Conceptualizing sustainable consumption: toward an integrative framework

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Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy
ISSN: (Print) 1548-7733 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tsus20
Conceptualizing sustainable consumption: toward
an integrative framework
Antonietta Di Giulio, Daniel Fischer, Martina Schäfer & Birgit Blättel-Mink
To cite this article: Antonietta Di Giulio, Daniel Fischer, Martina Schäfer & Birgit Blättel-Mink
(2014) Conceptualizing sustainable consumption: toward an integrative framework, Sustainability:
Science, Practice and Policy, 10:1, 45-61, DOI: 10.1080/15487733.2014.11908124
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ARTICLE
Conceptualizing sustainable consumption: toward an integrative
framework
Antonietta Di Giulio1, Daniel Fischer2, Martina Schäfer3, & Birgit Blättel-Mink4
1
Research Group Inter/Transdisciplinarity, Programme Man-Society-Environment, University ofBasel, Vesalgasse 1, Basel 4051
Switzerland (email: [email protected])
2
Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Communication, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Scharnhorststrasse 1, Lüneburg
21335 Germany (email: [email protected])
3
Center for Technology and Society, Technische Universität Berlin, Hardenbergstrasse 16-18, Berlin 10623 Germany (email:
[email protected])
4
Department of Social Sciences, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, Grüneburgplatz 1, Frankfurt am Main
60323 Germany (email: [email protected])
Consumption and sustainability are complex issues—they cannot be reduced to the choice of consumer goods or to
“green consumption.” Doing so would neglect the multifaceted embeddedness of consumer acts and the multidimen-
sionality of sustainability. To understand patterns of consumption and move them toward sustainability means dealing
with this double complexity. A coherent reference framework is therefore needed, to enable locating and correlating
research questions, theories, and findings. Such a framework should provide a basis for interdisciplinary under-
standing, mutual acknowledgment, and collaborative knowledge creation. Therefore, it needs to be the result of an
integrative approach; otherwise it would not allow a wide variety of disciplines to work with it. This article presents
such a framework, developed in the course of an interdisciplinary process in a research program. In this process, the
researchers of the focal topic asked four questions: 1) How can consumption be conceptualized? 2) How can con-
sumption and sustainability be related? 3) How can sustainable consumption be assessed? and 4) How can changes
to individual consumption be motivated? The article condenses the researchers’ overall answers to these questions
into four complementary core statements capturing the key elements of the reference framework and concludes by
sketching the framework’s benefits for future research.
KEYWORDS: social behavior, consumergroups, quality of life, interdisciplinary research
Introduction consumption acts could be changed toward sustain-
ability, why people very often resist change, how
Consumption is not only regarded as a key driver consumption’s impacts can be assessed, and how
of environmental change (The Royal Society, 2012; concepts of the good life can be linked with con-
WWF, 2012) it is also a central domain of social ine- sumption. This is a broad range of questions that sci-
qualities (de Zoysa, 2011; UNDP, 2011). In response ence has been called upon to answer. It goes without
to these challenges, consumption has become im- saying that no research project can cover all these
portant in the emerging field of sustainability science facets at the same time and in an appropriate manner
(Kates et al. 2001; Brown, 2012). In a declaration and that no single discipline can deal with all of
from 2005, more than 100 scholars acknowledged them. Accordingly, research on sustainable con-
“an implementation gap” (Tukker et al. 2006) and sumption is a highly interdisciplinary endeavor, and
suggested that research should “put more emphasis recent years have seen a growing interest in taking
on the contextual and causal influences of consumer stock of the diverse body of work in the field.
