last1=Gatersleben |first1=Birgitta |last2=Steg |first2=Linda |last3=Vlek |first3=Charles |date=May 2002 |title=Measurement and Determinants of Environmentally Significant Consumer Behavior |journal=Environment and Behavior |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=335–362 |doi=10.1177/0013916502034003004 |bibcode=2002EnvBe..34..335G |s2cid=145177257 }} IGOs are not motivated to adopt sustainable policy decisions, since consumer demands may not meet the requirements of sustainable consumption.

Ethnographic research across Europe concluded that post-2008 financial crisis Ireland saw an increase in secondhand shopping and communal gardening.{{cite journal |last1=Murphy |first1=Fiona |title=Austerity Ireland, the New Thrift Culture and Sustainable Consumption |journal=Journal of Business Anthropology |date=15 October 2017 |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=158 |doi=10.22439/jba.v6i2.5410 |doi-access=free }} Following a series of financial scandals, Anti-Austerity became a cultural movement. Irish consumer confidence fell, sparking a cultural shift in second-hand markets and charities, stressing sustainability and drawing on {{clarify|text=a narrative surrounding economic recovery|date=March 2022}}.

Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals were established by the United Nations in 2015. SDG 12 is meant to "ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns".[https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-consumption-production/ UN Goal 12: Ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns] Specifically, targets 12.1 and 12.A of SDG 12 aim to implement frameworks and support developing countries in order to "move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production".

Notable conferences and programs

1992—At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) the concept of sustainable consumption was established in chapter 4 of the Agenda 21.{{cite web|last1=United Nations|title=Agenda 21|url=http://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/Agenda21.pdf}}
1995—Sustainable consumption was requested to be incorporated by UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) into the UN Guidelines on Consumer Protection.{{explain|date=September 2020|reason=Was it incorporated as requested?}}
1997—A major report on SC was produced by the OECD.Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1997) Sustainable Consumption and Production, Paris: OECD.
1998—United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) started a SC program and SC is discussed in the Human Development Report of the UN Development Program (UNDP).United Nations Development Program (UNDP) (1998) Human Development Report, New York: UNDP.
2002—A ten-year program on sustainable consumption and production (SCP) was created in the Plan of Implementation at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg.United Nations (UN) (2002) [http://intussen.info/OldSite/Planbureau%20DO/pdf/wssd_e.pdf Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development]. In Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, UN Document A/CONF.199/20*, New York: UN.
2003—The "Marrakesh Process" was developed by co-ordination of a series of meetings and other "multi-stakeholder" processes by UNEP and UNDESA following the WSSD.United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs (2010) Paving the Way to Sustainable Consumption and Production. In Marrakech Process Progress Report including Elements for a 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). [online] Available at: http://www.unep.fr/scp/marrakech/pdf/Marrakech%20Process%20Progress%20Report%20-%20Paving%20the%20Road%20to%20SCP.pdf [Accessed: 6/11/2011].
2018—Third International Conference of the Sustainable Consumption Research and Action Initiative (SCORAI) in collaboration with the Copenhagen Business School.{{Cite web |url=https://www.cbs.dk/en/research/departments-and-centres/department-of-management-society-and-communication/cbs-sustainability/events/third-international-conference-of-the-sustainable-consumption-research-and-action-initiative-scorai|title=Third International Conference of the Sustainable Consumption Research and Action Initiative (SCORAI)|date=2018-03-07|website=CBS - Copenhagen Business School|access-date=2020-02-21}}
2022–Bologna, Italy conducts the first or one of the first trials of rewards for sustainable behavior that is not implemented via product prices or subsidy-like financial mechanisms in the EU: with a "Smart Citizen Wallet", described as a supermarket points-like system, citizens will have benefits if they for example use public transport and manage energy well.{{cite news |last1=Kaube |first1=Jürgen |title=Sozialkreditsystem: Tugendpunkte in Bologna |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/bologna-testet-punktesystem-fuer-soziales-wohlverhalten-17970037.html |access-date=28 May 2022 |work=FAZ.NET |language=de}}{{cite web |last1=Rosano |first1=Francesco |title=Bologna, la "patente digitale" per i cittadini virtuosi: punti e premi. E un'app con tutti i servizi |url=https://corrieredibologna.corriere.it/bologna/politica/22_marzo_29/bologna-patente-digitale-cittadini-virtuosi-punti-premi-un-app-tutti-servizi-5a861258-af3a-11ec-9372-638361423a51.shtml |website=Corriere di Bologna |access-date=28 May 2022 |language=it |date=29 March 2022}}

References

External links

Consumption

Category:Ethical consumerism

Category:Environmental mitigation

Category:Environmental social science concepts