Papers

Assessing the Impact of Structural Change in Sustainable Consumption and Lifestyles Research

Abstract

Understanding the role of structural change in enabling sustainable consumption and lifestyles is crucial for addressing environmental and social challenges. This study synthesizes current research on sustainable consumption and lifestyles with a particular focus on how structural factors shape individual and collective behaviors. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives, the paper highlights key areas where structural interventions—such as policy shifts, institutional reforms, and socio-technical innovations—can support transitions toward sustainability. The analysis emphasizes that while individual behavioral change is necessary, it remains insufficient without corresponding systemic transformations. The authors discuss the implications of structural change for research agendas and policy-making, advocating for integrated approaches that consider economic, social, and environmental dimensions simultaneously. The paper concludes by outlining pathways for future research to more effectively address the complexities of sustainable consumption and lifestyles through a structural lens.

Authors: Doris Fuchs, Ariane Debourdeau, Elisabeth Dütschke, Frances Fahy, Giulia Garzon, Benjamin Kirchler, Christian A. Klöckner, and Marlyne Sahakian

Cite as: Fuchs, D., Debourdeau, A., Dütschke, E., Fahy, F., Garzon, G., Kirchler, B., Klöckner, C. A., & Sahakian, M. (2025). Assessing the Impact of Structural Change in Sustainable Consumption and Lifestyles Research. Bristol University Press, Volume 4: Issue 1, 122–140. https://doi.org/10.1332/27528499Y2024D000000033

Radically sustainable consumption and lifestyles

Abstract

The IPCC Special Report (IPCC, 2022) clearly shows the need to significantly and quickly reduce global carbon emissions. While discussions on the exact size of the remaining global carbon budget (Rogelj et al, 2019) as well as how to distribute it fairly across different populations (Pan et al, 2015; van den Berg et al, 2020; Williges et al, 2022) are ongoing, there is little doubt that reaching the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C requires radical transformation, including sizeable reductions in production and personal consumption (Alfredsson et al, 2018). Given the significant role of consumption in Western societies as a status symbol, as part of personal identity, and a cultural and politico-economic foundation (Aitken et al, 2019; Lavelle and Fahy, 2021; Gumbert et al, 2022), a significant reduction in consumption also implies radical changes in lifestyles. 

This raises many questions about what such radically sustainable consumption and lifestyles would look like and, just as importantly, how we can achieve them. Sustainable lifestyles and environmental behaviour have often been studied in the past, and research on sustainable consumption has developed a research stream of its own (Princen et al, 2002; Jackson, 2005; Fuchs et al, 2021; Sahakian et al, 2022). However, radical change has been less studied (see Neuvonen et al, 2014; Ahvenharju, 2020, for exceptions) and calls have been made for more research in this field (Capstick et al, 2014; Hobson and Lynch, 2016).

Unsurprisingly, current research suggests that no single policy measure or group of actors – individuals, policy makers, industry or civil society – will be able to tackle this major societal challenge alone. Rather, fundamental changes of our societal systems are needed, affecting all dimensions of individual and social life (Fine and Bayliss, 2022; Kreinin et al, 2024). In particular, further research is needed to improve our understanding of the role of structural barriers and opportunities for transformative change. This includes social, cultural, political, administrative, built and economic structures, which shape and interact with individual behaviour and agency.

This Special Issue therefore invited the scientific community to share studies into this topic. (...)

Authors: Doris Fuchs, Miriam Bodenheimer, and Elisabeth Dütschke 

Cite as: Fuchs, D., Bodenheimer, M., & Dütschke, E. (2025). Radically sustainable consumption and lifestyles. Consumption and Society, 4(1), 3-10. Retrieved May 26, 2025, from https://doi.org/10.1332/27528499Y2024D000000042 

An Eco-Social Policy Mix for 1.5°C Lifestyles: A Multi-Country Policy Delphi Analysis