behavior,” develop a better understanding of how In our opinion, the ongoing scientific debates
behavior affects the environment, and relate it to still lack initiatives to provide a comprehensive con-
ideas of a good life. Furthermore, the declaration ceptualization of sustainable consumption (as an ob-
called upon research to be focused more rigorously ject of research) that can bring together the different
on narrowing the implementation gap through studies facets just mentioned. To facilitate collaborative
and experiments that could “reveal how to empower knowledge production, such a conceptualization
self-interested people to pursue more sustainable should aim at delivering a coherent reference frame-
livelihoods.” In other words, studies are needed on work serving, first, to locate and, second, not simply
how and why consumers behave as they do, how to enumerate, but rather correlate research questions,
2014Di Giulio et al. CC-BY Attribution 4.0 License. Spring2014| Volume 10| Issue 1
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Di Giulio et al.: Conceptualizing Sustainable Consumption
theories, and findings from different scientific disci- topic, see Defila et al. 2012). More than fifteen sci-
plines with the aim of developing comprehensive entific disciplines (mostly from the social sciences
answers about what sustainable consumption is and and the humanities) and about 80 partners from prac-
how it can be achieved. tice were involved in the research. The ten project
To facilitate interdisciplinary research—and also groups covered a wide range of topics and concen-
transdisciplinary debates among science, policy, and trated on, for example, the reasons people do or do
practice—such a conceptualization should itself be not insulate their houses; the design of school pro-
the result of interdisciplinary research, so as to allow jects on sustainable consumption; the effects of life
different disciplines to connect to and, subsequently, events on consumption behavior; the benefits of
relate their findings. In other words, what is needed is smart meters; and the possibilities of saving energy at
integration, understood as a process that seeks to the workplace. On a more general level, the projects
systematically frame the problem by incorporating dealt with deliberate decisions as well as everyday
diverse disciplinary perspectives (Defila & Di Giulio, routines; the social meaning of consumer behavior as
2010). To this end, an interdisciplinary approach to well as concrete interventions; and the design and
problem framing has 1) to make visible disciplinary impact of policy instruments as well as the more fun-
perspectives and 2) to link them. Both can best be damental question of how to raise awareness about,
achieved by means of answering seemingly simple and strengthen competency in, sustainable consumer
but fundamental questions. With regard to sustainable behavior. The accompanying research project had the
consumption, we explored the following questions: task of helping to identify and to develop overarching
How can the variety of elements making up the phe- findings and thus enhance both the scientific and
nomenon of sustainable consumption according to practical impact of the program. It designed, initiated,
different disciplinary approaches be related to each and coordinated the process of collaborative problem
other? How can the different types of disciplinary framing and integration of theories and findings
analysis be brought together in such a way that jus- leading, among other things, to the conceptualization
tice can be done to each of them? What are the con- of sustainable consumption presented in this article.
ducing and inhibiting factors of transformation to- The aim of the process of integration within the
ward sustainable consumption according to different focal topic was to identify joint questions and com-
disciplinary approaches and how can they be related mon ground despite and beyond the diverse research
to each other? topics, theoretical approaches, terminology, and re-
We have embarked on such an endeavor, and this search methods of the project groups. A multi-
article presents some key elements of the reference method approach guided the design of this process,
framework we developed to conceptualize sustain- which encompassed several incremental loops. An
able consumption comprehensively. During our in- average of 50 researchers from all project groups of
terdisciplinary work, this conceptualization proved the focal topic met six times in two-day synthesis
useful, helping to locate research questions as well as workshops methodologically based on structured
concepts, theories, and findings within a scientific but integration-oriented dialogue techniques. During the
not specifically disciplinary framework, and provid- synthesis process, different procedures were chosen:
ing a scientific but not specifically disciplinary ter- The researchers either discussed questions or elabo-
minology that researchers from diverse disciplines rated definitions and classifications in the sense of
were able to refer to. collaborative problem framing in the plenum until
The framework’s development took place during they reached consensus and a shared body of
a research program, termed a “focal topic,” entitled knowledge. Alternatively, one person or a small
“From Knowledge to Action: New Paths Towards working group assumed the task of elaborating the
Sustainable Consumption,” that ran from 2008 to next step of integration and preparing a basis for (real
2013 and was funded by the German Federal Minis- or virtual) discussion (comprising phone conferences,
try of Education and Research (BMBF) as part of the Skype calls, e-learning tools, and e-mail). These two
German Social-Ecological Research Program (SÖF).1 kinds of procedures were intertwined.2 In a final step,
The focal topic consists of ten project groups with a five overlapping groups of researchers (consisting of
total of 28 subprojects and an accompanying research between four and thirteen members) formulated the-
project (for more detailed information on the focal ses and wrote drafts of papers that all interested re-
searchers in turn discussed and thus validated.

1 SÖF and the focal topic belong to the field of sustainability

science as they pursue the goal of investigating societal problems
using an inter- and transdisciplinary approach to generate 2 These procedures of synthesis development correspond to the
knowledge that contributes to shaping sustainable development method-types “Group” and “Project Management” according to the
(Lang et al. 2012). For more information, see http://www.sozial- typology introduced by Rossini & Porter (1978) and further devel-
oekologische-forschung.org/en/947.php. oped by Krott (1996).
