Sustainable consumption

1. Sustainable Consumption

3. Sustainable Consumption
• In today’s session we will understand about sustainable and
unstainable consumer behavior.
• To understand what motivates consumers to engage in
sustainable consumption and what are the key areas of
resistance.
• To understand how to group consumers into segments that
businesses can address.
• In looking at sustainable consumer behaviour, our approach is
going to be bottom-up.
• To understand movements such as the voluntary simplicity
movement and look for how and what that means for
consumers in general.

4. Sustainable Consumption
• One of the greatest global challenges is
to integrate environmental sustainability
with economic growth and welfare by
decoupling environmental degradation
from economic growth and doing more
with less.
• Resource decoupling and impact
decoupling are needed to promote
sustainable consumption and production
patterns and to make the transition
towards a greener and more socially
inclusive global economy.

5. Data, Statistics, Facts and Figures
• Each year, an estimated one third of all food
produced – equivalent to 1.3 billion tonnes worth
around $1 trillion – ends up rotting in the bins of
consumers and retailers, or spoiling due to poor
transportation and harvesting practices.
• If people worldwide switched to energy efficient
lightbulbs the world would save US$120 billion
annually.
• Should the global population reach 9.6 billion by
2050, the equivalent of almost three planets could
be required to provide the natural resources
needed to sustain current lifestyles.

6. Water
• Less than 3 per cent of the world’s water is
fresh (drinkable), of which 2.5 per cent is
frozen in the Antarctica, Arctic and glaciers.
Humanity must therefore rely on 0.5 per cent
for all of man’s ecosystem and fresh water
needs.
• Man is polluting water faster than nature can
recycle and purify water in rivers and lakes.
• Excessive use of water contributes to the
global water stress.

7. Water Consumption
• Generally people who drink from
sealed water bottles, do not carry the
bottles with them if the water is still
remaining.
• Every Indian wastes 0-45 litres of water
per day.
• We use 27% of water for bathing and
toilet use.
• Approximately, a leaking faucet can
waste 4,000 drops of water, which is
equal to a litre of water.

8. Facts about Water in India
• Did you know that, approximately 163 Million Indians
don’t have access to clean drinking water.
• 21% of the communicable diseases are linked to unsafe
drinking water. Every day 500 children die because of
diarrhea in India.
• The main water bodies of India-Ganga, Yamuna and
Sabarmati have a deadly mix of pollutants, which are both
organic and hazardous.
• Kolkata wastes 50% of the water that it receives.
Bangalore, which is the third most populous city in the
country, comes a close second at 49%. Water wastage
figures in New Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai stand at 26%,
20%, and 18% respectively.

9. Sixty million litres water go waste daily
• In Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) the government
introduced 24*7 water scheme in 2018. However
approximately 30% of the water is going waste on
a daily basis.
• It accounts for a whopping 60 million litres
(MLD) water daily on an average out of 200
MLD water supplied to the 60 wards of core city
a day.
• While evaporation accounts for a small
percentage the portable water was going waste
due to pipe leakages.
• Distribution of water by the civic body becomes
difficult. To address this issue it is using Helium
techniques which is 90% accurate.

10. Food
• While substantial environmental impacts
from food occur in the production phase
(agriculture, food processing), households
influence these impacts through their dietary
choices and habits. This consequently affects
the environment through food-related energy
consumption and waste generation.
• 3 billion tonnes of food is wasted every year
while almost 1 billion people go
undernourished and another 1 billion hungry.
• 1.3 billion tonnes of food production are
wasted in every year (FAO).

11. Food contd…
• Overconsumption of food is detrimental to our
health and the environment.
• 2 billion people globally are overweight or obese.
• Land degradation, declining soil fertility,
unsustainable water use, overfishing and marine
environment degradation are all lessening the
ability of the natural resource base to supply food.
• The food sector accounts for around 30 per cent of
the world’s total energy consumption and accounts
for around 22 per cent of total Greenhouse Gas
emissions.

13. Food contd…
• According to FAO approximately 768 million people
worldwide were undernourished in 2020– the range is
between 720.4 M - 811 M.
• Compared with 2019, 46 million more people in
Africa, almost 57 million more in Asia, and about 14
million more in Latin America and the Caribbean were
affected by hunger in 2020.
• Nearly one in three people in the world (2.37 billion)
did not have access to adequate food in 2020 – that’s
an increase of almost 320 million people in just one
year.
• On 23rd September 2021 UN organized the first UN
Food Systems Summit to combat food security
challenges and nutrition.

14. Can we create a perfect farm?

15. Food Waste
• 1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted or
lost annually, according to the FAO.
• “We waste about one-third of the food
produced for human consumption, at a cost
of $990bn per year.” (Inger Andersen,
executive director of the United Nations
Environment Programme)
• A key area affected by food waste is the
climate and greenhouse gas emissions.

