Consumers' attitudes and behaviours towards sustainable consumption

Purpose This honours degree project looks at consumers' attitudes and behaviours towards sustainable consumption. The purpose of this piece of research is to offer an insight into the trends surrounding behaviours and attitudes of the individual consumer in the area of sustainability. This paper begins by introducing the topic and key literature, followed by developing a broader look at the literature framework of this topic. Methodology The methodology sets out the primary research for this project. This took the form of a questionnaire that was distributed to a sample of students studying in the east-central belt of Scotland, who are aged between eighteen and thirty. Findings The results from this research will then be presented, discussed and conclusion drawn from the data in the final chapters. Findings included positive attitudes and high levels of knowledge of the subject area of sustainable consumption. Results surrounding behaviours were more mixed. For example, recycling is a sustainable behaviour performed well, but sustainable shopping and food waste are behaviours that are not executed as well. Overall, it can be concluded that although attitudes towards sustainable consumption are relatively positive, actual behaviours are not so positive and there is a clear gap between the two concepts. Originality/value Sustainable consumption is a very topical subject from Governments around the world, to businesses, and to society. Previous research into the damage surrounding consumption shows the need for change. This research will aid in showing trends in current attitudes and behaviours towards sustainable consumption and aid in highlighting areas that need to be improved surrounding this very important subject area.ba_conunpub1383_ethesesunpu