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Di Giulio et al.: Conceptualizing Sustainable Consumption
The overarching question of the integration pro- sumption behavior and the design of different types
cess was: How can the topic “sustainable consump- of interventions to change it. The discussion we had
tion” be conceptualized so that different disciplines about the scope of the various conceptualizations and
(and also practitioners from different fields) can link theoretical approaches resulted in an integrative de-
themselves to it? During the working process, this scription of the different context factors that influ-
larger question was subdivided into four constituent ence individual behavior and in a differentiation of
questions: 1) How can consumption be conceptual- consumption acts. It also allowed us to formulate a
ized? 2) How can consumption and sustainability be shared definition of consumption, including the pro-
related? 3) How can sustainable consumption be as- cess stages of selection, acquisition, use, and disposal
sessed? and 4) How can changes of individual con- of goods (products and services) (see also Core
sumption be motivated? Although these questions Statement 3).
were answered separately and by partially different To identify promising ways to make consump-
groups of researchers, the answers were always re- tion more sustainable, we need to understand and
lated to each other, as explained above. describe consumption acts as comprehensively as
Here we condense the overarching results of this possible. Otherwise, there is the risk of developing
integrative process into four core statements, unfold- well-intended strategies that will not succeed because
ing the key elements of the collaboratively developed they overlook essential inhibiting or inducing factors.
reference framework.3 Note that the framework pre- In our perception, the complexity of consumption
sented here should not be attributed solely to the four acts and their close interrelatedness with context
authors of this article, but rather to all of the partici- factors often is not considered adequately in the de-
pants in the integrative process (see Defila et al. velopment of strategies and measures that aim to
2012). Section 2 presents these four core statements change consumption toward sustainability. This sec-
and illustrates them via examples from the project tion entails a brief description of the multiple con-
groups. Section 3 draws conclusions with regard to texts individual behavior is embedded in and the dif-
possible benefits of this integrative framework for ferent types of consumption acts. In a second step, it
future research in sustainable consumption. also briefly addresses the degree to which theoretical
approaches enable this complexity to be grasped (for
Core Statements on the Conceptualization of a more elaborated version and a list of the analyzed
Sustainable Consumption for an Inter- body of literature, see Kaufmann-Hayoz et al.
disciplinary Research Community 2012a).

The initial core statement seeks to answer the Individual Consumer Behavior is Embedded in
first and most basic of the questions: “How can con- Multiple Contexts
sumption be conceptualized?” (Everyday) social interaction as part of social
embeddedness: Most consumer acts are performed
Core Statement 1: Consumption is a Complex through interaction and cooperation with others. For
Issue consumer acts within a household, this means that
actions such as the preparation of meals (e.g., the
Individual consumption is a complex bundle of be- quantity of meat consumption) or the planning of
havioral routines encompassing far more than the holidays become subjects of negotiation. Outside the
purchase of products and services. Neglecting the household, other situations arise, such as discussions
multiple social, cultural, and structural contexts con- with colleagues about adequate room temperature in
sumption is embedded in risks a reduced under- the office. The routinization of many everyday activ-
standing of consumption acts and, consequently, the ities is intertwined with the social environment. A
development of insufficient strategies and measures stable environment contributes to establishing habits;
to change them. if the former changes, routines are interrupted and
alternative short- or long-term solutions are needed
The starting point of the discussion that led to (Wood et al. 2005).
this statement was the fact that all of the project Affiliation to social groups and milieus as part of
groups of the focal topic conceptualized consumer social embeddedness: Most consumer acts have a
behavior very differently, drawing on a variety of symbolic function and are important for self-identity
theoretical approaches dealing with individual con- (Levy, 1959). Specific consumer acts such as choos-
ing a mobile phone, car, or routine places to eat out

are typical for certain lifestyle groups or social mi-
3 Neither all findings nor the whole body of literature analyzed can lieus, allowing people to express their affiliation and
be presented here. Detailed findings and the list of references are in
to identify it in others. While symbolic consumer acts
the synthesis publication (Defila et al. 2012).
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Di Giulio et al.: Conceptualizing Sustainable Consumption
consciously demonstrate a certain affiliation, the term cooking only), such action does not need to be con-
“habitus” designates the rather unconscious repro- sciously controlled and managed. At the same time,
duction of social affiliation, which originates mainly routines can also be interrupted through changes or
from processes of socialization (Bourdieu, 1984). disruptions of such arrangements, allowing for some
Examples of such influences are class- or milieu-spe- reflection on them (e.g., ice on roads preventing car
cific preferences for certain food or ways of furnish- use).
