Designing effective policy interventions for sustainable consumption and production: insights from a life-course approach

The document advocates for a life-course approach to sustainable consumption and production (SCP) policies, emphasizing that life transitions—such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement—create "windows of opportunity" for behavioral change. Using a case study of older adults in Bangkok, the authors demonstrate that transportation choices are driven more by the accessibility and cost of "provisioning systems" (infrastructure and social support) than by environmental concerns. The brief concludes that effective SCP policies must be cross-sectoral and address the systemic "lock-in" of damaging practices while targeting specific life-stage transitions to achieve absolute reductions in consumption.

• Life-course transitions, including marriage, childbirth, employment changes, and retirement, act as "moments of change" or "windows of opportunity" that can catalyze shifts toward more sustainable consumption patterns.
• A case study of older adults in Bangkok's Samphanthawong district reveals that transportation choices are primarily determined by convenience, travel time, accessibility, and parking availability, which outweigh environmental concerns.
• Provisioning systems—the physical and social infrastructure used to satisfy human needs—can be "locked in" to destructive production patterns that exacerbate environmental degradation and inequality.
• In Bangkok, financial barriers within the provisioning system impact sustainable choices; for example, the mass rapid transit system was found to be costly for older adults despite available senior discounts.
• Effective policy interventions for sustainable consumption should be timed to align with life-course transitions and must prioritize absolute reductions in consumption levels.
• To be effective, policymakers must move beyond isolated interventions and address the broader system, including social, cultural, material, and economic aspects through integrative, cross-sectoral policies.

APA

Rezaie, S., Haq, G., Axelsson, K., Dawkins, E., Salamanca, A., Tran, M., Crouse, C., & Jintarith, P. (2024). Designing effective policy interventions for sustainable consumption and production: insights from a life-course approach. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/177856/designing-effective-policy-interventions-for-sustainable-consumption-and-production-insights-from-a-lifecourse-approach.pdf

Chicago

Rezaie, Shogofa, Gary Haq, Katarina Axelsson, Elena Dawkins, Albert Salamanca, Minh Tran, Cynthia Crouse, and Pimolporn Jintarith. Designing effective policy interventions for sustainable consumption and production: insights from a life-course approach. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2024. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/177856/designing-effective-policy-interventions-for-sustainable-consumption-and-production-insights-from-a-lifecourse-approach.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{rezaie2024designing, author = {Rezaie, Shogofa and Haq, Gary and Axelsson, Katarina and Dawkins, Elena and Salamanca, Albert and Tran, Minh and Crouse, Cynthia and Jintarith, Pimolporn}, title = {{Designing effective policy interventions for sustainable consumption and production: insights from a life-course approach}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/177856/designing-effective-policy-interventions-for-sustainable-consumption-and-production-insights-from-a-lifecourse-approach.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }