What does sustainability sound like? Crafting soundscapes that reflect environmental and social sustainability dimensions

Abstract

This paper presents a series of studies examining how music and soundscapes can convey the abstract and multidimensional concept of sustainability. A pilot study identified concrete sensory and affective descriptors linked to sustainability (e.g., natural, responsible), which were then used to determine psychoacoustic properties (e.g., pitch, consonance) capable of communicating these descriptors. Based on these properties, ten instrumental musical soundtracks were selected and evaluated for their capacity to evoke sustainability associations. The soundtracks were adapted to reflect environmental (overlaying jungle, forest, or beach sounds; Study 1) and social (overlaying talking, laughing, or cheering sounds; Study 2) dimensions. Results (combined N = 517) indicated that soundtracks aligned with sustainability descriptors reliably elicited strong perceptions of sustainability. Additionally, overlaying nature sounds enhanced associations with environmental sustainability, while incorporating human group sounds increased social sustainability associations. These findings demonstrate the potential of music and soundscapes to communicate abstract concepts, highlighting the importance of integrating musical elements with explicit sounds to evoke targeted sustainability perceptions. Harnessing such soundscapes may offer new avenues for organizations to communicate sustainability, with potential applications in brand and product experiential design.