ing one’s home. To illustrate the embeddedness of individual
Institutional embeddedness: Consumer acts are (and household) behavior in different contexts, we
institutionally embedded in various areas of daily turn to the project group “Change,” which developed
life, but also change with regard to different life and tested different communication measures to mo-
stages. These situated dimensions include, for exam- tivate university staff to save energy (for more infor-
ple, clothing guidelines and regulated break times at mation about the project, see Matthies & Thomas,
work. As one of the project groups in the focal topic, 2012). An individual’s openness toward saving en-
“Life Events,” demonstrated, institutional influences ergy at his/her workplace proves to be influenced by
can also be found in private life. Parents, for exam- social, cultural, institutional, and sociotechnical con-
ple, become part of a system of family policy upon texts as well as by characteristics of the individual.
the birth of their first child. Institutional offers target Regarding the institutional context, it makes a differ-
them with certain norms (both formal rules, such as ence whether or not an entity presents itself as an
medical examinations and vaccinations, as well as energy-efficient or environmentally aware organiza-
informal guidelines on upbringing), which commonly tion. Regarding the options for energy saving, the
entail specific consumer acts (see Figure 1 and sociotechnical context—the material dimension—
Schäfer & Jaeger-Erben, 2012). plays a crucial role. Is it, for example, possible to
Cultural embeddedness: Consumer acts are in- regulate room temperature individually or is regu-
fluenced by culturally anchored values and, at the lation centralized? How good is the building’s insu-
same time, represent and reproduce these values. For lation: Are there cold walls or leaking windows?
example, definitions of cleanliness, comfort, luxury, How much daylight enters the building? Such char-
or healthy food are culturally specific. These defini- acteristics of the building and the energy infrastruc-
tions are communicated and acquired through pro- ture can be regarded as prestructuring possibilities for
cesses of socialization and (re)produced through di- individual action. Last, but not least, it is essential to
alogue, but also have an effect on what standards are consider influential cultural and social aspects. If, for
implemented, for example, in terms of the acceptable example, the institution cultivates a norm of “being
sanitary standards and temperature of buildings readily available,” it is more likely that personal
(Shove, 2003; Chappels & Shove, 2005). computers will not be turned off during longer meet-
Sociotechnical and sociospatial embeddedness: ings. Or, if offices are shared, colleagues may par-
The degree to which consumer acts are prestructured ticipate in decisions about appropriate room temper-
can particularly be observed with regard to their in- ature and ventilation, assuming that the building al-
corporation in sociotechnical and sociospatial con- lows for this capability (e.g., heating not centralized,
texts. The characteristics of certain technologies and windows that can open).
everyday products, as well as spatial arrangements, This brief list of contextual aspects seeks to
such as infrastructure, but also the atmosphere of clarify that individuals are not completely free in de-
squares and streets, have a strong influence on how ciding for or against energy-efficient behavior at their
we carry out consumption acts and the degrees of work place (or at home), and the same goes for their
freedom we have in consuming.4 Even actions per- mobility behavior and all other fields of consump-
formed individually, such as using one’s own bath- tion. This type of analysis of contextual factors is
tub, are socially embedded, since “the social” is also helpful for understanding consumption acts in their
“imprinted” in technology and space. Technical and complexity and inhibiting the development of unidi-
spatial arrangements may favor the automation of mensional interventions.
actions. If technology determines how an action is
performed (e.g., using a certain amount of water for Characterization of Different Types of
toilet flushing) or a room design prescribes specific Consumption Acts
ways of use (e.g., a room which is designed for The degree of prestructuration determines
whether the individual has much freedom in deciding
for or against a certain consumption act or whether
4 The mutual structuring of social and material aspects in the he/she is practically “forced” to a certain decision
development of social practices and the consumption patterns (e.g., by cleanliness standards or restricted mobility
involved is especially taken up by structuration and practice theory
infrastructure). Consumption acts can also be differ-
(e.g., Giddens, 1984; Schatzki, 2001; Reckwitz, 2002).
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Di Giulio et al.:Conceptualizing Sustainable Consumption
Figure 1 Network of elements of practices around daily time and way planning (project “Life Events”). Blue: Spatial and
infrastructural contexts; pink: sociocultural norms; yellow: individual attitudes and preferences. The lines show interrelatedness
between the different elements.
entiated regarding the degree of reflection with which striking that most of the theories focus on either per-
they are carried out. Reflected consumer acts are sonal or structural conditions and that few theoretical
those that a person consciously decides on after con- approaches have adequately considered the close in-
sidering the options available. In contrast, nonre- terrelationship between individual characteristics
flected consumer acts are performed with little atten- (e.g., attitudes, preferences, competencies) and the
tion, and there is no (renewed) conscious decision material dimension of everyday consumption (e.g.,
and check. Often, such nonreflected acts have the the characteristics of the given spatial and sociotech-
character of routines, that is, they are performed out nical structures).
