Lifestyle Material Footprint of Finnish Households – Insights, Targets, Transitions

Abstract

This chapter presents the results of and reflects on several projects and studies that analysed the material footprints of Finnish households on a micro level and developed options for a transition towards sustainable household consumption. We started 10 years ago by establishing a database and methodology for assessing the material footprint of household consumption. The first projects thus concentrated on analysing Lifestyle Material Footprints and understanding the facts behind them. A sustainable annual target level of eight tonnes per person was introduced in a later study. On the basis of this, measures for a transition towards the target were developed and implemented in experiments with households and other actors in recent projects. Currently, a joint effort between municipal, private and educational actors seeks to challenge households to systematically reduce their material footprints. The chapter concludes that the Lifestyle Material Footprint is suitable for providing relevant insights into household consumption, illustrating sustainability targets and facilitating the transition towards sustainable lifestyles.