Thinking Habits into Action: the role of knowledge and process in questioning household consumption practices

Despite occupying a central place in the sustainable development paradigm, calls for individuals in high-income countries to adopt patterns of sustainable consumption have failed to gain ground in the past decade. The low uptake of public messages that emphasise links between the environment and the home are caused by a plethora of 'barriers to action', which range from individual circumstances to public norms and structures. This article argues that in addition to these barriers, consideration of how individuals read and react to sustainable consumption information is important. Based on interviews with participants of a sustainable behaviour change programme called Action at Home, this article considers both how, and in what form, knowledge is mobilised when individuals rethink their personal practices. Using Giddens' structuration theory, a framework is presented. This framework emphasises the importance of 'known' or 'local' information, as well as discursive processes, in addressing individual consumption practices and argues that a 'cultural politics' of sustainable consumption needs to be factored into on-going academic and policy debates.     

Health,Environmental and Social Justice

Health is a basic human right. Improving health requires social and environmental justice and sustainable development. The 'health for all' movement embraces principles shared by other social movements—in sustainable development, community safety and new economics. These principles include equity, democracy, empowerment of individuals and communities, underpinned by supportive environmental, economic and educational measures and multi-agency partnerships. Health promotion is green promotion and inequality in health is due to social and economic inequality. This paper shows how health, environmental and economic sustainability are inextricably linked and how professionals of different disciplines can work together with the communities they serve to improve local health and quality of life. It gives examples of how local policy and programme development for public health improvement can fit in with global and national policy-making to promote health, environmental and social justice.     

日本促进可持续消费经验的启示

日本相对丰富的促进可持续消费经验对我国正在大力推动绿色生活方式的形成有较好的参考价值。本文介绍了日本循环社会法律框架下循环再生利用法和绿色采购促进法对促进可持续消费的作用,以及可持续消费的最新实践活动,并从循环再生利用法律法规建立、深化公共绿色采购评估、发布面向普通消费者产品清单、建立消费者发声通道、提升消费者意识、促进消费者导向管理等方面提出对我国推动绿色消费的启示。     

Sustainability in Practice

Sweden has led the way in Europe in environmental protection, ecologically based technological innovation and social democracy. As new economic and ethnographic realities impact upon it, it faces challenges to its policies and practices long familiar elsewhere in Europe. We report on a study for the Swedish Research Councils in which we examined the national framework and political strategy for sustainable development, and how the strategy is being implemented in Sweden's three major cities and two case-study municipalities. History and tradition, cultural homogeneity and a strong and shared sense between sectors of 'the public good', emerged as very important. Until recently, these have obviated the need for formal links between the environmental, social and economic agendas. They now appear inadequately developed at all levels of governance. Tensions in policy are being played out at the level of the municipality, to which power is highly devolved, and Local Agenda 21, interpreted as project rather than process, seems unequal to the task of integration. We suggest what lessons may be drawn from the Swedish experience if issues of power and trust, leadership and participatory vs representative democracy are to be resolved.     

The Role of Civic Environmentalism in the Pursuit of Sustainable Communities

This paper addresses public participation in sustainability initiatives and in the development of sustainable communities. In particular, it examines two models of public participation in environmental policy, referred to as 'information deficit models', and 'deliberative and inclusionary processes and procedures' (DIPS). The difference between the two models will be examined through the framework of the US discourse of 'civic environmentalism'. Using both examples and an analysis of recent literature, a distinction between 'narrow focus' and 'broad focus' civic environmentalism will be presented. It is argued that 'information deficit models' of public participation usually associated with 'narrow focus' civic environmentalism can successfully contribute to the 'environmental' aspects of sustainable communities. The paper concludes that DIPS and the greater sharing of control by citizens, non-governmental organizations and local governments offered by 'broad focus' civic environmentalism, are far more likely to result in a greater social capital, and a holistic appreciation of the inextricable links between environmental, social and economic characteristics of sustainable communities.     

