Sustainable consumption: Why it is important to understand what we all feel and think about it

While we all know that sustainability is key, most of us are filled with good intentions that don't come to fruition. The researchers behind the Swiss Sustainable Consumption Observatory shed some light on our sustainability consumption patterns and issues from the results gathered on their first national sustainable consumption survey and what we can learn from it.

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This article was written by Sandor Czellar , Yann Blumer , Gregor Waller , Renate Schubert, Simona Haasova , Le?la Rahmani (Ph.D.) , Ioana Marinica and Diana D. and was first published in German, on One Planet Lab Schweiz , and French, on One Planet Lab Schweiz , a WWF Switzerland initiative.?

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Choosing a meatless option for lunch or mending your torn pants instead of tossing them may seem?irrelevant?when trying to create a more sustainable future. Yet, the environmental footprint of our society is strongly shaped by our collective consumer decisions, that is, what and how much we consume and how we make these choices.?

The challenge of supporting more eco-friendly lifestyles among people lies in measuring and providing evidence-based support for decision-makers in policy and industry to help them implement measures to promote more sustainable consumption. This is what the?Swiss Sustainable Consumption Observatory (SSCO), a regular cross-sectional survey of the Swiss population in all regions by researchers from the?University of Lausanne,?ZHAW, and?ETH Zurich, was created for: to provide insights into our (consumers') behaviors and trends related to sustainable consumption across time. We focus on the consumption areas of food, consumer electronics, and textiles that make for a large part of household purchases. The first survey wave counted on more than a thousand participants from all Swiss cantons. Participants provided inputs on their behavior in these areas, as well as barriers to sustainable consumption, demographic factors, and various psychological traits, such as identification with nature, green consumption values, and social norms.?

The first survey wave gave us an insightful glimpse into the consumption patterns of Swiss residents. For example, most participants are very open to mending clothes, buying used cell phones, or consuming food beyond its expiration date to avoid food waste. Yet, the survey also showed a clear gap between these aspirations and people's actual behaviors (very few people reported to actually repairing their clothing). When asked about reasons that keep them from consuming more responsibly (see figure), most expressed that it was up to the authorities, businesses, and society who should do more to make sustainable products accessible and affordable to everyone. Distrust of companies' claims and suspicion of greenwashing were some of the excuses for making fewer sustainable purchases. Personal reasons, such as a lack of time and convenience, were, in contrast, seen as less relevant.?

Figure?1: Relevance of different barriers to sustainable consumption as perceived by 1264 Swiss residents in February 2022 (1 =not at all important, 5 = very important)?

What was interesting, though, is that it seems individual personality traits and attitudes explain why some of us engage in more sustainable behaviors than others.?So how do we fix it? Better communication of the specific environmental impact of consumer decisions reliable and clear labeling system that consumers can use to distinguish between more and less sustainable products, and how consumers relate to the natural environment might help. The results suggest that society's discourse on sustainability is quite advanced for food and, in part, for clothing (yet not sufficient), while that on sustainable consumer electronics is still pretty much nonexistent, with many respondents not knowing what sustainable electronics are.?

These are just some first insights into the results from the?SSCO. Our long-term goal is to provide a barometer-like analysis of critical sustainability-related issues and trends in consumption of Swiss residents. We will continue improving our surveys and conducting them regularly to generate reliable, actionable data that will enable better policies to enhance the well-being of all. What you feel and think about sustainability is essential and helps us spot what else we can do to create a better future!

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NRP Disclaimer:

This co-creation Lab is a synthesis activity of the?National Research Programme?"Sustainable Economy: resource-friendly, future-oriented, innovative" (NRP 73) of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). NRP 73 aims to generate scientific knowledge about a sustainable economy that uses natural resources sparingly, creates welfare, and increases the competitiveness of the Swiss economy. NRP 73 considers the environment, the economy, society, and all-natural resources and stages of the value chain. To find out more about this research program, please visit: https://www.nrp73.ch/en?

Future Results and further information on the Swiss Sustainable Consumption Observatorium can be found on our website.?