Sustainable consumption
Current household consumption practices can have negative impacts on the natural environment through resource use and related generated waste. Consequently, sustainable consumption has become a central focus for national and international policy.
Jennifer’s research examines the consumption behaviors of urban consumers in developed markets in the context of sustainability. Among consumers, there is a growing awareness of and concern about the harmful environmental and social impacts of worldwide consumption and production.
This concern influences how people think about their individual consumption choices, how they participate in markets, including their attitudes toward firms and products, and how they perceive the global economy. At a firm/industry level, companies are increasingly offering sustainable options to consumers and differentiating themselves on the basis of sustainable practices.
This research, which explores whether and how consumers engage with sustainability, is essential to the future agenda of responsible business, as consumers not only shape markets through their purchasing power but also through their ability to collectively advocate for systemic change.
Jennifer’s current project focuses on urban consumers living in four cities in the United Kingdom (London and Birmingham) and the United States (San Francisco and Sacramento) and highlights sustainable consumption trends, urban consumption practices, the needs and goals of urban consumers, and the barriers and tensions facing urban consumers as they try to live sustainably.
IMPACT AND INFLUENCE
The overall aim of this work is to identify the sustainable and unsustainable consumption behaviours of urban consumers (i.e. defined as those living in the urban core of major metropolitan areas) in developed markets. This project will focus on the consumption of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs), which are products that consumers use in their day to day lives and repurchase frequently.
This research will particularly identify the new consumer barriers and tensions or paradoxes in an urban developed world that arise due to an increasing call for sustainability.
Systematic literature review of sustainable consumption literature to map out the field and develop a conceptual model of sustainable consumption that informs our research design (completed)
Ongoing: interviews with consumers in San Francisco, Sacramento, London and Birmingham
Survey with participants in US and UK
Leaving no one behind: Future-oriented Approaches in Localising the Sustainable Development Goals Thinking
Dr Jennifer TyreeHageman, Dr Nana O.Bonsu
In this paper, we review research on the antecedents of sustainable consumption and synthesize them to provide an integrative framework of sustainable consumption behavior and its antecedents to aid future research. Further, we show how this literature has been dominated by an uncritical approach to sustainable consumption. We offer an alternative perspective that highlights the negative consequences or unsustainable outcomes of behavioral transitions.
CONTACT
For any enquiries regarding this project please contact:
Dr Jennifer TyreeHageman,
Centre for Responsible Business,
Birmingham Business School,
University of Birmingham
Email
J.L.TyreeHageman@bham.ac.uk
Dr Jennifer TyreeHageman on Sustainable Consumption
Dr Jennifer TyreeHageman on Sustainable Consumption