Towards Sustainable Household Consumption

Towards Sustainable Household Consumption?
What is Consumption? What is Sustainable Consumption? Why is household consumption important? Environmental pressures from consumption will intensify Driving forces behind consumption patterns What is the role of government in promoting sustainable consumption? Policies to promote sustainable consumption General policy framework on sustainable consumption Broad policy guidelines to promote sustainable household consumption Some Unresolved Policy Questions For Further Reading Where to contact us?

Trends and Policies in OECD Countries
Introduction
Changing unsustainable household consumption patterns is crucial for achieving the goal of sustainable development in OECD countries. Households affect the environment through their energy and water consumption, waste generation, transport patterns and food choices. For many years, environmental policies were focused on the production side, mainly through pollution control and eco-efficiency. Household consumption patterns, and the drivers behind them, were poorly understood. This has made it difficult in the past to identify the appropriate role of governments in promoting more sustainable consumption patterns, and for the choice and implementation of different policy instruments. Is achieving sustainable consumption in OECD societies an insurmountable challenge? Looking ahead to the nature and size of the problem in OECD countries, the challenge appears daunting – even without considering the still greater implications of a global community consuming in the style and on the scale of OECD countries. Ten years after the 1992 Earth Summit, what can be said about the progress made in addressing the environmental impacts of household consumption patterns and what are the future priorities for action? Analysis shows that environmental impacts from household activities have worsened over the last three decades. And they are expected to intensify even more over the next twenty years – particularly in the areas of energy, transport and waste – if strong and comprehensive policies are not implemented. To help countries to change unsustainable consumption patterns, the OECD has been working actively on sustainable consumption issues since 1994. The results of this work have recently been released in a synthesis publication Towards Sustainable Household Consumption? Trends and Policies in OECD Countries (OECD, 2002). This publication includes a comprehensive analysis of household consumption patterns in five key areas: food, tourism-

© OECD 2002

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

July 2002

POLICY BRIEF

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related travel, energy, water and waste generation in OECD countries. It presents trends in household consumption and related environmental impacts and explores the forces that shape household decisions. The publication also outlines the framework for government policies and the role of specific types of policy instruments to help households reduce their environmental impacts. It identifies lessons learned from the experiences of OECD Member countries so far with various policies to promote more sustainable consumption. s

goods and services are provided outside markets, through such institutions as the family and the natural environment, and can be consumed. Because they have no market value, non-marketed goods and services may be over-consumed (e.g. biodiversity, marine resources). s

What is Sustainable Consumption?
The term sustainable consumption is defined along the lines of the Brundtland definition for sustainable development as: "the use of goods and services that respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life, while minimising the use of natural resources, toxic materials and emissions of waste and pollutants over the life-cycle, so as not to jeopardise the needs of future generations" (Norwegian Ministry of Environment, 1994). This definition remains open to different interpretations. This is appropriate because the assessment of what is sustainable is site- and problem-specific, and depends on social and political decisions of acceptable levels of risk and substitution between natural capital and man-made, human and social capital. Sustainable consumption is also defined as a function of the time within which environmental pressures must be evaluated, which can be a question of a few

What is Consumption?
In the OECD Work Programme on Sustainable Consumption, consumption has been used to refer to the consumption of products and services by households. It does not include consumption by the public sector nor intermediate consumption of products and services in the productive sector. Instead, the term is used to refer to a sequence of choices and actions by households including the "selection, purchase, use, maintenance, repair and disposal of any product or service" (Campbell, 1998). It thus extends beyond a classic economic definition of consumption. As in the broader language of welfare economics, "consumption" is also understood to include more than expenditures on marketed products and services. Many

Box 1. Household Environmental Impacts to 2020: OECD Traffic lights

Waste generation Personal travel Energy use Waste recycling Water consumption

The OECD Environmental Outlook (2001) uses a system of "traffic lights" to signal key findings in environmental pressures. A "green light" (light red) signals pressures that are decreasing or environment conditions for which the outlook to 2020 is positive. It is also used to signal societal responses that have helped to alleviate the problems identified. A "yellow light" (white) signals areas of uncertainty or potential problems. Finally, a "red light" signals pressures on the environment or environmental conditions for which recent trends have been negative and are expected to continue to be so to 2020, or for which recent trends have been more stable, but are expected to worsen (OECD, 2001).

Source:

OECD Environmental Outlook, 2001.

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years or many decades. As a result, sustainable consumption is a dynamic concept that indicates the direction of change desired or required; it can evolve as new information is gathered and political preferences are established. Where ecological limits can be established, sustainable consumption can be linked to specific targets (e.g. for CO2 emissions, water consumption). Important aspects of the social dimension of sustainability (e.g. equity and distributional considerations) have not been addressed in the OECD work on consumption so far. As such, the term sustainable consumption in this Report refers primarily to environmentally sustainable consumption. s

sumption patterns for key consumer goods and government policy that provides consistent messages across sectors. This key orientation was highlighted in the "OECD Environmental Strategy for the First Decade of the 21st century", adopted by OECD Environmental Ministers in May 2001. s

Environmental pressures from consumption will intensify
Per capita private consumption has increased steadily in OECD countries over the last two decades, and is expected to continue to follow GDP growth in the period to 2020. Product and technological innovations have reduced the energy and material intensity of many consumer goods. • Transport - the current total motor vehicle stock in OECD countries of 550 million vehicles (75% of which are personal cars) is expected to grow 32% by 2020, while motor vehicle kilometres are projected to increase 40%. Global air travel is projected to triple in the same period (Figure 1) (see: OECD [2002], Household Tourism Travel: Trends, Environmental Impacts and Policy Responses).
Figure 1. International Tourist Arrivals Worldwide:
Long haul vs. intra-regional trips 1995-2020 (million tourists arrivals)
1995 2020

Why is household consumption important?
Households affect the environment through their dayto-day decisions on what goods and services to buy and how they use them, through their decisions on where to live and work, what kind of dwelling to have, how to manage their waste and where to go on vacation. Although the environmental pressures of an individual household are minor compared to environmental impacts from the industrial and public sector, the combined impact of many households is an important contributor to a number of environmental problems, including air and water pollution, waste generation, habitat alteration and climate change. Moreover, in areas such as household energy use, travel and waste generation, material and energy efficiency gains have been outweighed by the absolute increase in the volume of goods and services that are consumed and discarded. Environmental impacts from household consumption are set to grow in these areas over the next twenty years (Box 1). Looking ahead over the next 20 years, world GDP is projected to increase by 75% (two thirds of which will come from OECD countries), while world population is expected to grow between 1 and 2 billion (mainly in non-OECD countries). As a result, de-coupling environmental pressures from economic growth, while satisfying human needs, is a key challenge for OECD countries over the next few decades. This will require integrated efforts that address production and con3

24% 18%

76% 82% Long-haul trips million tourist arrivals Long haul trips Intra-regional trips 101.34 461.66 Intra-regional trips million tourist arrivals Long haul trips 384.48

index 100 100

index 379 264

Intra-regional trips 1 217.52

Source:

WTO, 1998; in OECD (2002), Household TourismTravel: Trends, Environmenatl Impacts and Policy Responses.

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Figure 2.
25 000

US Food and packaging wastes, 1960-1996 (1000 tonnes)
25 000

20 000

20 000

15 000

15 000

10 000

10 000

5 000

5 000

0 1960

1970

1980

1990 Packaging

1992

1994 Food wastes

1995

0 1996

Source:

Franlkin Associates for the USEPA, 1997 in Kauffman and Chevrot, 2000.

• Food - The most significant environmental impacts from food occur early in the production chain (agriculture, food processing), but households influence these impacts through their choice of diet and habits directly affecting the environment through food-related energy consumption and waste generation (figure 2) (see: OECD [2001], Household Food Consumption: Trends, Environmental Impacts and Policy Responses). • Energy - energy use in OECD countries grew by 36% between 1973-1998, and is expected to grow by another 35% to 2020, despite energy efficiency gains. Commercial and residential energy use is the second most rapidly growing area of global energy use after transport.

• Water - households are relatively low consumers of water and household demand for freshwater has stabilised or declined in 9 OECD countries. But in many others, population growth and expanded water use have outweighed the effect of water saving technology and behaviour. • Waste - municipal waste is projected to grow by 43% from 1995 to 2020, to reach approximately 700 million tonnes per year in OECD countries overall (Figure 3). In 1997, OECD households generated on average 67% of municipal waste loads. Recycling rates have increased, which has slowed the rate of growth of waste destined for final disposal, but reductions have not been seen in the total volume of waste generated.

Figure 3.
Index 1980 = 100 240 220 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 1980

Municipal Waste Generation, GDP and Polulation in OECD countries, 1980-2020
Index 1980 = 100 240 220 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 2020

1985

1990 GDP

1995

2000

2005

2010 Population

2015

Generation of municipal waste

Source:

OECD (1999a) for 1980-1995, and Reference Scenario for 1995-2020.

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Box 2. Summary: Trends and evnironemental impacts from household energy and water consumption and waste generation
Trends at the household • Growing demand for energy and water services tied to larger homes, and more energy and water appliances. • Growing share of electricity in household energy consumption • Growing waste generation and recycling • Diversification of waste stream Determinants of environmental impact • Scale of energy and water use • Energy and water efficiency rates • Fuel source for heating and electricity generation • Availability and quality of water resources • Volume and composition of waste and method of waste disposal • Recycling rates and waste prevention Environmental impact • GHG emissions, air and water pollution linked to the generation and use of energy • Water depletion and pollution • GHG emissions, air, water and soil pollution from inappropriate waste management

Analysis shows that household energy demand continues to grow (although at a slower rate than in the past), despite efficiency gains for many household energy end uses. On the other hand, household water consumption has stabilised or declined in some OECD countries. These trends suggest a strong potential for households in other OECD countries (and particularly those with high per capita water consumption levels) to reduce their use levels. Generation of household waste continues to grow and is projected to increase even more to 2020, making waste a priority concern. Box 2 summarises the consumption trends in these areas, the determinants of environmental impacts and the environmental impacts. s

theoretical and empirical work on consumer preference formation and consumer decision-making that helps explain why consumption patterns have developed as they have, and how they will likely evolve in the future. Understanding these driving forces is important to determining which consumer preferences may change, how quickly and under what stimulus. This has direct implications for identifying the role of government in promoting more sustainable consumption patterns and for the choice and implementation of different policy instruments. Consumer decision-making is a complex process affected by different and sometimes competing criteria, including self-interested motives (price, quality, individual taste, lifestyle) as well as socially-rooted motives (culture, self-identity, social context, environmental and social concerns). Current and projected household consumption patterns are also influenced by a number of different driving forces. Rising per capita income, demographics (more working women, more single-person households, larger populations of retired persons) and accompanying changes in life5

Driving forces behind consumption patterns
What are the key influences and driving forces behind current and projected household consumption patterns? What leads consumers to make pro-environmental consumption choices? There is a rich body of

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Figure 4. Private and government consumption per capita, 1980-2020
Canada, Mexico and United States
Index 1980 = 100 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 1980

Western Europe
Index 1980 = 100 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 2020

1990

2000

2010

2020

1980

1990

2000

2010

OECD
Index 1980 = 100 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 1980 Index 1980 = 100 200 180 160 Private consumption per capita 140 120 100 80 2020 Government consumption per capita GDP per capita

1990

2000

2010

Source:

OECD (2001), Environmental Outlook.

styles have led to more individualised buying patterns, a shift towards more processed and packaged products, higher levels of appliance ownership, and a wider use of services and recreation. Higher incomes have also increased the number of objects households purchase. Technology, institutions and infrastructure also play an important role in influencing household consumption behaviour. They create the prevailing conditions faced by households in their everyday life, and can either expand or constrain the product options available to them. The economic conceptual framework used in the OECD work on sustainable consumption highlights the fact that income is a central component to consumer decision-making. Net disposable income per capita expanded rapidly in OECD countries in the 20th century, doubling and even tripling in several countries between 1985 and 1997/8 alone, and is projected to continue to rise to 2020 (OECD, Environmental Outlook, 2001). At the same time, consumers in OECD countries enjoy a steadily expanding range of low-priced, mass-produced goods and access to a progressively more global marketplace. The share of total private expenditure in GDP has been almost constant at 60% in Western Europe and Japan over
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the last twenty-five years, although this share varies significantly among OECD countries (range: 46% to 74%). Private consumption per capita has increased along with income, rising by approximately 40% from US$8 000 per capita in 1980 to US$11 000 per capita in 1998, and is projected to increase with growth in GDP in OECD countries to 2020 (Figure 4). OECD work on sustainable consumption has also drawn from other socio-economic conceptual frameworks to describe and understand the motivations behind household consumption patterns. For instance, the Needs, Opportunities and Abilities (NOA) model developed by Vlek et al. (Gatersleben and Vlek, in Noorman and Uiterkamp 1998) provides a framework for identifying the specific forces underlying consumer behaviour at both the macro-level of society as a whole and at the micro-level of the household. In the NOA model, consumer motivation to act in a specific way results from certain consumer needs and opportunities, and their abilities to fulfil those needs. It is presumed that people buy goods not for their own sake but for what those goods can do for them. Needs refer to the set of objectives that individuals pursue to maintain or improve their "quality of life" or well-being. Opportunities and abilities deter-

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mine the degree of behavioural control people have. In order for a certain kind of consumer behaviour to emerge, people need to have both the motivation and the behavioural control to do so. Opportunities are seen as a set of external facilitating conditions, such as the objective availability of goods, materials and services, their accessibility, the relevant information that is available and prices. Abilities are the set of internal capacities of an individual or household to procure goods and services. They include financial (e.g. income, credit options), temporal (e.g. more time to take holidays), spatial (space in the home to store goods and distance to relevant shops and services), cognitive and physical means and skills (health, fitness, possession of licenses and permits). Table 1 illustrates the NOA model for the sector study on household energy use, water consumption and waste generation. Several observations can be made about the utility of understanding these driving forces for policy development and implementation. First, the multiplicity of forces that influence household consumption patterns argues for a widening of models of consumer behaviour which take preferences as "given", particularly where they are used to guide policy development. The web of driving forces means that there are many

options for policy to influence consumption patterns, and underlines the importance of applying combinations of instruments to reflect the fact that different driving forces act simultaneously on consumer decisions. Understanding these influences can not only help to design effective instruments, but also to determine the relative emphasis that should be given to different types of instruments (economic, regulatory or social). The dynamics behind consumer demand also help identify where the impetus to shift consumption patterns can come strongly from consumers, or in contrast, will depend upon shifts in the technological or infrastructure characteristics of supply patterns. Finally, some driving forces have a dual effect on consumption patterns, in particular per capita income and economic growth, which both extend consumer abilities and opportunities to increase their consumption, but which are also historically tied to rising levels of environmental protection. The net impact of these types of driving forces will depend on the development of other factors that influence consumption, including for example, technological innovation, levels of environmental awareness and concern, and environmental protection policies. s

Table 1. The NOA model and household energy and water consumption and waste generation

MACRO FORCES Economy (economic growth), Technology (energy and water supply technology; waste management systems), Demographics (household size and composition), Culture (frugality, water as a free good) Needs Energy for space conditioning; hot water; electrical appliances Opportunities Prices for energy and water Costs of waste management Available products and services (efficiency rates for household appliances; packaging Information Abilities Per capita disposable income

Water for consumtion, cooking, cleaning, gardening Waste management

Infrastructure Education and environmental awareness

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What is the role of government in promoting sustainable consumption?
There are many factors that shape household choices and actions and consequently many options for influencing consumption patterns. Reducing the environmental impacts from household consumption requires a combination of different policy instruments and a multi-stakeholder approach including public policy, market innovation, NGO mobilisation of consumer groups, and voluntary initiatives by consumers themselves (Box 3). Many negative environmental trends are related in large part to the market’s failure to properly reflect the real cost of resource use or pollution linked to household consumption patterns. Wherever the price of energy, road fuels, food, water or waste do not fully reflect associated environmental costs, households have an incentive to "over" consume. Households also cannot always express the value they place on non-marketed goods, such as a clean environment or "safe" food - which means that many such goods may be under-consumed. Governments can make stronger use of economic instruments to internalise the environmental costs in the prices of consumer goods and services or to reflect consumer preferences for greater environmental protection.