Abstract

Bridging the gap between welfare and climate policies is essential for simultaneously pursuing increased well-being and reduced carbon emissions. This study uses a policy Delphi approach, involving experts and stakeholders from five European countries: Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Spain, and Sweden, to assess the perceived desirability and feasibility of six eco-social policies for enabling 1.5°C lifestyles. The results show that eco-social policies are challenged by current growth and work paradigms, which transcend welfare-regime-related, ideological, social, and institutional rationales. Of the selected policies, stakeholders found low-efficiency housing retrofits the most desirable, but income caps the least desirable. Worktime reduction, job guarantees, and income ceilings raise deep concerns over work, motivation, and consumption. However, universal basic services, free public transport, and public renovation raise concerns about service efficiency, innovation incentives, and welfare entitlement. Stakeholders agreed that eco-social policies are desirable and feasible, but only when combined in a way that balances social and environmental impacts. They believe it might be easier to address challenges in understanding and implementing these policies if they were part of a broader, coordinated approach at a supranational level, rather than isolated, single-issue policies targeting specific sectors.

Authors: Karlis Laksevics, Janis Brizga, Pia Mamut, Halliki Kreinin, Doris Fuchs, Inga Belousa

Cite as: Laksevics, K., Brizga, J., Mamut, P., Kreinin, H., Fuchs, D., & Belousa, I. (2025). An Eco-Social Policy Mix for 1.5°C Lifestyles: A Multi-Country Policy Delphi Analysis. Regulation & Governance. https://doi.org/10.1111/rego.12655  

From responsibility ping-pong to shared responsibility for 1.5° lifestyles? Examining European stakeholder perspectives

Abstract

We are currently witnessing a paradox in climate governance (CG): despite growing awareness of the socio-biophysical impacts of current lifestyles, there remains a persistent commitment to high-consumption habits with large carbon footprints. Around this paradox, a debate on responsibility for change has developed. Which actor can and should do what to solve the problem? Simultaneously, however, scholars depict trends towards ‘organised irresponsibility’ (Beck, 1988) and individual responsibilisation bound to be ineffective in the context of existing structural challenges. The most likely result of such dynamics is a responsibility ping-pong with actors assigning responsibility to each other, which, in turn, invites the question of how it might be overcome. What other forms of talking about and organising responsibility might exist that could provide an actual basis for transformation change? Disentangling discourses around responsibility in CG, thus, is crucial for enabling a shift in consumption patterns and lifestyles that are compatible with the 1.5° Paris climate target. The present article pursues this objective. Building on a multi-method research approach, including stakeholder laboratories, expert interviews, and Delphi workshops across several European countries, it explores to whom and how European stakeholders in CG, specifically governments, businesses and citizens, assign responsibility, what risks and opportunities are involved, and what indications of a potential for game change exist. The findings uncover a complex web of pre-empted responsibility, which frequently leads to pessimism or ineffective strategies. However, the research also identifies some opportunities for organising a shared, justice-oriented and comprehensive notion of responsibility (Young, 2006).

Authors: Pia Mamut, Doris Fuchs, Lea Becker, Karlis Laksevics, Halliki Kreinin, Janis Brizga

Cite as: Mamut, P., Fuchs, D., Becker, L., Laksevics, K., Kreinin, H., Brizga, J., (2024) From responsibility ping-pong to shared responsibility for 1.5° lifestyles? Examining European stakeholder perspectives. Bristol University Press, p. 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1332/27528499Y2024D000000039

Keywords: sustainability; responsibility; narratives; transformation; 1.5° lifestyles; stakeholders; climate governance

The ‘glass ceiling’ of Germany’s socio-ecological transformation: Citizen, expert, and local stakeholder perspectives on responsibility for change

Abstract

The IPCC (2022) underscores the urgent need to transform economic and social systems to stay within the ~1.5 °C warming threshold, with the pressure placed on states to lead the processes of transformation. Germany’s market economy is currently neither socially nor ecologically sustainable, requiring a socio-ecological transformation towards sustainable consumption and production systems. As the imperatives of the modern democratic welfare state require high levels of material welfare, economic growth and legitimation through (over)consumption, there is currently a “glass ceiling” to any such transformation. Through a combination of empirical research methods, including 11 expert interviews, a gamified citizen workshop with 22 citizens, and a local stakeholder workshop with 27 stakeholders, this paper explores the readiness and perspectives of German citizens, experts, and local stakeholders for a socio-ecological transformation. The findings highlight the contradictory role given to the state in the transformation, the difficulties of transforming “imperial modes of living”, and the collective evasion of responsibility, which suggests a “glass ceiling” to transforming the German market economy into a genuinely social and ecological model.

