Understanding and Shaping Sustainable Lifestyles – Key Vocabulary

Lifestyle vs. Sustainable Lifestyle

• Lifestyle = social “print” of daily habits; shapes identity, health, resource use.

• Sustainable lifestyle = patterns enabled by institutions that minimize resource use & waste while promoting equity and well-being.

Veblen’s “Leisure Class” & Globalization

• Conspicuous consumption/leisure = status display by elite.

• Globalization spreads consumerist ideals → worldwide pecuniary emulation, larger luxury demand, higher ecological load.

Global Middle Class

• Fast-growing group with discretionary income.

• Adoption of resource-intensive habits drives environmental pressure (energy, water, GHG, waste).

• Also key leverage point for sustainable transitions (policy, affordable green options).

Product Life-Cycle Impacts

• Every purchase passes through extraction → manufacturing → distribution → use → disposal.

• Impacts: resource depletion, energy use, pollution, waste, biodiversity loss, labor issues, inequality.

Environmental “Hot-Spot” Domains

• Food
  • Diet, sourcing, waste; nearly 1/3 of food lost/wasted.

• Housing
  • Buildings = up to 30\% of global GHG, 40\% energy use; materials cause mining impacts.

• Mobility
  • Transport = 13\% of GHG, 23\% of energy-CO_2; mode & distance critical.

• Goods/Services
  • Extraction, manufacturing, e-waste, fast fashion.

• Leisure
  • Tourism, electronics, second homes → energy use, e-waste, cultural & biodiversity stress.

Supply-Chain Lens on Lifestyle Choices

• Food: diet choice ↔ land, water, energy, packaging, transport, waste.

• Housing: size/materials ↔ extraction, construction energy, heating/cooling, demolition.

• Mobility: vehicle type & use ↔ material input, fuel burn, infrastructure footprint.

Factors Shaping Consumption

• Motivations (internal): functional need, status, convenience, pleasure, health, ethics.

• Drivers (external enablers): income, values, ability, awareness/knowledge, social norms, media, prices, technology, infrastructure, policies.

• Determinants (meta-conditions):
  • Attitudes/values/social norms.
  • Facilitators/access (time, money, networks).
  • Physical & systemic infrastructure locking in behaviour.

Key Takeaways

• Daily choices in food, housing, mobility, goods, and leisure dictate personal & collective footprints.

• Conspicuous & middle-class consumption trends amplify global resource strain.

• Effective change targets motivations, supporting drivers, and enabling determinants simultaneously.

• Policy, business innovation, and individual action must align to embed sustainable lifestyles within societal systems.

Lifestyle vs. Sustainable Lifestyle

• Lifestyle = social “print” of daily habits; shapes identity, health, resource use.

• Sustainable lifestyle = patterns enabled by institutions that minimize resource use & waste while promoting equity and well-being.

Veblen’s “Leisure Class” & Globalization

• Conspicuous consumption/leisure = status display by elite.

• Globalization spreads consumerist ideals → worldwide pecuniary emulation, larger luxury demand, higher ecological load.

Global Middle Class

• Fast-growing group with discretionary income.

• Adoption of resource-intensive habits drives environmental pressure (energy, water, GHG, waste).

• Also key leverage point for sustainable transitions (policy, affordable green options).

Product Life-Cycle Impacts

• Every purchase passes through extraction → manufacturing → distribution → use → disposal.

• Impacts: resource depletion, energy use, pollution, waste, biodiversity loss, labor issues, inequality.

Environmental “Hot-Spot” Domains

• Food

  • Diet, sourcing, waste; nearly 1/3 of food lost/wasted.

• Housing

  • Buildings = up to 30\% of global GHG, 40\% energy use; materials cause mining impacts.

• Mobility

  • Transport = 13\% of GHG, 23\% of energy-CO_2; mode & distance critical.

• Goods/Services

  • Extraction, manufacturing, e-waste, fast fashion.

• Leisure

  • Tourism, electronics, second homes → energy use, e-waste, cultural & biodiversity stress.

Supply-Chain Lens on Lifestyle Choices

• Food: diet choice ↔ land, water, energy, packaging, transport, waste.

• Housing: size/materials ↔ extraction, construction energy, heating/cooling, demolition.

• Mobility: vehicle type & use ↔ material input, fuel burn, infrastructure footprint.

Factors Shaping Consumption

• Motivations (internal): functional need, status, convenience, pleasure, health, ethics.

• Drivers (external enablers): income, values, ability, awareness/knowledge, social norms, media, prices, technology, infrastructure, policies.

• Determinants (meta-conditions):

  • Attitudes/values/social norms.

  • Facilitators/access (time, money, networks).

  • Physical & systemic infrastructure locking in behaviour.