Consumption for a Greener Future : A Study of Motives, Hindrances and Responsibility for Changing Consumption Patterns

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to study participants’ in environmental projects, and their perceptions of their own environmental behaviour. The motives for joining these projects and perceived hindrances for the participants who want to change their consumption patterns are explored. Secondly, the perceptions of responsibility for consumption issues are investigated. The search for explanations why environmentally conscious individuals believe they have problems to change their consumption patterns are of special interest, as are the participants’ views on what they regard as important conditions for their behaviour. Some reasons for why it could be difficult to change the consumption practices if one is willing to do it in the first place are included in the thesis. The reasons are concentrated around the participants’ motives, perceived hindrances for action and responsibility for environmental issues. Changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production has been on the environmental agenda both nationally and internationally, mainly since the UN first assembled nations to discuss the importance of a global sustainable development in Rio in 1992. Environmental, social and economical sustainability were set as prioritised issues for the future. The outcome from the UN’s initiative led to the emergence of an environmental policy in Sweden and Norway where a sustainable development became a justified and legitimised principle and driving force, both nationally and locally. Different projects aimed to change consumption patterns in private households materialised. People joined these projects and were encouraged to make environmental efforts. In this thesis, individuals who are defined as environmentally aware because of their participation in environmental projects are the main informants. The purpose is to focus on these participants willingness to change their consumption practices. In this process they will have possibilities to act in environmentally friendly ways, but they will also run into different kinds of hindrances. The study concerns the participants’ perceptions of these hindrances, which are both individually and structurally perceived. This research tells us that the existence of the present and imagined fellowship is crucial for people’s motivation and environmentally friendly action. There are different and individual perspectives on understanding hindrances for action, because they are perceived differently. Responsibility for environmental issues connected to household consumption is perceived as shared by the informants. However, responsibility increases with higher authority level. There are many ways of explaining environmental effort, or the lack thereof. This approach illustrates one of them. The perceptions of individuals taking part in organised environmental action are of crucial importance for people’s motivation to act for a sustainable development and change their consumption patterns.