Authors: Halliki Kreinin, Pia Mamut & Doris Fuchs

Cite as: Kreinin, H., Mamut, P. & Fuchs, D. The ‘glass ceiling’ of Germany’s socio-ecological transformation: Citizen, expert, and local stakeholder perspectives on responsibility for change. Z Politikwiss 34, 273–293 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41358-024-00383-9 

Keywords: Socio-ecological transformation; Sustainable consumption; Collective evasion of responsibility; Imperial modes of living; Sustainability; Social ecological market economy

1.5° lifestyle changes: Exploring consequences for individuals and households

Abstract

Low-carbon behaviour changes are essential for achieving the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5° Celsius. Increasingly, it is recognised that such behaviour changes cause further effects in individuals' lifestyles, which are important to understand for the success of such low-carbon behaviour changes. Rebound effects can occur that undermine the carbon savings, and individual well-being can suffer leading to decreased acceptance of changes and undermine broader sustainability goals. This paper systematically and empirically maps what types of effects individuals experience with low-carbon lifestyle changes, what desirable effects are encouraged and how undesirable effects can be addressed and how undesirable effects can be addressed.

For this purpose, we adopted a qualitative research approach, conducting five workshops with a total of 84 participants across five EU countries (Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Spain, Sweden) who had changed their lifestyles by adopting significant low-carbon lifestyle options. In the workshops, the consequences of four low-carbon lifestyle changes – giving up (1) car ownership, (2) flying, (3) meat, or (4) living space – were explored using simplified cause-effect diagrams, personal written reflections and discussions in focus groups.

Our results point to the relevance of intrinsic motivation to explain the likelihood for rebounding as well as the other social effects of the behaviour change on the individual and household. Findings indicated a wide range of both negative and positive effects related to feelings and perceptions of individual freedom, mental and physical conditions, and social consequences. Intrinsically motivated individuals showed a high awareness of the problem of rebounding and appeared more able to cope with negative consequences in general and reduce them. Monetary savings from a behaviour change increase the likelihood for rebounding; however, citizens with higher environmental awareness reported re-spending on other low-carbon behaviours and technologies indicating positive spillover effects. Finally, we observed the strong supporting effects of social communities for individuals to manage the negative consequences of low-carbon behaviour changes.

Authors: Jessika Luth Richter, Matthias Lehner, Anna Elfström, Josefine Henman, Edina Vadovics, Janis Brizga, Andrius Plepys, Oksana Mont

Cite as: Richter, J.L., Lehner, M., Elfström, A., Henman, J., Vadovics, E., Brizga, J., Plepys, A., Mont, O. (2024). 1.5° lifestyle changes: Exploring consequences for individuals and households. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 50: 511-525, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2024.07.018.

Keywords: Sustainable lifestyles, Consequences, Rebound, Spillover, Sustainable consumption

Preferences, enablers, and barriers for 1.5°C lifestyle options: Findings from Citizen Thinking Labs in five European Union countries

Abstract

The Horizon 2020 project EU 1.5°C Lifestyles aims to mainstream lifestyles aligned with the aspirational target of the Paris Agreement. The project analyzes lifestyle perspectives at the household level and links them to studies of relevant political and socio-economic structures at various levels of government. Within this project, Citizen Thinking Labs were organized in five EU countries to explore the acceptance of and motivations and barriers to changes that could lead to lifestyles compatible with the 1.5°C target. Through a unique mixed-methods approach, including an exploratory board game (the Climate Puzzle), this research generated insights into citizen acceptance by exploring motivations and barriers associated with the acceptance of key lifestyle changes toward 1.5°C. The results confirm previous research in that citizens are more accepting of lower-impact lifestyle options requiring financial investment (e.g., changing lighting and using efficient devices) than higher-impact options that require more substantial behavior changes. Citizens were also motivated by perceived co-benefits for example, concerning health. The research developed insight into the conditions underlying the acceptance of the least preferred options that included plant-based eating and smaller housing. The results also indicated that citizens’ acceptance could be shaped by discussing options with other citizens. Thus, we note the important role citizens may play in devising solutions for overcoming barriers to the acceptance of less-preferred lifestyle options in various contexts. While this study focused on individuals, the findings also underscore the limitations of individual and household agency and the importance of modifying the socio-technical context that shapes behavioral patterns and environmental impacts.