Household decisions are also influenced by government policy and institutional arrangements in other areas of public planning, including macroeconomic fiscal and monetary policies intended to influence savings or stimulate consumption (e.g. of consumer durables, housing, real estate), land-use planning, technology policy, etc. Government failure to define sustainability objectives and to adequately co-ordinate policies across economic sectors can result in negative spill-over effects on the environment. Social instruments can broadly be characterised as influencing consumer knowledge and willingness to act in favour of the environment. OECD countries use different measures to make consumers aware of how they could adopt more sustainable lifestyles: information dissemination on specific household topics (energy or water conservation), eco-labelling schemes, public awareness campaigns, open forum debate and discussion, voluntary co-ordinated consumer initiatives, etc. (see OECD (2001), Policy Case study on Information and Consumer Decision Making for Sustainable Consumption, and OECD (2001), Policy Case Study on Participatory Decision-making for Sustainable Consumption). Information can be a powerful tool for promoting more sustainable household consumption patterns. Nearly every government, private sector, or NGO initiative for the environment calls for a better informed and more active public. How-

Box 3. Policy tools for household sustainable consumption: some examples
Where externalities exist or where the public good quality of environmental goods or services makes it impossible to use markets to allocate resources effectively, governments have an important role to play in increasing market effectiveness and providing the framework conditions in which society meets it environmental protection goals. They can do so using a combination of economic, regulatory and social instruments. Economic Instruments: e.g. waste fees, taxes on energy and water use, deposit-refund schemes for beverage bottles and batteries, removal of water subsidies, subsidies for green energy, tradable permits for municipal waste, green tax reform… Regulatory Instruments: e.g. regulation on environmental labels and "green" claims, waste management directives, energy-efficiency standards, extended producer responsibility regulation, statutory pollution emissions targets, water quality standards, product bans… Social Instruments: e.g. public information and environmental awareness campaigns (on waste, energy, water, transport), education, public debate and participatory decision-making processes, support to voluntary citizen initiatives, partnerships with other actors (private sector, NGOS, etc.)… Other Tools: e.g. state of environment assessment and goal setting, development of sustainable consumption indicators, incentives for environmentally superior technological innovation and diffusion, infrastructure provision, zoning and land-use planning.

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ever, there are a number of barriers to effectively providing information to consumers and linking this information to action. These barriers are related to the growing volume and complexity of environmental information available to consumers, consumer scepticism vis-à-vis the credibility of most information sources, and "free-rider" decision-making dilemmas - all in the context of a broader information and media environment that generally encourages indiscriminate consumption. Towards Sustainable Consumption? provides lessons learned and good practice examples for more effectively using information to promote more sustainable consumption patterns. s

Policies to promote sustainable consumption
National and local governments in most OECD countries have implemented policies to reduce the environmental impacts of household activities. Certain of these policies aim to influence household decision-making directly by encouraging, for example, energy conservation or waste recycling. Others influence the options open to consumers in the market by imposing standards to increase the availability of environmentally benign goods, or by using taxes or fees to increase the relative prices of products with greater negative environmental impacts. Some of these policies have generated positive changes in behaviour, but in general results appear to have been modest so far. Governments could play a more active role in facilitating household action than they currently do. In particular, they will need to clarify objectives for household

action, reinforce existing policies, ensure the provision of infrastructure, improve the co-ordination and consistency of policies, and support the initiatives of private sector and civic actors to help households develop less material- and pollution-intensive lifestyles. Governments should also give greater consideration to cross-sectoral policy integration and the potential environmental impacts of policies in other areas that influence household decisions (land-use, infrastructure investment, and macroeconomic policies). In most cases, reducing environmental impacts from household consumption will require a combination of instruments. For example, reducing waste-related environmental problems in the future will require stronger implementation of existing waste recycling and disposal policies, but also changes in consumption and production patterns to reduce the total amount of waste generated. Different policy tools can be used at different areas of the product-waste chain in order to reduce waste generation and improve waste recovery and disposal systems (Figure 5). s