of habit due to frequent repetition. Finally, acts of However, a tendency to overcome this dichot-
consumption can be distinguished as being essential omy of perspectives is recently observable (see Brand
or nonessential with regard to their symbolic or emo- 2010; Kaufmann-Hayoz et al. 2012a). Relatively new
tional significance for the individual. Consumer acts “practice theoretical approaches” aim to provide a
that are indispensable to an individual’s idea of a framework for the integrative analysis of social and
good life are essential, whereas those that are substi- material aspects of “social practices” (Schatzki, 1996;
tutable in terms of their significance (i.e., the func- Reckwitz, 2002), which can be described as “logi-
tional benefit can be fulfilled by another product or cally” organized bundles of activities (doings and
service) are nonessential. sayings) and supporting materials (artefacts, technical
or other media) that have a spatial and temporal
Theoretical Approaches Dealing With the structure (Schäfer & Jaeger-Erben, 2012). Research-
Complexity of Consumption Behavior ers have applied this approach to different questions
Now that we have stressed the complexity of of sustainable consumption during the past few years
consumption acts, the question arises how well dif- (e.g., Shove & Warde, 2002; Shove, 2003;
ferent action theories are able to deal with this. The Spaargaren, 2004). Within the focal topic being re-
scholarlyliterature offers a broad range of theoretical ported here, the reconstruction of everyday con-
approaches dealing with different aspects of com- sumption as a linkage between different consumption
plexity (see Kaufmann-Hayoz et al. 2012a). practices with individual needs and priorities in the
After screening the scope of the approaches conduct of everyday life was a part of the project
available, the researchers within the focal topic con- “Life Events,” which aimed to better understand how
cluded that certain deficiencies exist with regard to everyday consumption patterns change during life-
theories dealing with nonreflected consumer acts, the course transitions like the birth of a first child
symbolic significance of consumer goods and acts, (Schäfer & Jaeger-Erben, 2012).
the dynamic nature of change processes, and the me- Figure 1 shows how mobility and shopping
diation between individual and structural factors and practices are combined in individual everyday time
processes. Referring to the last aspect, it seems rather and way planning. It illustrates this using the example
of parents who combine individual needs and priori-
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Di Giulio et al.: Conceptualizing Sustainable Consumption
ties with social norms of childcare in their everyday The second core statement relating consumption
lives. In project-team interviews with parents, it often and sustainability on a conceptual level is based on
turned out that they felt pressured to provide organic Di Giulio et al. (2012) as well as the discussions con-
food for their babies, since the media and social net- ducted on this issue within the focal topic.
works called it the healthiest option (pesticide-free, The first starting point for this statement is the
natural). In the example above, shopping in an or- idea that the concept of need is fundamental to indi-
ganic store is combined with taking a car, since the vidual consumption, in the sense that there is a “what
retail establishment is located outside normal every- for?” behind every act of consumption (e.g., to be
day routes and public transportation is seen as too part of a certain peer group, to stay healthy and clean,
expensive and impractical. Furthermore, taking the to recreate and learn something, to have a comforta-
car allows for combining shopping with other activi- ble home). These needs have to be taken into account
ties as well as further priorities and strategic deci- to adequately understand and grasp acts of consump-
sions relevant to everyday life. The example shows tion (see Core Statement 1). On a conceptual level,
how different consumption habits that have ambiva- this means that to acquire, possess, or use goods is
lent effects from a sustainability point of view can be not an end in itself, whereas needs are ends in them-
closely linked in the framework of individual strate- selves, and acts of consumption are only means to
gies for performing ordinary activities. It also these ends. The second starting point is the central
demonstrates the interaction of individual consump- role the concept of need plays regarding the idea of
tion habits with systems of provision, like shopping sustainability, according to which the development of
facilities or public transport, and the importance of society must be oriented toward the satisfaction of
factors such as social norms and social interaction the needs of all human beings and the guarantee of a
(for a detailed report on methods and findings of the good life for all—both in the present and future.5
study see Schäfer & Jaeger-Erben, 2012). This common conceptual denominator adds up to the
Based on these analyses, the reconstruction of suggestion that, to define sustainability in
social practices can be regarded as an “entanglement” consumption, we should not focus on consumer
of a single consumer act within a spatial and temporal goods, but rather on the needs to which these goods
context (Kaufmann-Hayoz et al. 2012a). The theory are linked (see also Core Statement 3).