Authors: Edina Vadovics, Jessika Luth Richter, Maren Tornow, Nadin Ozcelik, Luca Coscieme, Michael Lettenmeier, Eszter Csiki, Lena Domröse, Stephanie Cap, Luisa Losada Puente, Inga Belousa, Laura Scherer

Cite as: Vadovics, E., Richter, J. L., Tornow, M., Ozcelik, N., Coscieme, L., Lettenmeier, M., … Scherer, L. (2024). Preferences, enablers, and barriers for 1.5°C lifestyle options: Findings from Citizen Thinking Labs in five European Union countries. Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2024.2375806

Keywords: 1.5° lifestyles, citizens, Thinking Labs, climate-change mitigation, serious games, climate puzzle

Transforming provisioning systems to enable 1.5° lifestyles in Europe? Expert and stakeholder views on overcoming structural barriers

Abstract

This article explores the urgent need for transformative change toward provisioning systems that align with staying as close as possible to the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 °C limit for climate change. Despite historical awareness of the need for change, current unsustainable patterns of production and consumption persist, prompting an examination of the role of societal structures in hindering transformative change. Using the framework of provisioning systems, this study analyses expert and stakeholder views on structural barriers and steps to overcome them. Based on 36 expert interviews and Stakeholder Thinking Labs with 113 participants in five European Union case countries, the study identifies and discusses seven key structural barriers that affect the sustainability of provisioning systems for food, mobility, housing, and leisure. These barriers include the economic growth paradigm, policy incoherence, vested interests, the externalization of environmental costs, dominant narratives of the good life, inequality, and an insufficient integration of environmental concerns in educational systems. When considering the actualization of these structures in concrete provisioning systems, stakeholders emphasize the need for welfare provision with improved resource efficiency; argue for radical measures such as bans, limits, and taxes to address these challenges; and highlight governance challenges related to participation and power. The analysis underlines the complexity of promoting transformative structural change and the interplay of structures in different provisioning systems, emphasizing the need for a holistic approach to achieve sustainable provisioning systems and 1.5° lifestyles.

Authors: Halliki Kreinin, Doris Fuchs, Pia Mamut, Steffen Hirth, Steffen Lange

Cite as: Kreinin, H., Fuchs, D., Mamut, P., Hirth, S., & Lange, S. (2024). Transforming provisioning systems to enable 1.5° lifestyles in Europe? Expert and stakeholder views on overcoming structural barriers. Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2024.2372120

Keywords: provisioning system, sustainability, structures, transformation, consumption, lifestyles

Living smaller: acceptance, effects and structural factors in the EU

Abstract

This article examines limits to per capita living space (i.e. living smaller and/or sharing living space) as a measure for achieving sufficiency in housing. It studies the acceptance, motivation and side-effects of voluntarily reducing living space in five European Union countries: Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Spain and Sweden. Insights are derived from an extensive collection of qualitative empirical material collected from citizen and stakeholder ‘thinking labs’ across the five case countries. Overall, the data reveal an initial reluctance among citizens to reduce living space voluntarily. They also point to some major structural barriers: the housing market and its regulatory framework, social inequality, or dominant societal norms regarding ‘the ideal home’. Enhanced community amenities can compensate for reduced private living space, though contingent upon a clear allocation of rights and responsibilities. Participants also reported positive effects to living smaller, including increased time for leisure activities and proximity to services. This was often coupled with urbanization, which may also be part of living smaller in the future.

