Sustainability & Consumer Behaviour

Understanding enablers and barriers that support sustainable behavior

It is important to understand the different kinds of enablers and barriers that support sustainable behavior. Tom has been trying to study behavior related to sustainability by understanding three critical factors: capability, opportunity and motivation. These affect how people actually behave, then they can use combined modeling as a basis to understand a ‘readiness’ for sustainable behavior or ‘readiness’ to change. This is very interesting because by understanding how they are most easily affected, then a message or marketing can be tailored directly to certain consumer segments. For example, we can try to suggest some things that make sustainable choices easier.
 

Attitudes to sustainability from different sectors of society

Tom explained that they have seen, especially in Finland, that ‘boomer women’ are very receptive to sustainability messaging, and they have almost ingrained the sustainability into their lifestyles, such as in areas like food and materials. In this they are kind of leaders in Finland.

Then there is an emerging segment that consists mostly of younger families. That is quite a good sign. They have a concern for future generations, but they still somehow struggle to make sustainability part of their daily activities. They have quite high motivation and goals and they want to do better.  

The most neglecting or passive part in Finland are middle-aged men living in Western Finland. It sounds quite specific, but studies show that they don't even want to be seen as leading a sustainable role. But there is still hope, because, for example in the food area, there are strategies related to personal health that can present solutions that highlight personal well-being.
 

Young people’s attitude to sustainability

It was very positive to learn that, especially in the food area, children are actually bringing home new ideas like sustainable recipes and influencing their parents.

There is very interesting and positive Gen. Z data related to the future of food and about Gen. Z’s mindset on sustainable agriculture, i.e. efforts to make the food system more sustainable by creating new types of proteins, for example microalgae and laboratory-grown foods.
 

Digital labelling and passports

One thing that is important is that the consumer has the knowledge and the skills to choose sustainable options. VTT are trying to come up with solutions that help when browsing through different options, for example, when shopping or selecting products. One possibility could be clear labelling systems or information that fits certain personal values or is more focused on certain consumer segments.

Tom is part of a project which is trying to come up with a labelling system or digital product passport (information about the products that include details about materials used, the kind of origins and about end-of-life options) that is used by consumers and companies to better understand and give some transparency of the products.
It is still in the early stages in Finland. But there are good examples, for example in Great Britain, where they already use health labeling for foods. Hopefully a similar system with emissions or impact could also exist. Of course it can be difficult to make comparisons. However, there are already big retailers in Finland focused on trying to come up with this lifecycle assessment for their products in the near future.
 

Sustainable technology and wearables

Tom explained that VTT is participating in a pilot for an interesting home medical testing kit that eases the burden on medical centers. You don't need so many laboratory tests if you can make reliable health tests in your home setting. And, you can get some results on a smartphone and show a doctor in 3-4 months’ time, for example.

There are other pilot partners working in the hospital environment thinking about the end use of electrodes used to measure heart rate or brain activity. These are typically made of silver, and that’s just a waste of precious metals and rare metals like silver. There are possibilities to make reusable, sustainable options of these electrodes instead of just throwing precious metals away.
Health related devices are a booming industry, and studies have found that around 70% of Europeans want more control over their personal health at the moment. 75% are open to a simple kind of home test that they can use.
 

Circular clothing

It's interesting that electronics and fashion have very short lifecycles and that is something we need to tackle if we want to create truly sustainable options.

One issue is PFAs, which are used in rain jackets and different kinds of consumer goods. VTT is trying to come up with PFA-free alternative technology so we can replace and phase out these dangerous chemicals.
They are also looking at recycled textiles and how consumers perceive these. In another project they are using natural sources like algae as a basis for creating sustainable clothing.
 

Moving forward

Tom spoke about creating a holistic perspective on European sustainable living. This could be very relevant for the companies to understand for sustainability when they design new products. He hopes to come up with solutions so that we can tackle this issue easily. However, we need a tailored message and need to make the sustainability options more accessible and transform the subject from the niche concerns of a small group into mainstream expectation. The approach is, bit by bit, trying to move people towards sustainability.