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Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns: Policy Design and Evaluation

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 July 2021) | Viewed by 46938

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yasuhiko Hotta

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Guest Editor

Sustainable Consumption and production Area, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Hayama 240-0115, Japan
Interests: Circular Economy; Environmental Policy; Waste Management; Resource Efficiency

Dr. Tomohiro Tasaki

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Guest Editor

National Institute for Environmental Studies
Interests: Sustainable Lifestyle; Resource Management; Waste Management; Recycling Policy

Prof. Dr. Shunsuke Managi

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Guest Editor

Departments of Urban and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
Interests: Economics; Energy; Sustainable Science

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Under the era of Paris Agreement and SDGs, agenda for sustainability has shifted from regulation to designing fundamental changes in socio-technical system towards decarbonized and circular society. This shift would largely depend on taking advantage of emerging forces in socio-technical system. This includes new business models, drivers of wealth, wellbeing and human development, urbanization, disruptive technologies, and digitization. Socio-technical innovations are crucial to ensure that these forces do not divert our society away from sustainability.

Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) policy design and evaluation encounter a fundamental shift in its focuses. Firstly, SCP policies are expanding from the environmental policy domain to socio-technology policy domain. Secondly, strengthening linkages between consumption and production is a key emerging trend. Thirdly, transition to SCP is a socio-technical regime shift requiring successive changes in social practices, technology use in daily life, and associated infrastructure. Forth, bottom up approaches are necessary to enhance effectiveness and acceptance of SCP policies as well as enabling new business models and lifestyles for SCP.

Based on this recognition, this special issue will highlight why SCP policy design and evaluation needs to overcome conventional environmental policy framework. Emerging SCP policy design and evaluation is not those focusing on individual products or behaviors/or improving efficiency in management system in relation to environmental sustainability. Rather it is to address more socio-economic system and to target collective efforts for transition. It is fundamentally different from environmental policy design responding to pollution. It is vital to identify and develop communication tools for sharing visions among stakeholders. Emerging SCP policy design under the era of SDGs include communication/planning tools as well as those expecting multiple effect/unintended effect contributing to social well-being. This special issue try to feature studies contributing to policy design and evaluation in this direction.

Dr. Yasuhiko Hotta
Dr. Tomohiro Tasaki
Prof. Dr. Shunsuke Managi
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Sustainable Consumption and Production
SDGs
Policy design and evaluation

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Published Papers (11 papers)

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19 pages, 791 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Expansion of Policy Domain of Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP): Challenges and Opportunities for Policy Design

by Yasuhiko Hotta, Tomohiro Tasaki and Ryu Koide

Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6763; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126763 - 15 Jun 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4022

Abstract

Since 2015, the international policy community has started to agree on international agreements with ambitious middle-term and long-term goals, highly relevant to sustainable consumption and production (SCP) such as those seen in the Paris Agreement, SDGs, and the plastic-related agreements at the G7 and G20 processes. Along with this trend, there has been growing attention given to socio-technical system change or “transition”. Policy debate is putting more focus on the need to change consumption and production patterns and deal with various ecological consequences within planetary boundaries such as decarbonization, absolute reduction in material throughput, or creation of a plastic-free society. This paper examines the expansion of the policy domain of SCP in three phases; SCP focusing on pollution control and cleaner production (SCP 1.0), SCP from the perspective of product lifecycle (SCP 2.0), and SCP focusing on systematic changes in socio-technical systems driving consumption and production (SCP 3.0). The potential impact of a wider SCP policy domain can be comparable to the historical shift in discourse related to ecological modernization theory from pollution prevention to efficiency. This emerging trend corresponds to the need for a fresh approach to policy design which can facilitate transition to sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns: Policy Design and Evaluation)

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20 pages, 1384 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Applying Foresight to Policy Design for a Long-Term Transition to Sustainable Lifestyles

by Caixia Mao, Ryu Koide and Lewis Akenji

Sustainability 2020, 12(15), 6200; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12156200 - 31 Jul 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3918

