Browsing by Subject "ecological consumption"

Everyday life of consumers revolves around housing, food and transport. Consumption related to these areas forms a burden to the atmosphere through direct or indirect energy consumption which causes climate warming GHG emissions. Climate change itself results in deepening global economic and humanitarian problems while the human populations constantly grows. In this quantitative study I researched the relationship between sociodemographic variables and residential location to attitudes towards climate change, possibilities of individual influence and political guidance of consumption. My target was to find perspectives on how to further sustainable consumption and the shift to ecological options. The empirical part drew on the 2016 European Social Survey’s Finnish material due to its comprehensiveness and the good quality. The data was analyzed using data processing program SPSS. Everyday life and sustainable consumption were studied using a practice theory approach. Everyday practices are routinized actions which are not actively given thought. Routines are formed to ease everyday life, but they stand as obstacles for change. These routines must be broken and there must be sufficient incentives for consumers to shift to new ways of executing practices. Consumption can be made more sustainable by changing its quality or quantity. Technological solutions offer more ecological options, but the level of consumption should be decreased as well. My analysis showed that education has a positive relationship with attitudes toward climate change, the probability to conserve energy, how one sees their own influence and responsibility as well as political guidance of consumption. Income had the same effect as education. Age and residential area had an opposite effect. With age grew skepticism and efforts to save energy dropped. Moving from large cities to the countryside the phenomenon was similar. Objection to political guidance was also strongest in the countryside. My observations showed that worriedness about climate change and perceived level of responsibility and possibilities of making change through one’s own actions increased the level of energy saving and the support for political guidance of consumption. Because consumption related to everyday practices is highly routinized breaking these routines is needed to enable change. This requires the understanding of one’s role as a consumer, supporting of the transition to more sustainable options of consumption and the guidance of market offerings through political decisions. In my opinion the role of education and young consumers in central in driving change.