The right to refuse: Public attitudes and behaviour towards waste in the west of Ireland

Abstract

During the last decade waste management has become one of the most problematic and demanding issues to be addressed in Ireland. Increasing waste production and landfills reaching their capacity are placing unprecedented pressure on the land, and are unsustainable in the long term. However, while surveys of public opinion present a picture of a population increasingly concerned about the quality of the environment and the problem of waste management, there has been an increase in amounts of municipal waste being sent to landfill. Although not unique to Ireland, this gap between values and actions is one that deserves further critical consideration if positive sustainable waste management strategies are to be developed. This paper, based on research being conducted in two case study locations in the west of Ireland, engages with value–action gaps in terms of waste management strategies in Ireland. Based on empirical evidence the paper examines the public's self-reported barriers to more sustainable waste management. The paper argues that some of the greatest barriers to improved waste management are cultural, social and political and that contextual variables such as notions of responsibility and lack of trust in waste regulators contribute greatly to the gap between citizens' attitudes and actions towards waste management.     

Status,stigma and energy practices in the home

Domestic energy practices are a topical policy issue, with implications for climate change, energy security and fuel poverty. Accordingly, a growing body of literature examines ways of promoting energy conservation and generation by individuals. However, there has been relatively little discussion of how status and stigma are implicated in these practices, and may act as facilitators or barriers to “behaviour change”. To help address this gap, this article draws both on existing literature and a new UK-based study of people who are attempting to live sustainable lives, to provide insights into how domestic energy practices may be status-enhancing or stigmatising, and how these risks and opportunities can be managed. While energy practices are often understood as “inconspicuous”, it is argued here that in some circumstances individuals may actively manage the visibility of their energy practices. The discussion considers these findings with regard to social power relations, and identifies issues warranting further exploration within the emerging research agenda on energy and equity.     

The road towards sustainable rural development: issues of theory,policy and research practice

Developing a more widespread diffusion of sustainable agricultural practices as part of progressing rural sustainable development is being hampered by different modes of environmental social thought. This introduction to this special issue on ‘Reconstituting of nature through rural development practices’ argues for a realignment of social theory and empirical practice in considering the real potentiality of alternative and emergent rural development cases. The social science of agro-ecology is introduced as an initial framework within which to assess such alternatives and emerging tendencies. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

中国绿色消费的政策和实践研究

我国政府高度重视绿色消费,绿色消费政策框架的雏形已初步显现。随着各级政府相关政策的出台,对政策系统梳理,以及对政策的落实情况和实施效果进行评估具有重要的学术价值和现实意义。基于层次梳理法,从中央政策、国务院政策和部门政策三个“战略层面”,以及部门政策中具备“经济类”和“信息化工具类”属性的两个“目标层面”,结合政策的功能作用和市场认可程度将部门政策细分到“实施层面”,梳理得出我国绿色消费政策框架。通过分析我国绿色消费政策的分布情况和特点,对绿色消费政策与国家统计局的居民消费支出分类进行对比分析。同时,本文对我国已经实施的各类政策效果进行评估,分析目前我国绿色消费政策和实践面临的挑战,提出相关政策建议。     

Perspectives on corporate social responsibility in the chemical sector: A comparative analysis of the Mexican and South African cases

In recent years, the debate on corporate responsibility has shifted from a focus on environmental management towards a broader concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). This article examines the chemical industry's approach to CSR from the perspective of two emerging economies: Mexico and South Africa. The global chemical industry was one of the first to respond to public concerns about environmental pollution, toxic waste and human health by adopting an industry‐wide code of practice, known as Responsible Care. This article examines the extent to which the chemical industry has responded to the broader debate on CSR. On the basis of a comparative case study, this article argues that the response to social issues by Mexican and South African chemical companies has tended to be limited to the ‘community awareness and emergency response’ (CAER) or community dialogue component of the international voluntary management framework, Responsible Care. Similarities and differences in regulatory and institutional conditions, as well as different levels of civil society engagement, reveal additional limitations for CSR, beyond that of the Responsible Care framework. This article argues that the socio‐political context influences the extent to which companies embrace CSR, especially in emerging economies, and highlights several challenges for the chemical industry in moving forward on CSR: credibility, stakeholder engagement, value‐chain accountability, disclosure and transparency. Reflecting on these challenges, the authors conclude by recommending a renewed focus on: (1) developing a broader set of CSR management practices beyond Responsible Care; (2) institutionalizing stronger accountability measures, such as reporting and verification; and (3) developing multi‐stakeholder partnerships that complement regulation and build public sector regulatory and guidance capacity.     

