What makes sustainable consumption so psychologically difficult?

Almost everyone knows that sustainable consumption is important, and most of us also know ways to make our consumption habits more responsible. Yet we often act against our better knowledge. Why is sustainable consumption so difficult for us?

While external circumstances naturally influence how we consume, I want to highlight the psychological side of consumption, which has received far less attention. The reason is likely that we are often unaware of the real reasons behind our own behavior.

Humans Are Masters of Optimisation

We humans like to think of ourselves as logical and to believe that we make decisions based on reason. Yet if we were truly acting logically, we should have taken far more effective action much earlier, once we learned about global warming, greenhouse gases, and their causes. The rational thing to do would be to protect the climate we all share by every means available to us. Yet we don’t.

When it comes to consumption choices, we don’t act according to the logic of the common good. Instead, our decision-making follows its own internal logic. Over thousands of years of evolution, we have developed an effective survival strategy based on optimising our personal resources.

Guided by this instinct, we constantly assess what we can gain from our environment and what we have in relation to others. At the same time, we hold on extremely tightly to the resources we already have.

Our Needs Are Shaped in Relation to Others

We do not, however, assess our needs using objective measures. What we perceive as something we need or want is shaped in relation to what other people around us have.

Our main points of comparison are the people in our own social environment. If others have more than we do, or something we do not have, we easily feel the need to improve our own position in this distribution of resources. Social status and ownership go hand in hand.

This is why simply being aware that there are still people in the world whose basic needs are not met is not enough to make us feel that we have enough ourselves.

Consumption Is Not an Altruistic Act

What is important to recognise is that consumption is not inherently an altruistic activity. Rather, it involves optimising our personal resources, seeking to maximise benefits while minimising the resources we spend.

The final purchasing decision is an overall assessment in which we often weigh a large number of different factors, from social norms and functional features to visual preferences. At the same time, we consider the sacrifices our choices require: money, time, and effort.

This makes us particularly receptive to business models built around trends, low prices, and desires that go beyond our actual needs. Against this backdrop, it is understandable that business models based on volume and novelty have grown at an extraordinary pace.

When choice environments designed for fast consumption are made easy, quick, and affordable, more responsible alternatives may require more time and effort from us, or a greater financial investment. This means that responsible choices are not only competing with fast consumption on the level of values, but also on the level of practical convenience.

Sustainability Adds a New Dimension to Consumption

Sustainable consumption, however, is not primarily about ourselves. It is about shared resources and the well-being of other people and the natural environment. By appealing to sustainability, we therefore add a dimension to consumption that is not inherently part of it.

This can not only make the purchasing decision more difficult and complex, and therefore more demanding, but can also create an internal conflict between our own interests and the common good.

Research shows that when faced with a conflict of interests, we tend to prioritize our own personal interests.

Human Insight Is Key to Changing Behavior

Although we may wish to be logical and believe that we can change our behavior when faced with a crisis, it is not realistic to base changes in consumption on idealised behavior.

Change begins with understanding the logic behind behavior and designing products, services, communication, and customer journeys accordingly. This allows businesses to develop sustainable offerings that also meet customers’ needs.

I apply human insight and my Human-Intelligent  Method across all my services.

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