General policy framework on sustainable consumption
The examination of sector trends in household consumption, and particularly the driving forces that shape consumer preferences, gives rise to five framework conditions that are necessary if a critical mass of consumers - more than just the small market segment of highly motivated green consumers – are to make environmentally aware decisions. These five conditions are presented in Box 4. s

Box 4: General policy framework on sustainable consumption
• A price structure for consumer goods and services that internalises environmental costs and benefits; • A policy and regulatory framework that makes clear the priorities and direction for change; • The availability of a range of environmentally friendly goods and services; • Technology and infrastructure that include environmental quality criteria in the design and running of transportation networks, housing, waste management, etc; and • An educational, learning and information environment that motivates and enables consumer action.

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Figure 5.

Government Policy instruments on waste prevention and waste management

Production patterns

Household consumption patterns

Waste generation and collection

Waste management systems

Economic tools * Tax on packaging * Economic incentives for cleaner production and waste prevention. Regulatory tools * Environmental standards. * Eco-labelling Voluntary approaches and technological innovation * Triple bottom line * Eco-design * De-materialisation * Shift from products to services

Economic tools * Deposit-refund schemes * Taxes on disposable products and packaging. Regulatory tools * Eco-labelling Social tools * Environmental education * Information on green purchasing * Support to voluntary initiatives.

Economic tools * Waste fees and taxes * Pays as you throw Regulatory tools * Extended producer responsibility * Regulation on waste collection and recycling schemes * Provision of infrastructure for recycling Social tools * Information on recycling schemes * Support to voluntary initiatives.

Economic tools * Taxes on landfilling and incineration. Regulatory tools * Framework based on waste hierarchy * Environmental regulation on waste management * Bans on landfilling * Target for reducing landfilling and incineration of wate * Target to increase recycling rates Technology innovation * Energy recovery incinerators. * Clearner technology

Broad policy guidelines to promote sustainable household consumption
Within the context of these five framework conditions, several broad guidelines for policies to promote sustainable consumption can be drawn from OECD analysis. Shift the structure of consumption: There is broad consensus that policies affecting aggregate consumption, without differentiating for the type of consumption, are inefficient compared to policies that change the ratio of consumption to natural capital (decoupling consumption from resource use and pollution emission). This means that "consuming differently" (i.e. products and services requiring fewer resources and causing less pollution) is the preferred strategy. Consuming differently, however, can be linked to quantitative targets to reduce absolute impacts from consumption (e.g. CO2 emissions). Change both the "hardware" and "software" of consumption patterns: Promoting a shift in consumption requires changes both in available products and infrastructure - the so-called "hardware" for consumption behaviour (which requires actions by governments and business), and in consumer attitudes towards purchasing and using alternative goods the
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"software" of consumption behaviour. Analysis of the driving factors behind the development of specific consumption patterns is critical to determining the relative emphasis that needs to be given to changing the "hardware" and/or "software". Use a life-cycle approach for determining points of policy intervention: Decoupling environmental pressures from economic growth, while continuing to satisfy human needs, requires a life-cycle approach to addressing consumption and production patterns, including encouraging more efficient resource use. As a result, policies to promote greater resource productivity must address both supply and demand, and may include economic instruments (e.g. green tax reform, removal of environmentally harmful subsidies and other market-based instruments), consumer and product information based instruments, regulatory instruments and voluntary approaches addressed to producers and consumers. Upstream intervention is generally more efficient: Generally speaking, upstream intervention (economic and legal instruments targeted at producers) should be strengthened in order to reduce the effort needed by consumers. This prevents not only policies for sustainable consumption from becoming too complex for

