Sustainable consumption

Abstract

Sustainability is one of the most important issues facing the world today, and yet many consumers are confused about what the term means. The question of how to create and maintain a sustainable lifestyle is a complicated one. How can we live in a way that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs? Would consumers understand the issue better if we used the phrase ‘responsible consumption’?. The Welsh Consumer Council is working on a number of projects that look at different aspects of sustainable development. Wales has one of the only governments in the world with a statutory duty to promote sustainable development, and yet patterns of consumption are spiralling out of control. If everyone in the world lived like consumers in Wales, we would need nearly two extra planets to sustain ourselves. In the fields of energy, food, waste, water, and travel, we are using up far more resources than can be replenished. This paper will examine the progress of sustainable development in Wales in the wake of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in August 2002. It will provide an overview of current consumption patterns and will identify some of the main factors inhibiting people in Wales from making more sustainable consumer choices. It will examine the popular image of sustainability, and will also identify what drivers are in place to encourage sustainable consumption. © 2017 Wiley.