Sustainable Production and Consumption

Consuming Ourselves to Death

by Richard Wilk

published as
Wilk, Richard 2009 “Consuming Ourselves to Death.” In Anthropology and Climate Change: from Encounters to Actions, edited by Susan Crate.  Duke University Press. Pp. 265-276.

Ultimately climate change is the product of consumption; greenhouse gases are produced by making things and energy,... more Ultimately climate change is the product of consumption; greenhouse gases are produced by making things and energy, moving things, and carrying people around. Simply put, more people are using more energy and creating and using more “stuff” than ever before in the history of the planet. Besides lamenting the passing of low-impact village-level societies, what does anthropology have to say about consumer culture which might actually be useful in thinking our way towards more sustainable levels of consumption? I argue that a drastic re-orientation of the way we teach anthropology is in order; what do we want our students to learn about the world and what kind of skills do they need? The same argument can be made for the public messages we extend in our popular publications.

Ecodesign Tools: One basis to operacionalize sustainable design

by José Vicente

Co-authored with Rui Frazão, Fernando Moreira da Silva, publiseh in Proceedings of VI International Congress on Design Research - October, 2011 - Lisbon, Portugal

This paper aims to provide an analysis of the different types of available ecodesign tools, their benefits,... more This paper aims to provide an analysis of the different types of available ecodesign tools, their benefits, capabilities and problems, to understand how these instruments could serve as a foundation for developing a practical body for sustainable product design, thus allowing the design to be able to promote a shift to a paradigm of sustainable production and consumption.

Higher Education for Sustainable Consumption: Concept and Results of a Transdisciplinary Project Course

by Marco Rieckmann

Fischer, D., & Rieckmann, M. (2010). Higher Education for Sustainable Consumption: Concept and Results of a Transdisciplinary Project Course. Journal of Sustainability Education, 1(2), 296–306

We introduce the notion of sustainable consumption as a transdisciplinary challenge to higher education through the... more We introduce the notion of sustainable consumption as a transdisciplinary challenge to higher education through the presentation of a concept seminar designed as a response to this challenge. The seminar aimed to equip students with the skills and competencies needed to design informal learning settings in close collaboration with campus service-providers (e.g. coffee shops, canteen, campus vegetable stall, bike repair shop) with the goal of incorporating sustainability principles into students’ experience while obtaining or consuming those services.  The student projects were informed and guided by the didactic first phase of the seminar where transdisciplinary collaboration for sustainable development, informal learning theories, consumer competence models and project management were covered. Results of the project course comprise (a) self-reported competence increase in designing and providing settings for sustainable learning on side of the participating students, (b) highly visible imprints of sustainable consumption on the entire campus and (c) an increased awareness of the principles and objectives of sustainable consumption for the participating service-provider partners.

Sustainability assessment and reporting in property development: a case study

by Panagiotis Panagiotakopoulos

Co- authored with:P. W. Jowitt, Published in 'Proceedings of the ICE - Engineering Sustainability', Volume 161, Issue 1, pages 93 –99

Property development is a highly complex issue with outputs having widespread and long-lasting ramifications that can... more Property development is a highly complex issue with outputs having widespread and long-lasting ramifications that can affect many different stakeholders. Property developers can play a significant role in enhancing the sustainability of urban developments; their activities result in a variety of economic, social and environmental impacts—the three key strands in which sustainable development is couched. This paper presents the development of an assessment and reporting framework for a particular property developer company (PDC). The development of the framework was based initially on a ‘bottom-up’/input-driven process and then on a ‘top-down’/output-driven approach. The problems and advantages of each and the lessons learnt in the development of the methodology are described using a systems methodology. The resulting top-down assessment approach is simple to apply, easy to characterise and relies on the self-assessment of a small number of strategic indicators by project managers. This systems-level approach also made it easier to capture high-level emergent properties of each development project in terms of its contribution to sustainable development. The methodology and assessment framework could easily be adapted for other property developers and construction generally, and so contribute to the creation of a more sustainable built environment.

CONSUMER CULTURE AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE – THE ROLE OF THE INSTITUTION OF MARKETING

by Brendan Sheehan

A post-modernist view of global capitalism sees it divided into three systems. They are the system of scarcity... more A post-modernist view of global capitalism sees it divided into three systems. They are the system of scarcity populated by the people of poverty, the system of sufficiency experienced by those with just enough to make do, and the system of abundance experienced by, what Potter calls, the people of plenty.
This paper focuses on the system of abundance. The dominant economic problem in this system is not one of production or distribution but of demand. It is how to persuade the most affluent consumers of the globe – the people of plenty – to keep spending at ever higher levels.
The system of abundance spontaneously generates an institution of marketing that works to solve this problem. The mass messaging of the institution creates a consumer culture in which the people of plenty increasingly perceive themselves as consumer citizens with a shared morality of indulgence and a shared customer mindset. The institution is also the dominant driver of cultural change. The institution creates a “hot” culture of perpetual change to persuade affluent consumers to spend more.
When the work of the institution is successful is promoting ever higher consumer spending the performance of the system of abundance is good, and when it is less successful, as now, its performance is dire.