of social practices allows integration of the individual It is incontestable that, from the point of view of
and structural dimensions of consumption by exam- sustainability, global society will run into severe
ining the interrelationships between consumers and, problems if all the wishes people feel were actually to
for example, available systems of provision as one be satisfied. This line of thought leads to the conclu-
structural element, helping to explain why changing sion that, to be useful, the concept of need has to be
routines is a very challenging task. Although social able to distinguish legitimate needs from illegitimate
practice theory has—just like all other theoretical needs. A further consequence is that the concept of
approaches—a certain focus and bias (see, e.g., need has to be deduced from the idea of sustainability
Brand, 2010), it seems a promising approach capable and then applied to consumption—and not vice versa.
of overcoming the theoretical deficits outlined above. The debate within the focal topic on how to find
To conceive acts of consumption as being em- a suitable conception of need resulted in exploration
bedded in different contexts—as shown above—and of another concept linked with the idea of sustain-
to distinguish them according to their degrees of ability: a good life. Just like the concept of need, the
freedom and consciousness and their meaning for the concept of a good life is used in its philosophical
individual is important with regard to how we can sense and not as it is generally deployed in the em-
change them. But it is also crucial with respect to pirical social sciences. In philosophy, the term de-
how we relate consumption to sustainability. Hence, notes what a fulfilled human life should consist of. It
the second question is “How can consumption and thus does not denote a specific historical concept or
sustainability be related?” our individual conception of quality of life. Philo-
sophical theories of a good life are always ahistorical
Core Statement 2: Concepts of Need and of a
Good Life Help to Define the Relationship 5 The definition of sustainability used within the focal topic is that
Between Consumption and Sustainability given by the United Nations, setting the fulfilment of human needs
as the overarching goal of societal development on the national and

the international levels. Within this anthropocentric approach, the
Applying concepts of a good life and of objective
world of nature is one of the different dimensions to be considered,
needs to the field of consumption forms a sound basis with the “planetary boundaries” as natural limitations on develop-
for deducing responsibilities, rights, and criteria of ment. The obligation to pursue sustainability is politically set and
sustainability in consumption. extends to individuals as well as to nations and the international
community. This definition was the starting point for our ethical
reasoning within the focal topic.
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Di Giulio et al.: Conceptualizing Sustainable Consumption
and supra-individual. So-called “objective theories” Objective needs: Objective needs are individual
of a good life aim to define universally valid ele- constructs of wanting, but only those referring to uni-
ments that a good life should consist of, which are versally valid elements of a good life. Objective
independent from both subjectively felt wishes and needs (e.g., the need for recreation) are ends in them-
individual (culturally embedded) situations. Re- selves. They are legitimate needs and cannot be ethi-
searchers in the sustainability discourse working with cally questioned. All humans, both in the present and
theories of a good life prefer anthropological ap- future, have a right to be provided with the possibility
proaches as promoted, e.g., by Max-Neef, 1991 or of satisfying these needs. This ethical obligation ex-
Nussbaum, 1992 (see, e.g., Rauschmayer et al. 2011 tends to all societal actors, from the level of the indi-
or Costanza et al. 2007). The protagonists of such vidual up to the level of states.
approaches argue that certain characteristics and ca-
pabilities are universal to human life (e.g., to engage Subjective desires: Subjective desires, for exam-
socially, to recreate, to enjoy bodily integrity, to be ple a wish to see Niagara Falls, are also individual
secure) and postulate that a good life consists of the constructs of wanting. But they cannot claim the sta-
possibility of developing these characteristics and tus of being objective needs because they are not re-
capabilities, according to one’s physical and psycho- lated to universal elements of a good life. Subjective
logical situation and individual preferences.6 Anthro- desires can, therefore, be ethically questioned; they
pological approaches set the ethical obligation to are only legitimate as far as their satisfaction does not
provide all human beings with the possibility of de- prevent others from satisfying their objective needs.
veloping the characteristics and capabilities postu- Society has no ethical obligation to guarantee satis-
lated, regardless of whether people decide to make faction of subjective desires.
use of them. Hence, the goal of sustainability can be
rephrased: to provide all humans with the external Consumer goods: Consumer goods are the prod-
(social, cultural, economic, environmental) condi- ucts and services/infrastructures we possess and use
tions necessary to live a good life. as a means to satisfy needs and desires (satisfiers).
