today's facts & tomorrow's trends - SPREAD Sustainable Lifestyles ...

Accumulation
of
“stuff” and
marketing
• household
consumption
is encouraged
to drive
economic
growth
• debt levels
are increasing
• labour costs
are increasing,
while
product cost
are decreasing
• sustainable
and durable
design, repair
and reuse are
not economical
• advertising
instils desires
for new
products and
services
• “greenwashing”
• proliferation
of eco-labels
is confusing
• technological
innovation
drives consumer
culture
• need to rethink
social
costs of using
personal
credit to stimulate
consumption
• green and
sustainability
marketing
is a growing
field
Technological
and
social innovation
• technological
innovation at
an unprecedented
speed
and level
• technological
innovation at
a high level
and speed,
contrasted
with a slow
speed of social
innovation
• technological
innovation
drives energy
efficiency and
sustainability
developments
• sustainable
business
models and
social innovation
support
more sustainable
ways of
living
Population trends and urbanisation
Drivers of consumption:
• Global population growth
• Increasing living
standards
• Ageing of the EU
population
• Growing number of
households
A key driver of macro level consumption is population growth. The world’s population
reached 7 billion people in 2011 (Eurostat and European Commission
2009) and is expected to grow to some 9 billion by 2050. All of these people will
require their basic needs to be met, and a growing middle class will aspire to
higher standards of living and improved life quality.
Together with global population growth (although not in Europe) increasing
resource-intensity per capita leads to rising environmental impacts and pressures
(Global Footprint Network 2009). Environmental problems have been
traditionally associated with developed economies (Røpke 2009a). However, impacts
are increasingly posing challenges to developing countries as production
infrastructure moves to low-cost countries where Western high-impact lifestyles
are, increasingly, being emulated.
In addition to population growth, changes in the demographic structure also affect
consumption levels and patterns. The ageing population in Europe, for example,
that is a consequence of lower birth rates and increased life expectancy
shapes consumption (Eurostat and European Commission 2009). The ageing
population is and will continue to place considerable stress on public finances
in Europe (European Commission 2009) as more and more people depend on
those who work. For every two individuals of working age in the EU there was
one dependent person (a child or elderly person) in 2007. This ageing trend is
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SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLES: TODAY’S FACTS & TOMORROW’S TRENDS