an enabling context for sustainable lifestyles

Transcription

1 an enabling context for sustainable lifestyles Lewis Akenji Senior Policy Fellow, IGES Japan Presented at World Resources Forum 2014, Arequipa, Peru

2 3 MYTHS

3 informed consumers will consume unsustainably (consumer scapegatism) knowledge-action gap misguided focus on consumer awareness campaigns/eco labels (instead of addressing drivers) the small-action trap: change light bulb/use eco bag lack of (accessible) sustainable options social and physical drivers of lifestyle patterns

4 sustainable consumption is only for industrialised countries under-consumption (in developing countries) is unsustainable consumption growing consumer class in the global south rural societies tend to live in environmentally fragile environments and depend more on nature for their livelihoods Resource limits

5 economic growth guarantees well-being lopsided wealth distribution (rich getting richer) the GDP obsession! beyond basic needs, little or not only marginal increases observed in expressed happiness as a function of increased income

6 SHIFTING THE CONTEXT OF LIFESTYLES

7 Policy framework for SCP Education culture communication Values, Knowledge Incentives, Constrains Laws/policies Administrative procedure Culture Market Facilitat ors Attitude Infrastructu re Sustainable material Efficient Lock-ins Systems of provision, Physical infrastructure Akenji 2012

8 Protect already sustainable social practices Promote less materialistic and less polluting traditional practices e.g. community forestry management protect rural farmers lifestyles e.g. reserve % floor space in shopping malls for used goods & repair shops e.g. trade by barter shops, incentives and licences Protect segments living within sustainable limits tighten credit card & consumer loans schemes long product warranties and ensure reparability capacity building for DIY and life skills (e.g. sewing, gardening, Protect micro-smes e.g. limit licenses for competitive corporations license local/farmers/crafts markets in premium locations

9 Shift Social Context around Consumer Behaviour Make the sustainable option default e.g. charge homes that opt for paper phone bills; the norm (e.g. show people their neighbours are saving energy!) Provide actionable info e.g. non-eco labels (red stickers!) feedback mechanisms (e.g. smart meters) Highlight positive examples Name and shame, reward beacons, Be an example (sustainable public procurement) Encourage collaborative behaviour provide function, not product (e.g. car sharing, laundromats; shared equipment (e.g. farmers tools) Localise (e.g. time banks, local currencies)

10 Address inequality Use progressive taxes Tax income, property, luxury goods and Progressive charges on basic utilities (e.g. water, energy) allow free/subsidized minimum for basic services use exponential unit rates for consumption above set average Free/subsidised public goods and services for low-income Health centres, education, public parks, Ownership title e.g. to small land owners Protect micro-enterprises

11 MAKING LARGER SYSTEMS CHANGES TO ENABLE LIFESTYLES

12 Who s framing our lifestyle choices? - engaging the supply chain and marketers -

13 Who has the power? Packaging Producer Brand Owner (Filler) Relationships and stakeholder influence on packaging Distributor (importer) Raw Material Supplier Retailer Nexus of influence Material Reprocessor Waste/Recycling Collector Consumer Recycled Product Manufacturer Landfill/Incinerator Municipality Dominant significant influence over another stakeholder Less dominant significant influence over another stakeholder Balanced significant influence over each other Balanced less significant influence over each other

14 Sustainable Supply Chains and Marketing Brokering Businesses at the nexus of FMCGs Experts from scientific assessment, standards and labelling, advertising, etc. Partner with: WRF, UNEP, WEF, CI, GRI, etc. a new pact for businesses develop science based guidelines for choice editing minimum health and sustainability compliance standards advertising: e.g. no-ads zones, limits to children, fact-based Product durability, planned obsolescence, reparability, extended warrantees, reusability, recyclability, take-back schemes, New products/models for dematerialisation servicising, sharing, collb. Consumption

15 Where re we going? - creating a common vision of the future -

16 Future scenarios of sustainable living We need direction, a vision of what lifestyles would look like in the future, an image of how and what people would eat, move from place to place, live at home, interact with friends, etc. The lack of imagery and destination constraints our ability to move into that future.

17 Building blocks for the future synthesize existing Revisiting traditional research, lifestyles modelling, Adaptation in already back-casting, constraint societies Focus groups Technologies Delphi process Grassroots innovations Transition towns Voluntary simplicity One-planet living Local currencies

18 Project LIFES (Lifestyles for the Future Environment and Society) WG I: Mapping the drivers of (changes in) consumption patterns in diff. regions and linkages to the environment and societal well-being (see e.g. EEA methodology for Europe) WG II: use data and valid scientific methods to develop different scenarios and possible targets for future sustainable lifestyles (see, e.g. Tim Jackson, SPREAD, and Global Research Forum); WG III: options for pathways to sustainable future (with structural, cultural and macro level change options for each), and variations for cultural and economic differences (see e.g. Tellus Institute).

19 How s Life? - putting well-being at the centre of progress -

20 Integrating quality of life in measures of progress A strong mandate : Agenda 21 (UN 1992, 4.11): new systems of national accounts and other indicators of sustainable development new concepts of wealth and prosperity which allow higher standards of living through changed lifestyles and are less dependent on the Earth's finite resources and more in harmony with the Earth's carrying capacity. with a leadership vacuum

21 Scientific groundwork Human Development Index (UNDP); Better Life Index (OECD); Happy Planet Index (New Economic Foundation); Ecological Footprint (Footprint Network); Genuine Progress Indicator (Redefining Progress) Etc A scientific and political momentum for alternative measures Political appetite Sustainable Development Indicators (UK); Gross National Happiness (Bhutan); The Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress (the Stiglitz Committee ) (France); Happiness Indicators (Japan);

22 Convene top experts on existing indicators to consolidate a major framework for quality of development (QoL); Link to existing government well-being initiatives; set standard indicators and data sources; Methodology for calculation; Leading the process Capacity building for use and integration of framework in national planning; Comparing QoL to GDP rates; discount rates of present consumption on future prospects; Lodge periodic reporting within the UN system; Link to reporting of QoL achievements under 10YFP and SDGs

23 Thank you Lewis Akenji

24 A tale of two footprints why is the ecological footprint of a poor person in London bigger than that of a wealthy person Lima?