An integrative framework for sustainable supply chain management practices in the oil and gas industry

This paper proposes a framework for understanding the contextual factors of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices in the O&G industry. It is based on a literature review of studies related to SSCM of O&G topics. The review reveals that there is a lack of SSCM research specific to the industry. Present studies focus on individual stages of its supply chain and do not consider all dimensions of sustainable development, namely economic, environmental and social factors. In addition, existing frameworks lack important contextual aspects of the industry's business and organizational environment. To address these gaps, our research develops an overarching framework operationalizing the internal and external contextual factors of the O&G industry environment that can influence the outcome of its SSCM practices. The proposed framework is useful as a tool in the formulation and implementation of SSCM strategy that enables alignment of a company's internal capabilities with its external environment.     

于GRI体系的机场企业环境信息披露研究

机场作为民航运输的关键节点和重要枢纽，肩负着服务区域经济的重要使命，同时也面临环境保护与可持续发展的巨大挑战。作为公共基础设施和城市形象窗口，机场上市公司具有披露环境信息的义务与责任。在充分研究国内机场上市公司环境信息披露制度背景的基础上，本研究借鉴全球报告倡议组织（GRI）发布的《可持续发展报告指南》（第四版）及机场运营者行业补充（GRI-AOSS）构建了适用于我国机场的环境信息披露评价指标体系，并利用公开数据对国内6家机场上市公司的环境信息披露情况进行了实际测评。结果表明：我国机场环境信息披露程度较低，存在内容简单、量化不足、质量下降等问题。机场上市公司环境信息披露亟待在法律法规层面进行系统规范。建议借鉴GRI等相关国际标准及成功经验，制定适用于我国的科学可行的环境信息披露标准和制度体系。     

Off-site consequences: Life after risk management plans,Part I—public response

Many environmental and facility managers view the submittal and public availability of their facilities' risk management plans (RMPs) as discrete events and give little thought about how RMP information may influence their future relations with plant communities and other stakeholders. In fact, the public availability of RMPs will have some significant and lasting consequences that have the potential to alter RMP sources' relations with a wide variety of stakeholders. This article is the first of two installments that will explore some of the likely outcomes of the risk management program, with a particular emphasis on those consequences tied to the public availability of the RMPs themselves. This installment considers likely responses at the community level and from both national and local environmental advocacy groups. The second installment will look at likely responses to RMP information in land use planning, by the financial services sector, by regulatory agencies, and by the senior management of RMP sources' owners and operators. Although the responses of individual communities to RMPs will be governed by a number of variables, including the nature of existing relations with individual RMP sources, proximity (or perceived proximity) of residences or other public and environmental receptors to RMP sources, and stakeholders' attitudes toward chemicals and chemical use, there are certain potential responses that managers should look for in their communities. These RMP-driven responses and expectations are discussed in the first installment of this article.© 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Two ways of defining sustainable mobility: Autolib’ and BeMobility

Abstract

European cities have emerged as laboratories for ‘sustainable mobility'. In the last few years, they have supported numerous electric car projects which combine clean engine technologies with offers on public or shared mobility. This paper compares two ongoing public electric car services in Berlin (BeMobility) and Paris (Autolib’). We explain how both projects shape future visions of sustainable mobility and transform regional transport systems in specific ways through their performative impact as local transport policy tools. Focusing on the socio-economic and political processes through which both projects were conceived and put into practice, we explain their differences as they reflect participating actors' interests in a French versus German industrial and transport policy context after the economic crisis in 2008. We find that whereas BeMobility integrates electric cars as one element in Berlin's intermodal transport system, and thus is centred around ‘intermodality' as the central vision of sustainable transport, Autolib’ in Paris essentially reproduces the dominant mode of private passenger car transport through adding a shared electric car fleet.     

Strategic evaluation of environmental projects in SMEs

This article examines how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can improve their capital investment decisionmaking process for both environmental and general capital projects. It proposes a framework that helps integrate environmental impacts into capital investment decisions, while recognizing SMEs' specific management practices, unique culture, and constraints. The framework presented here is also applicable to independent strategic business units of larger organizations where the capital investment decision process is decentralized. ©2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Exploring Homeowner Diffusion of Yard Care Knowledge as One Step Toward Improving Urban Ecosystems