Abstract

Increasing attention is being paid to lifestyles in sustainability research and policymaking. Applying a foresight approach to sustainable lifestyles supports this increased focus by highlighting possible futures while also empowering citizens through a participatory process. Foresight has its origins in theory and practice to serve the policymaking process by involving diverse stakeholders. In the search to empower various stakeholders in the decision-making process on foresight, this paper analyses the results of a global expert survey to identify factors shaping future lifestyles. Survey results show that in consumption, the reasoning behind increased or reduced consumption matters; in infrastructure, affordability and equal accessibility is a concern; there are some uncertain implications of the changes in work and education, and physical and mental health, which need further exploration in the desired direction. Those factors should be included in public discussions on future sustainable lifestyles through adopting sustainable lifestyles as a foresight topic. Additionally, the survey results on stakeholders’ changing roles between now and 2050 illustrate how foresight could empower stakeholders through a bottom-up policymaking approach to realise a long term-transition to sustainable lifestyles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns: Policy Design and Evaluation)

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18 pages, 318 KiB

Open AccessReview

Are We Missing the Opportunity of Low-Carbon Lifestyles? International Climate Policy Commitments and Demand-Side Gaps

by Janet Salem, Manfred Lenzen and Yasuhiko Hotta

Sustainability 2021, 13(22), 12760; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212760 - 18 Nov 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2640

Abstract

Current commitments in nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are insufficient to remain within the 2-degree climate change limit agreed to in the Paris Agreement. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that lifestyle changes are now necessary to stay within the limit. We reviewed a range of NDCs and national climate change strategies to identify inclusion of low-carbon lifestyles. We found that most NDCs and national climate change strategies do not yet include the full range of necessary mitigation measures targeting lifestyle change, particularly those that could reduce indirect emissions. Some exceptional NDCs, such as those of Austria, Slovakia, Portugal and the Netherlands, do include lifestyle changes, such as low-carbon diets, reduced material consumption, and low-carbon mobility. Most countries focus on supply-side measures with long lag times and might miss the window of opportunity to shape low-carbon lifestyle patterns, particularly those at early stages of development trajectories. Systemic barriers exist that should be corrected before new NDCs are released, including changing the accounting and reporting methodology, accounting for extraterritorial emissions, providing guidance on NDC scope to include the menu of options identified by the IPCC, and increasing support for national level studies to design demand-side policies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns: Policy Design and Evaluation)

17 pages, 2427 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Measurement of the Importance of 11 Sustainable Development Criteria: How Do the Important Criteria Differ among Four Asian Countries and Shift as the Economy Develops?

by Tomohiro Tasaki, Ryo Tajima and Yasuko Kameyama

Sustainability 2021, 13(17), 9719; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179719 - 30 Aug 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2408

Abstract

Understanding the criteria underlying development in a country is crucial to formulating developmental plans. However, it is not always clear which criteria are more important than others in different countries and at different times. The relationship between developmental criteria and the stage of economic development is also unclear in many countries. Therefore, we devised an indirect stated preference approach for the measurement of the importance of developmental criteria and employed it in four Asian countries—Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam—to measure the importance of sustainable development (SD) criteria perceived by the general public. Specifically, we evaluated the importance of 58 national goals linked to 1 of 11 SD criteria. Security, efficiency, accessibility, capability, and environmental capacity were perceived as relatively important by respondents in all four countries. The respondents perceived that the currently important criteria would be important in the future as well. The order of the importance in each country differed. For example, environmental capacity was ranked lower, and inclusiveness was ranked higher as the gross domestic product of a country increased. Thai and Vietnamese respondents had similar perceptions and, overall, tended to have higher levels of importance than South Korean and Japanese respondents, who also had similar perceptions of importance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns: Policy Design and Evaluation)

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20 pages, 286 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Gaps in the Educational Levels between Married Partners on Health and a Sustainable Lifestyle: Evidence from 32 Countries

by Xiangdan Piao, Xinxin Ma, Chi Zhang and Shunsuke Managi

Sustainability 2020, 12(11), 4623; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114623 - 5 Jun 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3149

Abstract

Using original cross-sectional internet survey data from 32 countries covering six continents, we investigated the impact of education gaps between married partners on their health status and sustainable lifestyles using the instrumental variable method. A self-rated health status index, mental health index, and an objective health status index were utilized to assess the health statuses of individuals, and six unique indices were used to investigate the sustainable lifestyles. According to the main findings, work-family conflicts may be severe for both wives and husbands with high education levels, and the hypothesis regarding the positive effect of income was not supported. Two major conclusions were derived. First, in general, as opposed to couples with equal education levels, the probability of reporting a worse health status was higher, and the activities related to sustainable development such as improving environmental sustainability were less for couples with education gaps. Second, a comparison of the effects of education gaps on the health status of couples in various groups reveals that highly educated groups, women, and people in Asian or middle-income countries had a higher negative effect on their health status. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns: Policy Design and Evaluation)