The Web-based Face-to-Face Economy

by Fabian Bethge

Secondhandedness: consumption, disposal, and absent presence

by Kevin Hetherington

Demeter and the Curse of Consumption

by Heather Hopfl

Changing Lives to Tackle Climate Change: Why do people adopt and maintain a sustainable lifestyle?

by Sustainable Communities Research Group

A research briefing by Sarah Hards

Climate change and the transition to a “green economy” are major concerns for policy and research. Individual... more Climate change and the transition to a “green economy” are major concerns for policy and research. Individual behaviour change has played an important part in UK environmental policy over the last decade, with attention recently focussing on controversial “nudge” approaches. However, we do not fully understand why people adopt and maintain sustainable lifestyles. This summary report presents findings from recently completed postgraduate research that addresses this issue.

Reclaiming The Sacred: A Festival Experience as a Response to Globalisation

by Karin Mackay

published in Journal for the Study of Religion, vol 24, No 2, 2011

Pressures of globalisation such as the focus on the growth of productive economies, consumerism, and long work-hours... more Pressures of globalisation such as the focus on the growth of productive economies, consumerism, and long work-hours have fragmented cultural beliefs and practices worldwide. Devaluation of deeply held soulful, creative, and nature-based practices in the dominant neoliberal capitalist discourse has challenged the way cultural and spiritual wellbeing are lived. Instead of being completely subsumed into the neoliberal global discourse, local responses incorporating global themes are emerging in the form of the “neo-tribal” festival experience. Although festivals have primarily been seen as places of consumption, this misunderstands the drive to participate in a festival experience. This article investigates a women’s arts and ecology festival held in The Blue Mountains, Australia, where members of the local community celebrate the return of spring. Findings suggest that this festival was a site for reclaiming a localized sense of connectedness, where participants reclaimed what was sacred to them. I will argue that consumerism is secondary to the desire for a sacred synergy of connectedness at this festival where critical creative action challenges the neoliberal and patriarchal discourses in the negotiation of global culture.

Produktion, Distribution, Konsumtion und die Formation sozialer Unterschiede in frühbronzezeitlichen Gesellschaften Mitteleuropas

by Johannes Müller

J. Kneisel/J. Müller, Produktion, Distribution, Konsumtion und die Formation sozialer Unterschiede in frühbronzezeitlichen Gesellschaften Mitteleuropas. In: S. Hansen/J. Müller (Hrsg.), Sozialarchäologische Perspektiven: Gesellschaftlicher Wandel 5000-1500 v. Chr. zwischen Atlantik und Kaukasus. Internationale Tagung in Kiel 15.–18. Oktober 2007 in Kiel. Archäologie in Eurasien 24 (Berlin 2011) 295-324.

QUANDO A ETIQUETA VIRA BANDEIRA: os sentidos da moda e do consumo socialmente engajados

by Lucia Santa Cruz

Co-authored with Fernanda Martineli e Monica Machado

Busca-se aqui avaliar como os artefatos da moda que vinculam sua imagem a um discurso consciente e engajado estão... more Busca-se aqui avaliar como os artefatos da moda que vinculam sua imagem a um discurso consciente e engajado estão imersos nas relações sociais e interações cotidianas, bem como problematizar questões acerca da experiência do consumo – da compra e do uso – desses objetos e dos discursos a eles associados. Em que medida a moda e suas derivações se inserem neste contexto do consumo consciente? Há que se perguntar se este discurso objetiva legitimar o consumo, tantas vezes acusado de ser um mal em si mesmo. A intenção é investigar significados e valores atribuídos tanto pelas corporações quanto pelas pessoas nessas práticas de consumo.

Exploring opportunities for sustainability in the Malaysian palm oil industry_ conference paper

by Effie Papargyropoulou

GHG EMISSION TRENDS IN SCP OF FOOD IN MALAYSIA Volume 3 Issue 1 Pages 56-66

by Effie Papargyropoulou

Design for Sustainability (DfS): The Interface of Sustainable Production and Consumption

by Joachim H. Spangenberg

Corporate social responsibility as cultural meaning management: a critique of the marketing of ‘ethical’ bottled water

by Steffen Boehm

Brei, V. and Böhm, S. (2011) ‘Corporate social responsibility as cultural meaning management: a critique of the marketing of ‘ethical’ bottled water’, Business Ethics: A European Review, 20(3): 233-252.