Authors: Matthias Lehner, Jessika Luth Richter, Halliki Kreinin, Pia Mamut, Edina Vadovics, Josefine Henman, Oksana Mont, Doris Fuchs

Cite as: Lehner, M., Richter, J. L., Kreinin, H., Mamut, P., Vadovics, E., Henman, J., Mont, O., & Fuchs, D. (2024). Living smaller: acceptance, effects and structural factors in the EU. Buildings and Cities, 5(1), pp. 215–230. DOI: https://doi. org/10.5334/bc.438 

Keywords: downsizing; housing; lifestyles; sharing; space standards; sufficiency; sustainability

(In)Sufficiency of industrial decarbonization to reduce household carbon footprints to 1.5°C-compatible levels

Abstract

Scenarios that limit global warming to 1.5°C rely on a combination of interventions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and capture carbon dioxide. However, the extent to which lifestyle change contributes to mitigation relative to technological change over time remains understudied. Here, we present a scenario model that incorporates extensive supply-side technological transformations while excluding lifestyle changes. By adapting a global supply-use table from EXIOBASE using elements from Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 1 and a mitigation pathway consistent with the 1.5°C target, we assess how household footprints evolve in 2030 and 2050 and the extent to which technological change alone can mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. We modeled footprints for 49 countries/regions, with a focus on the EU27. Our scenario results indicate that while technological change can substantially reduce emissions, the reductions are ultimately insufficient to achieve the 1.5°C target. Eight EXIOBASE regions, including three EU27 countries, are on a 1.5°C-consistent trajectory with just technological advancements in 2030. However, by 2050, no countries are projected to meet the 1.5°C-compatible target. The average EU27 overshoot for household footprints approaches 2.2 tCO2e/cap in 2030 and 3.1 tCO2e/cap in 2050. Global overshoots are more moderate at 0.3 tCO2e/cap in 2030 and 2.0 tCO2e/cap in 2050. Our results highlight the critical role of household lifestyle transformation in climate change mitigation. Future research can explore the diverse lifestyle change pathways necessary to align with the aspirational 1.5°C target outlined in the Paris Agreement.

Authors: Stephanie Cap, Arjan de Koning, Arnold Tukker, Laura Scherer

Cite as: Stephanie Cap, Arjan de Koning, Arnold Tukker, Laura Scherer,
(In)Sufficiency of industrial decarbonization to reduce household carbon footprints to 1.5°C-compatible levels,
Sustainable Production and Consumption, Volume 45, 2024, Pages 216-227, ISSN 2352-5509, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2023.12.031.
 

Keywords: Household consumption; Input-output analysis; Technological change; Climate change mitigation; Climate target

Barriers and enablers of 1.5° lifestyles: Shallow and deep structural factors shaping the potential for sustainable consumption (2023)

Abstract

Introduction: Transforming consumption and lifestyles toward sustainability cannot be achieved by individual behavior change alone but requires changes in the structures in which this behavior is embedded. However, “structure” is a blurry concept and scholars use it in a multitude of ways. What often remains implicit in studies on structural phenomena are different types of structures, how they may or may not restrict the agency of individuals in particular ways, and how these restrictions support sustainable consumption patterns at the societal level. To move beyond the current state of research, this article systematizes political, economic, technological, and societal structural factors the literature identifies as impactful regarding the sustainability of consumption and lifestyles compatible with the targets of the Paris Agreement.
Methods: We draw on a systematic review of existing research and use empirical observations to develop conceptual terms that revisit the structure-agency dilemma and offer ways going forward about (un)sustainable consumption.
Results: We do so based on the material or ideational, as well as shallow or deep nature of these factors. Thereby, the article throws light on the deep and opaque material and ideational structural factors lying underneath and shaping the sustainability impact of the more visible, shallow structural factors typically considered in public debates about sustainability governance.
Discussion: The article, thus, highlights the need to consider and address these deep structural factors for any effective pursuit of transformation.

Cite as: Steffen Hirth, Halliki Kreinin, Doris Fuchs, Nils Blossey, Pia Mamut, Jeremy Philipp, Isabelle Radovan and the EU 1.5° Lifestyles Consortium (2023): "Barriers and enablers of 1.5° lifestyles: Shallow and deep structural factors shaping the potential for sustainable consumption" in: Frontiers in Sustainability, Vol. 4 2023, doi: 10.3389/frsus.2023.1014662.