Urban ecosystems are increasingly influenced by residential yard care decisions. This had led researchers to focus on homeowner education programs when it comes to yard care. Typically, the success of programs designed to influence yard care is based on whether the target subject changes his or her behavior in a more environmentally conscious manner. This threshold, however, fails to consider if individuals share this information with their friends and neighbors, thus having a possible spillover effect. In this paper, we focus on the transmission of new lawn management information among neighbors and consider (1) if individuals discuss information they learned in a short-term educational program, (2) what factors are associated with diffusion, (3) what information individuals share, and (4) what barriers to transmission exist. In the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area, we used data from a mailed survey, group discussions, and mailed information exchanges. Results indicate that best management practices for yards can diffuse through the neighborhood (approximately 34 % shared information with their neighbors in a one-month period). In addition, factors such as (1) attending a group discussion, 2) individual social connectedness, (3) length of home ownership, and (4) the presence of children in the household were found to be positively related to increased sharing of information. Also, for lawns, the content of information shared tended to be about increasing grass height and reducing fertilizer applications. Finally, we find barriers to sharing ideas based on spatial, temporal, or perception factors but overcoming some of these barriers is possible.     

Sustainable innovation journeys: exploring the dynamics of firm practices as part of transitions to more sustainable food and farming

Deep structural and sustained change is necessary to tackle contemporary environmental challenges. How such change emerges and can be governed has been explored through the notion of sustainable innovation journeys. To date research had conceptualised such journeys as transitions to more sustainable socio-technical systems, e.g. mobility, shelter, food and farming. However, there is a paucity of how innovation proceeds in firms as part of sustainable innovation journeys. This paper begins to address this gap in knowledge. A longitudinal case study was completed of a medium-sized food-processing firm in the UK. Qualitative data were collected using ethnographic methods such as participant observation. Drawing on practice theory, a conceptual framework was developed which enabled us to explore and make sense of the firm's sustainable innovation journey conceptualised as practices. Findings show that we can usefully treat a firm as a flow of practices that either resist or otherwise accommodate new practices deemed more sustainable.     

Smart meter data and equitable energy transitions – can cities play a role?

ABSTRACT

The ability of smart cities to address multiple priorities is currently receiving a great deal of attention from governments, industry and academia; however, there are relatively few explorations of how smart cities will be enacted and the equity implications of various elements of the agenda. This paper aims to begin to address this by considering the case of smart meter data in Great Britain and reviewing the potential for public interest benefits to be realised at both a national and city-scale. In order to interrogate how societal benefits of smart metering might be enabled or constrained at different scales, both transition management approaches to understanding the intricacies of transforming socio-technical systems, and urban governance literatures which explore the problems in aligning “smart” and “sustainable” agendas, are engaged with. The case suggests that there is great potential for smart meter data to deliver public interest benefits and in doing so contribute to equity in energy transitions through promoting the accrual of benefits to collective rather than solely individual or commercial interests. Despite this, under the current smart metering framework city-scale actors are largely excluded from utilising smart metering data unless they partner with a large incumbent company. This suggests that the configuration of national smart metering arrangements could be further embedding a marketised approach to smart cities and demonstrates the complex interlinking of socio-political processes operating across multiple scales in energy transitions.     

以跨学科模型体系支撑经济社会绿色低碳发展

正2020年9月22日,国家主席习近平在第七十五届联合国大会一般性辩论上发表重要讲话,承诺我国将提高国家自主贡献力度,采取更有力的政策和措施,二氧化碳排放力争于2030年前达到峰值,于2060年前实现碳中和。实现"双碳"目标的关键在于控制化石能源消费,而能源是经济发展的物质基础,节能降碳措施将为我国经济发展带来显著压力。今后一段时间内,我国将面临节能减排与后疫情重建的双重挑战,亟须开展相关理论与实证研究,为绿色低碳发展提供科学依据。     

“We're not NIMBYs!” Contrasting local protest groups with idealised conceptions of sustainable communities

Abstract

The term “NIMBY” is used prolifically in both academic literature and general public discourse to describe a locally based action group protesting against a proposed development. It is frequently used to dismiss groups as selfish or ill-informed, as is illustrated both by those who accuse opponents of possessing such characteristics and also by the attempts of many community groups to reject the label. This lies in sharp contrast to the much encouraged notions of public participation in planning and community life as proposed by the UK government's proclaimed vision of a “sustainable community”. This paper argues that this dichotomy between “good” and “bad” participation can be misleading, by drawing on research from two case studies where locally based community groups opposed a specific, detailed development. The paper contributes to a burgeoning literature that reappraises conventional understandings of such groups by analysing often overlooked facets of protest groups, concluding that the conventional conceptualisations of them as NIMBY is inadequate and unhelpful in academic debate.