Sustainable Consumption: Opportunities for Consumer Research and Public Policy

• Published in: Journal of public policy & marketing Vol. 30; no. 1; pp. 31 - 38
• Main Authors: Prothero, Andrea, Dobscha, Susan, Freund, Jim, Kilbourne, William E., Luchs, Michael G., Ozanne, Lucie K., Thøgersen, John
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago American Marketing Association 01.04.2011; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Benefits; Consumer behavior; Consumer psychology; Consumer research; Consumers; Consumption; Ecological sustainability; Environmental policy; Marketing; Policy making; Public policy; Renewable energy; Studies; Sustainability; Sustainable consumption; Sustainable products; Transformative Consumer Research
• ISSN: 0743-9156; 1547-7207
• DOI: 10.1509/jppm.30.1.31

This essay explores sustainable consumption and considers possible roles for marketing and consumer researchers and public policy makers in addressing the many sustainability challenges that pervade the planet. Future research approaches to this interdisciplinary topic must be comprehensive and systematic and would benefit from a variety of different perspectives. There are several opportunities for further research; the authors explore three areas in detail. First, they consider the inconsistency between the attitudes and behaviors of consumers with respect to sustainability. Second, they broaden the agenda to explore the role of individual citizens in society. Third, they propose a macroinstitutional approach to fostering sustainability. For each of these separate, but interrelated, opportunities, the authors examine the area in detail and consider possible research avenues and public policy initiatives.