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governments to handle (due to the multitude of products) but also governments from having to intervene too far in consumer choice. Financial or legal incentives targeted to resources are generally expected to prompt producers to look for alternative and more cost-effective ways of meeting consumer demand. Consumers would not be the primary target for these measures, except in their role as water and energy users. The effects of upstream policies will come to them via better or new products (due to innovation) or different prices for existing products (depending on price elasticities). However, where environmental impacts stem in large part from consumer use patterns (e.g. water and energy use), upstream interventions to increase efficiency may not be sufficient to off-set scale impacts of consumption. In these cases, additional measures directed to consumers will be required. A combination of policies will be most effective in stimulating change: One of the key conclusions emerging from government successes in past years to slow (energy) or reverse (water) consumption increases is that a combination of policies is more effective than one instrument applied in isolation. This is because a combination of instruments compensates for the weakness of any one type (e.g. the long-term and unpredictable impact of social instruments; intensive implementation and enforcement requirements of regulatory instruments; weak influence or political obstacles to economic instruments). It is also because the signal that each type of instrument communicates is felt in different areas of household decision-making (general environmental awareness and specific "action" information; legal efficiency standards embodied in household appliances; user fees), and in this way contributes to providing a consistent message to consumers about the direction (and possibly the magnitude) of change required at the household level. Ensure integrated, cross-sector policies: Because of the range of economic, socio-demographic, technological and other influences that shape consumption patterns, promoting more sustainable patterns requires integrated, cross-sectoral policies that give consistent messages to consumers. Despite this, household consumption today remains a peripheral issue in most OECD countries, treated in an ad-hoc fashion. Integration requires both a clearer set of policies explicitly designed to increase the environmental sustainability of household consumption in the key areas of energy, transport and waste (and water in some countries), but also more routine consideration of the potential impact on consumption patterns and environmental impacts of policies in other areas (land-use planning; energy dereg11

ulation; institutional aspects of water management). Governments should apply complementary measures where these policies, which are implemented to achieve other social objectives, are likely to have unacceptable environmental impacts. Promote and support initiatives by private sector and civic organisation: There are many options for influencing consumption patterns. This means that promoting more sustainable consumption will require a multi-stakeholder approach, including public policy, market innovation, NGO mobilisation of consumer groups, and voluntary initiatives by consumers themselves. While governments have a clear and important role to play in designing policy and framework conditions that stimulate all actors to make environmentally aware decisions, they have an equally important role in supporting and facilitating action by other stakeholders, for example by stimulating private sector innovation, including through environmentally sound public procurement policies, or by supporting efforts of nongovernmental organisations to initiate debate and reflection on consumption trends and well-being in OECD societies. s

Some Unresolved Policy Questions
Future work on sustainable household consumption should try to answer some policy questions such as: • What is the additional scope for economic instruments, especially when the analysis shows that most environmental related taxes are already paid by households? • Where can governments most effectively target and combine policies to promote sustainable consumption? While experience and analysis give some indication of the relative effectiveness of different types of policies for influencing household and private sector decision-making, less has been learned about effective targeting of policies to different actors in the production and consumption chain. This approach will help identify where policy is likely to be the most cost-efficient, environmentally effective, or equitable, and which instruments should be applied. Progress is also needed in identifying and implementing effective packages of instruments that give consumers a consistent message on the sustainability of their consumption choices. And finally, it is necessary to further explore the potential of social instruments to promote sustainable consumption (information, participatory decisionmaking, voluntary initiatives, etc). s

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For Further Reading s OECD Environmental Outlook, 2001 ISBN 92-64-18615-8, 75euros, 328p. s Towards More Sustainable Consumption: An Economic Conceptual Framework, 2001 free on internet: www.oecd.org/env/consumption s Household Food Consumption Patterns, 2001 free on internet: www.oecd.org/env/consumption s Household Tourism Travel Patterns, 2002 free on internet: www.oecd.org/env/consumption s Household Energy and Water Consumption and Waste Generation, 2001 free on internet: www.oecd.org/env/consumption s Information and Consumer Decision-making for Sustainable Consumption, 2002 free on internet: www.oecd.org/env/consumption s Participatory Decision-making Mechanism for Sustainable Consumption, 2002 free on internet: www.oecd.org/env/consumption s Policies to Promote Sustainable Consumption: An Overview, 2002 free on internet: www.oecd.org/env/consumption s Environmentally Related Taxes in OECD Countries: Issues and Strategies, 2001 ISBN: 92-64-18731-6, 30euros, 100p. s More information about the OECD work on Sustainable Consumption, please visit website: www.oecd.org/env/consumption.

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The OECD Policy Briefs are prepared by the Public Affairs Division, Public Affairs and Communications Directorate. They are published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General.

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