16. • An estimated 931 million tonnes of food, or 17%
of total food available to consumers in 2019
globally, went into the waste bins of households,
retailers, restaurants and other food services,
according to Food Waste Index report 2021
released by United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP).
• The report shows that most of this waste globally
come from households followed by food services
and retail outlets.
• On the global per capita level, 121 Kg of
consumer-level food is wasted each year, with 74
kg of this happening in households.
Food Waste

17. In South Asia, estimates at the household level
show a waste of 50 kg of food per person per
year in India compared to 82 kg in Afghanistan,
79 kg in Nepal, 76 kg in Sri Lanka, 74 kg in
Pakistan, and 65 kg in Bangladesh.
A joint report of UNEP and UK based NGO
WRAP reveals that 8-10% of global GHG
emissions are associated with food not
consumed.

19. Farm Produce Waste in India
• According to a study in 2016 if India spends almost 1.5 lakh crore on cheap and free food
grain each year, Rs. 92,651 crore is lost annually in Farm Produce Wastage.
• Food Corporation of India (FCI) claims that only 0.02 lakh tons of grains procured are
wasted in India. However it is just one small contributor to the mountain of waste.
Year Waste %
2015-16 0.005%
2016-17 0.014%
2017-18 0.03%
2018-19 0.06%
2019-20 0.02%

20. State of Concern
• While food grain production has gone up, storage capacity at
different levels has lagged behind terribly. That’s why each time
a bumper crop nears harvest time, FCI gets a headache.
• Wheat can be stored safely under good storage practices for 4-5
years, but fearing large amount of food grain turning waste due
to poor storage facilities and natural adversities, the FCI decided
to lower the bar to three years for wheat and two years for rice.
• This can be best explained by the situation that arose when this
year’s kharif crop was about to come. On February 1, 2020, FCI
had 103.50 lakh tonnes, while state agencies had 197.07 lakh
tonnes of wheat. Of the total wheat stock of 300.66 lakh tonnes,
4.27 lakh tonnes were from the crop year 2016-17 (more than
three years old), 87.45 lakh tonnes were from 2017-18 (over two
years old) and 209 lakh tonnes of wheat from 2018-19.
• Worse, the government holds 1.8 lakh tonnes of rice from the
crop year 2017-18, 153.7 lakh tonnes from 2018-19 and 114.5
lakh tonnes from 2019-20. In 2019, the total wheat procured
stood at 341 lakh tonnes and rice at 443 lakh tonnes. These
numbers are way beyond FCI’s and states’ storage capacity.

22. State of Concern
• Of the total production of cereals in India, which is around 30
crore tonnes, the FCI procures only 8 crore tonnes, which is
merely a little over one-fourth of the food grain generated by
India’s farmers. Most of the remaining food grain lie in the
open.
• In 2006, scientists at ICAR devised a formula and
methodology to establish comprehensively how much India
wastes of what it produces, while millions survive on empty
bellies.
• By 2013-14, the first study was over, and by January 2016, the
second study involving survey of storages and supply chains
was done and presented in the Parliament. The study was titled
‘Assessment of Quantitative Harvest and Post-Harvest Losses
of Major Crops and Commodities in India’, carried out by
ICAR’s Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and
Technology (CIPHET).
• The study calculated the economic value of harvest and post-
harvest losses of major agricultural and livestock produce
(using production data of 2012-13 and wholesale prices of
2014 and results of 2016 study). The estimated annual value of
the losses is about Rs 92,651 crore.

26. The State of India’s Environment Report 2021 revealed
that India’s rank was 115 last year and dropped by two
places primarily because major challenges like ending
hunger and achieving food security (SDG 2), achieving
gender equality (SDG 5) and building resilient
infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable
industrialisation and fostering innovation (SDG 9) remain
in the country.
India ranks below four South Asian countries — Bhutan,
Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, it said. The overall
SDG score of India is 61.9 out of 100.
India’s Rank on SDG

27. Impact of Irresponsible Consumption
• If current consumption and production patterns continue, the
planet will need 183 billion tonnes of material every year by
2050. This is three times today’s amount and impossible to
sustain.
• Every year, 4.8 to 12.7 million tonnes of plastic are dumped
into our oceans and over 40 million tonnes of electronic waste
are generated (increasing annually by 4 to 5 per cent), causing
severe damage to ecosystems, livelihoods and our health.
• Pollution is the largest environmental cause of disease and
premature death globally, responsible for an estimated 9 million
premature deaths in 2015 – 16 per cent of all deaths worldwide
and three times more deaths than AIDS, tuberculosis and
malaria combined.
• One third of food produced every year is wasted, yet food
security is a growing concern.

28. Voluntary Simplicity Movement
• The Voluntary Simplicity Movement can be understood broadly as a diverse
social movement made up of people who are resisting high consumption lifestyles
and who are seeking, in various ways, a lower consumption but higher quality of
life alternative.
• What do they value?
• Time
• Connections to community
• Appreciation of nature
• Financial Savings
• Health
• Benefits to planet/society
• Simplicity of materials they use
• What motivates them?