With these ideas in mind, we explored how the The supply of consumer goods can be ethically ques-
notion of need can be related to concepts of a good tioned if, in some way, it hinders humans from satis-
life in such a way that they complement each other. fying their objective needs. There is an obligation,
Meeting this requirement can be achieved if need is though, to provide consumer goods as far as they are
understood as a time-bound entity, that is, if need is indispensable for the satisfaction of objective needs.
coupled with existing human individuals (see Soper,
2006). A need is something a human being experi- Ideas about the degree and breadth of satisfac-
ences—it is a person wanting something—and with- tion of objective needs and subjective desires: As a
out this person the wanting does not exist. Thus, on a rule, different consumer goods are available to satisfy
conceptual level, the (historical) concept of need one and the same desire or need, and these goods can
complements (ahistorical) concepts of a good life. In be made use of on different scales (e.g., recreation is
the context of sustainability, this allows connection possible at home and on the Maldives; one can visit
of the superordinate goal of sustainable development the Maldives once in a lifetime or once a year). Ideas
to the present reality of human beings. Once an about the degree and breadth of satisfaction of needs
agreement is reached on the elements of a good life, and desires substantiate the point at which an indi-
the criteria needed to identify legitimate needs are vidual considers a need or a desire to be satisfied.
provided: those connected to these elements. They express individual conceptions of a fulfilled and
Further elaborating these considerations and meaningful life while, at the same time, also being
terms, the researchers working within the focal topic strongly influenced by the sociocultural environment
developed a conceptual system with regard to sus- (see Core Statement 1). As such, they can be ethically
tainability and consumption, defining these terms as questioned.
well as responsibilities and rights related to them.
The central concepts of the system follow.7 Components of nature: Components of nature
are used to satisfy needs and desires, as nearly all
consumer goods rely on, and/or affect, components of

6 Empirical evidence that such theoretically stated universals in nature. Their use in this way is not an end in itself,
but a means to an end; they are instrumental and
philosophy exist is provided, for example, by psychological and
other empirical research (e.g., Veenhoven, 2000). Also, the econ- “transmitted” in the form of consumer goods (such as
omists responsible for development of the Human Development heating systems providing warmth or parks providing
Index (HDI) assume the existence of universals.
7
For the arguments in detail and explanation of the whole system,
see Di Giulio et al. (2012).
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Di Giulio et al.:Conceptualizing Sustainable Consumption
Figure 2 The interrelations between the different elements of the conceptual system presented in the paper (for the whole
conceptual system, see Di Giulio et al. 2012).
opportunities for recreation).8 The extent to which heating needed. The resulting energy requirement is
components of nature are used can be ethically ques- the sum of needs and desires. Distinguishing needs
tioned, meaning that they should be used only insofar from desires makes it possible to question what kind
as this does not prevent others from satisfying their of energy use is legitimate. The researchers of this
objective needs. Additionally, the extent to which project group (see e.g., Koch & Zech, 2012) point out
components of nature are and can be used is, of that instead of looking only at formal aspects such as
course, dependent on “planetary boundaries” the surface area of an apartment, using the conceptual
(Rockström et al. 2009). system developed through the synthesis process al-
lows consideration of both the size and composition
Figure 2 shows, inter alia, that consumer goods of a household when determining what can be con-
not only satisfy constructs of wanting, but also gener- sidered a legitimate demand for heat. Furthermore,
ate novel subjective desires and new ideas about the they see a potential impact on sustainability strate-
degree and breadth of satisfaction of objective needs gies: To limit the resources used, a sufficiency strat-
and subjective desires, whereas they have no influ- egy could be applied with regard to subjective de-
ence on the existence of objective needs. The same sires. But, although desires can be ethically ques-
holds for (new) ideas about the degree and breadth of tioned, there is no need to consider them illegitimate
satisfaction of needs and desires, mostly conveyed in per se, as the resources used can be limited through
social interaction: such ideas specify needs and de- other strategies as well. An efficiency strategy and a
sires and they can induce new subjective desires, but consistency strategy could, for example through a
they cannot create new objective needs. well-insulated building envelope, help to minimize
Considerations by the researchers of the project theamount ofresources used to satisfy the need for a
group “Heat Energy” can be used to illustrate the pleasant indoor temperature. Hence, up to a certain
conceptual system by applying it to heat consump- point, desires (e.g., for a larger living space) can be
tion. The need for an indoor temperature which pre- compensated and therefore realized.
vents inhabitants from freezing is an objective need, Major benefits of the conceptual system the re-
based especially on bodily integrity as a universal searchers within the focal topic agreed upon are:
element of a good life. Individual conceptions of ad-
equate indoor conditions such as temperature differ 1. Sustainable consumption can be discussed with-
and can increase demand for heating energy. Subjec- out labeling consumption as “negative” per se—
tive desires (e.g., the desire to wear light clothing at transmitting the message that sustainable con-
home) can also increase the extent of individual sumption means everyone should be coercively
resigned to reduce his or her quality of life—and
8 The concept of “ecosystem services” is a useful approach for without demanding a general (and unrealistic)
linking components of nature to objective needs (MEA, 2005).
