SD-scene: Issue 16; September / October 2008

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Sustainable communities

A key topic of discussion at the SDRN conference was the consumer and how to engage with them. The importance of ethnicity and culture was highlighted as a determining factor in environmental behaviour, which opens up research into communities. Sustainable communities have been on the policy agenda for many years, driven by research such as the 2004 Egan Review on Skills for Communities. This identified the need for specific skills sets, including local development planning. Yet the challenge remains in how to bring together communities with different cultural and ethnic backgrounds to share a common goal in creating a place where they want to live and work, now and in the future.

Dr Julie Newton, Lead Researcher, Centre for Business Relationships Accountability, Sustainability & Society (BRASS), Cardiff University

Driven by a combination of existing and new research, our one-year project on the role of skills and knowledge for sustainable communities delved deeper into what motivates and engages people to lead on and support these. As part of the research, which was funded by the ESRC and Academy for Sustainable Communities, we looked at a case study of Stroud, where a number of sustainable community initiatives are already in place, such as community supported agriculture, car clubs, community land trusts and co-housing. The research revealed that having the right skills was not sufficient on its own for sustainable change to happen. You cannot overlook the importance of context –in particular the right combination of time, people and place – nor can you simply give people skills and hope for the best. It’s about investing more time into how people acquire those skills, for example, learning by doing. Equally important were the role of emotions, attitudes, and values as motivators for change. In addition these skills have to be shared as well as put into context; people require different skills at different times. Cross-community relationships have an important part to play in increasing the opportunities for up-skilling the wider community. To make sustainable change happen policy should invest in the process of learning at the community level; acknowledge they are dealing with multiple sustainable communities; and recognise the importance of context.

Sustainable behaviour

Adapting to climate change largely involves changing attitudes and changing behaviour. In particular consumer behaviour was put under the spotlight at the SDRN conference, where discussions looked at the general tendency towards the materialistic and the aspirational. A series of sustainable development models were presented that challenged policy proposals by suggesting a renewed focus be placed on quality and not quantity.

For example, researchers from Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) called for efforts to localise food production and consumption. Joined by the research team from the University of Exeter, they urged farmers to pool efforts in marketing local foods, presenting research that found consumers are willing to pay more for meat and cheese from specific regions. This evidence was supported by the University of Reading who presented results from their work showing that consumers place added value on local food.

Defra’s Evidence Strategy Team is well aware of the impact of attitudes and behaviours on sustainable development. They run regular workshops attended by academics, government representatives, and lobbyists who take the time to unpack the role of research in two policy areas: climate change; and food security.

Stuart Wainwright heads the team. “Ultimately it’s about changing behaviour. This could be the way that we travel or the food that we buy. When it comes to food security, we could look at the economics of rising food prices, or the impact of climate change on growing crops. For example, the focus on companies growing GM crops purely to make more money has shifted; now GM crops might provide a way to ensure that there is enough food for everyone.

“There are also underlying themes in each of these policy areas that look at how we can encourage people to change their behaviour, such as how they respond to technology. For example, how is the electric car perceived by consumers? Is it fast enough? Does it perform well?”

Influencing consumers to make sustainable choices stems from helping them to change their behaviour. For example SDRN’s work has indicated that consumption of high-fat foods could fall by us much as 38 per cent if a ‘fat tax’ on high-fat foods was imposed in the UK.

Stuart adds: “We need to understand our audience and the challenges that we face – which we can draw from a broad research base. Secondly, we need to find a realistic solution to deal with those challenges, and finally we need to bring people with us by providing the facts to support policy decisions and build public trust in Government.

“Policy aims to change the way people think and act – to do that we have to understand what makes people tick, which is where social research comes in.”

Sustainable business

With the SDRN conference taking place against a backdrop of economic instability, speakers raised some fundamental questions about the world’s economic models. Many also highlighted the need to make physical and ecological science an integral part of economic planning. In other words, using research to influence the corporate world is equally as important as influencing policy, communities and consumers – particularly as industry has the power to make a significant impact on reducing the impact of climate change through sustainable development.

This can be seen as many businesses are putting in place measures to reduce carbon emissions – a fundamental and immediate requirement. However, these companies also need to focus on longer term measures and how they see their businesses developing sustainably while continuing to cut emissions. Scientific research, in particular technology and innovation, is vital to this development and to ensure a low-carbon industry of the future.

David Beer, Senior Partner, Acclimatise
We bridge the gap between the scientific community and the corporate world. Translating the climate change science and financial analysis into commercial opportunity enables us to highlight the potential business and financial impacts, and encourage behaviour change. Working with the facts means that we provide real, tangible value and competitive advantage. And we look at the bigger picture – assessing implications across the whole business, from logistics and the availability of raw materials, to manufacturing processes and workforce. Stakeholders, such as governments, regulatory bodies, investors, banks and NGOs, are more engaged in climate change and therefore it is crucial that we also assess and advise on their position. In bridging this gap between research and financial analysis, we are able to inform business strategies and behaviour change, as well as identify changes in the marketplace and to customer needs. In essence, much like policy, businesses need more and better information to make better informed decisions about the future and we are facilitating that.

Find out more at www.sd-research.org.uk

Updated: 3 November 2008