29. VSM contd…
• What motivates general consumer for
sustainable consumption?
• Connection to the community?
• Is it guilt?
• Is it thinking about our children?
• Is it ultimately the benefits that people get are
cost savings, better quality, and so on?
• But what's going to be the biggest factor that
will drive sustainable consumption?
• Let us look into the concept of Green
Products

30. What are Green Products
• Products that can be recycled or reused.
• Products that generates less pollution in their production or
use.
• Products that are made of recycled materials.
• Products that are produced in an eco-friendly way.
• Products that consume less energy in their production or
use.
• Products that involves less packaging.
• Products that have a smaller carbon footprint.
• Products that are made of natural or organic materials.
• Products that are made of fewer materials.
• Products that are certified as green.
• Products that use innovative technology.
• Products that are not tested on animals.
• Products that are made under fair-trade conditions.
• Products that are produced locally.
• Products that are handmade.

31. Why
Green
Products
were
not
brought?

32. Willingness
to
pay
a
premium
for
green
products
(vertical)
Perception
that
Green
Products
are
of
higher
quality
(horizontal)

33. What Discourages More Environmentally Friendly
Consumer Behaviour

35. Price is not a big obstacle, but lack of
awareness is.

36. Indian 'Pattals' trending in Europe as 3,500 tribal
women turn into entrepreneurs

38. What will Drive Sustainable Consumption?

39. What are you ready to give up to buy a
Green Product?

40. Trade off…
• Are you going to give up on quality?
• Are you willing to compromise on a particular type of
styling?
• Say the paint that's used for the car for environmental
reasons. Are you willing to pay more?
• How are you going to balance cost and price?
• What is convenience and how is that going to factor?
• And how are you going to figure out the value
proposition?
• What are you giving up and what are they getting?

41. What will Drive Change in Consumer Behaviour
Here is a statement:
“I don’t know much about renewable energy, but I am in favour of
supporting its program because I am very concerned about current
environmental conditions. I also believe that renewable energy has clear
advantages even though I do not know a lot about it.”
So I behave because I understand the current environmental problems?
Or
I behave because I feel guilt that drives me to change behavior, feeling
about the next generation?

42. Stated Intention and Actual Behaviour
• Sometimes we intend to purchase Green Products
and are willing to pay premium for it, but during
actual purchase we behave differently.
• We sometimes behave Hypocritically because our
words and actions do not match with respect to
green purchase or products.
• Sometime we pretend to behave in a certain way to
avoid Green Stigma (Acting and Preaching
differently).
• We sometimes speak or behave in a Socially
Desirable manner.

44. Small Case of Consumer Behaviour
• “HELP SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT. You can
show your respect for nature and help save the
environment by reusing your towels during your
stay.”
• The descriptive norm
“JOIN YOUR FELLOW GUESTS IN HELPING
TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT. Almost 75% of
guests who are asked to participate in our new
resource savings program do help by using their
towels more than once. You can join your fellow
guests in this program to help save the
environment by reusing your towels during your
stay.
(Goldstein, Cialdini, & Griskevicius, 2008)

46. The Guest Identity Descriptive Norm Message
• “JOIN YOUR FELLOW GUESTS IN HELPING TO SAVE THE
ENVIRONMENT. In a study conducted in Fall 2003, 75% of the
guests participated in our new resource savings program by using their
towels more than once. You can join your fellow guests in this
program to help save the environment by reusing your towels during
your stay.”

47. The Message For the same Room Identity
Descriptive Norm
• “JOIN YOUR FELLOW GUESTS IN HELPING TO SAVE THE
ENVIRONMENT. In a study conducted in Fall 2003, 75% of the
guests who stayed in this room (#xxx) participated in our new resource
savings program by using their towels more than once. You can join
your fellow guests in this program to help save the environment by
reusing your towels during your stay.

48. The Citizen Identity Descriptive Norm Message
• “JOIN YOUR FELLOW CITIZENS IN HELPING TO SAVE
THE ENVIRONMENT. In a study conducted in Fall 2003, 75% of
the guests participated in our new resource savings program by using
their towels more than once. You can join your fellow citizens in this
program to help save the environment by reusing your towels during
your stay.”

49. THE MESSAGE FOR THE GENDER IDENTITY
DESCRIPTIVE NORM CONDITION
• “JOIN THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE HELPING TO
SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT. In a study conducted in Fall 2003,
76% of the women and 74% of the men participated in our new
resource savings program by using their towels more than once. You
can join the other men and women in this program to help save the
environment by reusing your towels during your stay.”

51. Some Segments of Consumer
• LOHAS – Life of Health and Sustainability: active environmental
stewards dedicated to personal and planetary health. These are the
heaviest purchasers of green/socially-responsible products.
• NATURALITES – motivated primarily by personal health
considerations. Tend to purchase more LOHAS consumable
products vs. durable items.
• DRIFTERS – while their intentions may be good, drifters follow
trends when it’s easy and affordable. Price sensitivity dictates their
actions.
• CONVENTIONALS – pragmatists who embrace LOHAS-related
behavior when they believe they can make a difference.
• UNCONCERNED – either unaware or undaunted about the
environment and societal issues.