20 pages, 2354 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Attachment to Material Goods and Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from Life Satisfaction in Rural Areas in Vietnam

by Tetsuya Tsurumi, Rintaro Yamaguchi, Kazuki Kagohashi and Shunsuke Managi

Sustainability 2020, 12(23), 9913; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12239913 - 26 Nov 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3574

Abstract

In our daily lives, some people tend to use the same material goods more extensively than other people. It would appear that people like this consume fewer material inputs, other things being equal. Our research question is whether they are also happier in terms of life satisfaction. To study this, we first hypothesized that they are happier due to the endowment effect, prosocial or pro-environmental motivations, or income and substitution effects. We show that income and substitution effects are positive for people who use products for longer. Using a reduced form model that incorporates these four effects together, and empirical data originally collected from rural areas in Vietnam, we divide consumption into material consumption and residual consumption and demonstrate that, in general, increased material consumption is not associated with increased well-being; however, for those who take better care of their possessions, this effect is reversed, and material consumption does increase well-being. Our study shows that for people who take better care of their possessions, increased consumption is linked to increased well-being. This finding has a useful policy implication for developing countries to improve their well-being by promoting economic growth alongside responsible consumption. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns: Policy Design and Evaluation)

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19 pages, 253 KiB

Open AccessArticle

To See a World in a Grain of Sand—The Transformative Potential of Small Community Actions

by Atsushi Watabe and Simon Gilby

Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7404; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187404 - 9 Sep 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2313

Abstract

The recognition of the urgent need for more sustainable lifestyles dates from the late 20th century, originating in concerns about resource depletion and climate change. Research and policy measures have evolved since then, paying increasing attention to systemic change over individual behaviour. However, as individual behavioural change is constrained by the systems within which choices are made, more study is needed to understand better how systemic changes occur. Drawing on the experiences of the Sustainable Lifestyles and Education Programme of the UN-led One-Planet Network in collaborating with small collective actions for sustainable lifestyles, the paper analyses the needs and approaches for sustainable lifestyles and opportunities for the local actors to grow their capacities in developing ways of living sustainably. These experiences show that the pursuit of sustainable lifestyles is not a one-shot change in behaviour. It is a continuous process where actors identify and tackle locally specific opportunities for responsible and sustainable ways of living, and through a process of mutual learning and experimentation gradually shape shared visions of sustainable living. Systemic changes for sustainable living are ultimately neither about simply improving people’s awareness or attitudes or replacing some components of the external systems. They are the creation of capacities and aspirations of people actively and continuously engaging to shape alternative systems of living. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns: Policy Design and Evaluation)

25 pages, 1453 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Implementation of Accelerated Policy-Driven Sustainability Transitions: Case of Bharat Stage 4 to 6 Leapfrogs in India

by Aditi Khodke, Atsushi Watabe and Nigel Mehdi

Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4339; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084339 - 13 Apr 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3809

Abstract

In the face of pressing environmental challenges, governments must pledge to achieve sustainability transitions within an accelerated timeline, faster than leaving these transitions to the market mechanisms alone. This had led to an emergent approach within the sustainability transition research (STR): Accelerated policy-driven sustainability transitions (APDST). Literature on APDST asserts its significance in addressing pressing environmental and development challenges as regime actors like policymakers enact change. It also assumes support from other incumbent regime actors like the industries and businesses. In this study, we identify the reasons for which incumbent industry and business actors might support APDST and whether their support can suffice for implementation. We examine the actor strategies by drawing empirical data from the Indian national government policy of mandatory leapfrog in internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle emission control norms, known as Bharat Stage 4 to 6. This leapfrogging policy was introduced to speed up the reduction of air pollutants produced by the transport sector. A mixed-methods approach, combining multimodal discourse analysis and netnographic research, was deployed for data collection and analysis. The findings show that unlike the status quo assumption in STR, many incumbent industry and business actors aligned with the direction of the enacted policy due to the political landscape and expected gains. However, the degree of support varied throughout the transition timeline and was influenced by challenges during the transitioning process and the response of the government actors. The case suggests we pay more attention to the actors’ changing capacities and needs and consider internal and external influences in adapting the transition timelines. This study contributes to the ongoing discussion on the implementation of APDST, by examining the dynamism of actor strategies, and provides an overview of sustainability transitions in emerging economies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns: Policy Design and Evaluation)