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Di Giulio et al.: Conceptualizing Sustainable Consumption
renunciation of consumption. Consumption can
be linked positively to the idea of a good life and More than twenty years after the idea of sustain-
the goal of sustainability. able consumption received broad publicity in the
2. The concept of consumer sovereignty has to be context of the Rio summit, there is still no consensus
questioned on ethical grounds, as state interven- about how to define it (Murphy & Cohen, 2001;
tion in individual consumer behavior can be ethi- Jackson, 2006). The project groups of the focal topic
cally justified as long as the satisfaction of the also referred to different definitions of sustainable
objective needs of present or future human be- consumption in their research. In the synthesis pro-
ings is not guaranteed or as soon as it is endan- cess, this led to the question of whether it is possible
gered. to formulate a shared interdisciplinary definition. The
3. Sufficiency strategies can be limited to those Oslo definition of sustainable consumption—proba-
elements of the conceptual system that are open bly the most frequently cited and widely established
to ethical questioning. But sufficiency strategies one—served as a starting point in that debate. This
may have to be extended if the quality and/or section presents the results of this discussion and
quantity of existing natural resources fail to pro- proposes an alternative approach for how sustaina-
vide the external conditions for a good life for bility in consumption can be conceptually deter-
people now and in the future. mined.9
The participants of the international roundtable
Objective needs, subjective desires, and ideas held in Oslo in 1995 defined sustainable production
about the degree and breadth of their satisfaction and consumption as the “use of goods and services
build a “field of tension” with which society has to that respond to basic needs and bring a better quality
deal when defining sustainability in consumption. of life, while minimizing the use of natural resources,
The same holds true for the societal values of indi- toxic materials and emissions of waste and pollutants
vidual freedom, on one hand, and the collective good over the life cycle, so as not to jeopardize the needs
of society, on the other. If we proceed from the con- of future generations” (Norwegian Ministry of the
ceptual system we are outlining here, one of the first Environment, 1995).10 Despite its prominence, this
steps needed is to define objective needs. To do this, formulation has been the object of controversy in
we can build on theories and empirical findings, but academic circles (see e.g., Reisch, 1998; OECD,
in the end this must be done in the course of societal 1999). The researchers of the focal topic appreciated
negotiations. The conceptual system is only a first the Oslo definition as an important starting point for
step on the way toward defining how the sustaina- the debate. However, they argued that this definition
bility of consumer behavior can be assessed more alone is not sufficient; rather, its elements need to be
precisely and setting concrete criteria and quantifia- critically reconsidered and further specified to pro-
ble indicators (extending to both natural and societal vide an adequate basis for research on how sustaina-
resources). But, although a list of broadly accepted ble consumption can be evaluated. In particular, the
objective needs does not yet exist, our conceptual researchers of the focal topic identified three main
system can serve as a basis for answering the third shortcomings, as described below.
question: “How can sustainable consumption be as- The first major weakness of the Oslo definition
sessed?” is that it includes only an implicit definition of con-
sumption, one that the researchers of the focal topic
Core Statement 3: Sustainability in contended was too narrow. It only mentions the use
Consumption is a Matter of Intentions and of goods and services. They argued for a broader and
Impacts more refined view on individual acts of consumption
that goes beyond mere use. It is clearly necessary to
Sustainable consumption is not just a question of distinguish between production cycles and different
choosing the right product but of causing the right stages of consumption. However, individual acts of
impact through one’s overall consumer behavior. consumption are not only embedded in production-
However, continuous consideration and evaluation of consumption systems (see Core Statement 1), but
the effects of daily consumption patterns is an unrea- exist in hybrid forms, such as “prosumers,” individu-
sonable burden for individuals to bear. Sustainability als who both consume goods and produce them by
of consumer behavior should be assessed by two
ethical approaches complementing each other, im- 9 For a more differentiated argument, see Fischer et al. (2012).
plying different consequences for sustainable con- 10 The Norwegian government hosted a series of events to facili-
sumption strategies and alleviating the burden on tate the debate about sustainable consumption in the follow-up
individuals: an impact-oriented and an intent- process of the Rio conference in 1992. The Ministerial roundtable
conference on sustainable production and consumption was held in
oriented approach.
Oslo from February 6–10, 1995.
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