To date, the primary focus of research in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been on the strategic... more To date, the primary focus of research in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been on the strategic implications of CSR for corporations and less on an evaluation of CSR from a wider political, economic and social perspective. In this paper, we aim to address this gap by critically engaging with marketing campaigns of so-called ‘ethical’ bottled water. We especially focus on a major CSR strategy of a range of different companies that promise to provide drinking water for (what they name as) ‘poor African people’ by way of Western consumers purchasing bottled water. Following Fairclough’s approach, we unfold a three-step critical discourse analysis of the marketing campaigns of 10 such ‘ethical’ brands. Our results show that bottled water companies try to influence consumers’ tastes through the management of the cultural meaning of bottled water, producing a more ‘ethical’ and ‘socially responsible’ perception of their products/brands. Theoretically, we base our analysis on McCracken’s model of the cultural meaning of consumer goods, which, we argue, offers a critical perspective of the recent emergence of CSR and business ethics initiatives. We discuss how these marketing campaigns can be framed as historical struggles associated with neo-liberal ideology and hegemony. Our analysis demonstrates how such CSR strategies are part of a general process of the reproduction of capitalist modes of accumulation and legitimation through the usage of cultural categories.

Spotlight On... 'Waste: Uncovering the global food scandal'

by Anna Krzywoszynska

Extended review of Tristram Stuart's 2009 book 'Waste: Uncovering the global food scandal'

In a world where nearly one billion people are undernourished and hungry (FAO, 2010), and where unique natural... more In a world where nearly one billion people are undernourished and hungry (FAO, 2010), and where unique natural habitats are being destroyed to make space for growing crops, up to half of the food we make globally is wasted. Stuart's important book goes some way towards exploring the reasons behind this absurd situation, but leaves many important assumptions about change is social practice unexplored.

Psychology Based Design Approach (PSYDA)-A Pedagogical Concept

by Tore Gulden

The means of design and manufacturing require a shift of course to meet with the need of a future sustainable... more The means of design and manufacturing require a shift of course to meet with the need of a future sustainable consumption. Innovative design strategies to create emotionally durable products have emerged from the research fields of sustainable design and user attachment. Emotionally durable products can contribute to change the pattern of consumption and therefore restrain manufacturing globally. However, most of these strategies are inadequate as design methods. In order to actuate such strategies into design concepts, new methods are needed. This lead to the research question: How can the combination of research from psychology and design affect designers’ ability to create sustainable product concepts? This article introduces the new design approach “psychology-based design approach” (PSYDA) were research from design and psychology are combined.
The expected learning outcome through the use of the PSYDA in design education is to be able to create a design process in order to evoke specific feelings through product concepts. The PSYDA was the basis for a case study arranged for students in product design education. This lead to the definition and illustration of the design parameter named “inclusive exclusivity” i.a., seemingly contradictory values, combined in one solution. The analysis of the case study indicates that the approach can be used as a tool to define and create product concepts that evoke feelings of user attachment. Working with PSYDA seemed to have had a good effect on the learning environment since the approach urged students to think beyond the traditional design process.

CONTEXTS OF EXPERIENCE (COE), A PSYCHOLOGY-BASED DESIGN TOOL, TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION THROUGH EXTENDING THE PRODUCT LIFETIME

by Tore Gulden

co-authored with Cathrine Moestue

This article introduces how one can design for product longevity through eliciting consumer-product attachment in... more This article introduces how one can design for product longevity through eliciting consumer-product attachment in order to restrain the rate of product replacement. The research disclosed the design tool ”Contexts of Experience” (COE) which combines strategies of consumer–product attachment and associated psychological phenomenon. The COE was disclosed and analyzed through case study.

The value of imperfection in sustainable design: The emotional tie with perfectible artefacts for longer lifespan

by Giuseppe Salvia

Co-authored with Francesca Ostuzzi, Valentina Rognoli, Marinella Levi

Current Hyperconsumerism Society have been causing drastic environmental reper-cussions, most of which designers are... more Current Hyperconsumerism Society have been causing drastic environmental reper-cussions, most of which designers are responsible for and they should attempt to solve adopting such promising approaches as “designing new production–consumption sys-tems”. In the research here presented, alternative sustainable relationship between in-dividuals and objects has been studied to prolong artefacts lifespan through the redis-covery of the affective tie for environmental gains. The study aims to give new value to what is addressed as “imperfect”, as potential traces of the vitality of objects, reinforc-ing an emotional linking. To the purpose a wide survey has been carried out investigat-ing cultural traditions first, and then an original analytical exercise has been carried out to identify potential “imperfect” features for sustainable design approach. On the basis of almost 100 significant (semi-)industrial objects, 4 main design approaches have been identified: Standard Unique, Time and use signs, Breakage followed by fixing, Breakage followed by a new function.