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21 pages, 1387 KiB

Open AccessArticle

What Affects Chinese Households’ Behavior in Sorting Solid Waste? A Case Study from Shanghai, Shenyang, and Chengdu

by Yanmin He, Hideki Kitagawa, YeeKeong Choy, Xin Kou and Peii Tsai

Sustainability 2020, 12(21), 8831; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218831 - 23 Oct 2020

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 5567

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to examine residents’ environmental behavior in sorting solid household waste, and to identify the integrative factors that contribute to their waste-separation cooperation and other related pro-environmental behaviors. This was achieved based on a questionnaire survey in Shenyang, Chengdu, and Shanghai. Methodologically, we applied a discrete choice model to examine whether individuals’ garbage sorting behaviors differ based on their characteristics, social attributes, residential circumstances, and environmental awareness, and whether these factors are correlated with individuals’ receptiveness to a refuse charge system, or to policies requiring garbage sorting. We further examined whether individuals’ garbage sorting behavior, their receptiveness to fee-based waste collection, and their receptiveness to policies requiring garbage sorting differ across areas. In this particular survey, we introduced a 16 item scale of pro-environmental behavior and a nine item scale of altruism to ascertain the ways in which internal motivational factors affect people’s environmentally conscious voluntary behavior. Overall, the present work is expected to contribute to an important understanding of the motivational forces and incentives behind human pro-environmental behavior and action. It also brings relevance to the analysis of moral solidarity in relation to the household waste disposal problems currently confronting us today. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns: Policy Design and Evaluation)

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21 pages, 13510 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of COVID-19 on Food and Plastic Waste Generated by Consumers in Bangkok

by Chen Liu, Pongsun Bunditsakulchai and Qiannan Zhuo

Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8988; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168988 - 11 Aug 2021

Cited by 42 | Viewed by 7132

Abstract

The crisis ignited by COVID-19 has transformed the volume and composition of waste generation and requires a dynamic response from policy makers. This study selected Bangkok as a case study to semi-quantitatively examine the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on consumer-generated food and plastic waste by examining changes in lifestyles and consumption behaviour through a face-to-face questionnaire survey. Travel bans and diminished economic activity due to COVID-19 have led to a dramatic reduction in waste from the business sector and in the total amount of municipal waste generated. However, the results of the survey showed that both food and plastic waste generated by households in Bangkok increased during COVID-19. The shift from eating out to online food delivery services led to an increase in plastic bags, hot-and-cold food bags, plastic food containers, and food waste. Reasons for the increase in household food waste during COVID-19 varied, with respondents citing excessive amounts of food and unappetising taste, followed by exceeding the expiration date and rotting/foul odours. These reasons may be the result of the inability to predict quantity and quality when ordering online, and inadequate food planning and management by consumers. To achieve more effective food and plastic waste management, home delivery services, consumer food planning and management, and the formation of a circular economy based on localised supply chains may be considered as important intervention points. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns: Policy Design and Evaluation)

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20 pages, 2433 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Household Food Waste Generation in Hanoi and Policy Implications towards SDGs Target 12.3

by Chen Liu and Trung Thang Nguyen

Sustainability 2020, 12(16), 6565; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12166565 - 13 Aug 2020

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 6694

Abstract

The issue of food waste, especially in developing economies, is a puzzle. Hanoi was selected as a case study to examine the current situation of food waste generated by consumers through daily habits/practices and to evaluate options for preventing and reducing food waste at the policy level through a literature/policy review and interview-style survey. An analysis of responses found that the self-reported food waste generation rate in Hanoi averaged 1192 g/day/household in urban areas and 1694 g/day/household in rural areas; cooking waste generated during meal processing/preparation accounts for more than 70% of the total; less than 20% of respondents separated out kitchen waste for reuse/recycling before disposal; expiration dates and deteriorating quality were cited as primary reasons for food waste at home in contrast with larger portions and over-ordering outside the home; leftover food is used indirectly as animal feed in urban areas and directly in rural areas; and most respondents indicate a willingness to reduce, reuse, and recycle food waste. To achieve SDG target 12.3, policymakers and practitioners must develop comprehensive food waste policies and actions targeting the entire supply chain, implement practical food waste management systems, and promote sufficiency strategies for saving food, reducing food waste, and maintaining health and well-being. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns: Policy Design and Evaluation)

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