TY - JOUR

T1 - Sustainable consumption communication

T2 - A review of an emerging field of research

AU - Fischer, Daniel

AU - Reinermann, Julia Lena

AU - Guillen Mandujano, Georgina

AU - DesRoches, C. Tyler

AU - Diddi, Sonali

AU - Vergragt, Philip J.

PY - 2021/6/1

Y1 - 2021/6/1

N2 - Communication plays an important role in promoting sustainable consumption. Yet how the academic literature conceptualizes and relates communication and sustainable consumption remains poorly understood, despite growing research on communication in the context of sustainable consumption. This article presents the first comprehensive review of sustainable consumption communication (SCC) research as a young and evolving field of scholarly work. Through a systematic review and narrative synthesis of N = 67 peer-reviewed journal articles, we consolidated the research conducted in this field into four distinct types: communication as an approach to (1) behavior change, (2) self-empowerment, (3) systems change, and (4) reflection on current discourses and practices around sustainable consumption. Our findings reveal that most journal articles focus on incremental changes in individual consumer behavior (“weak” sustainable consumption) and employ communication as an intervention tool with little reference to communication science and theory. They also reveal integration challenges arising from the disciplinary diversity and fragmentation characteristic of the research field. Future research should develop shared frameworks and terminology, diversify its foci, synthesize relevant evidence, and innovate critical perspectives that go beyond one-way business-to-consumer communication. The results of our review can serve researchers engaged in sustainable consumption communication to better systematize their efforts and contribute more effectively to changing systems of consumption in the future.

AB - Communication plays an important role in promoting sustainable consumption. Yet how the academic literature conceptualizes and relates communication and sustainable consumption remains poorly understood, despite growing research on communication in the context of sustainable consumption. This article presents the first comprehensive review of sustainable consumption communication (SCC) research as a young and evolving field of scholarly work. Through a systematic review and narrative synthesis of N = 67 peer-reviewed journal articles, we consolidated the research conducted in this field into four distinct types: communication as an approach to (1) behavior change, (2) self-empowerment, (3) systems change, and (4) reflection on current discourses and practices around sustainable consumption. Our findings reveal that most journal articles focus on incremental changes in individual consumer behavior (“weak” sustainable consumption) and employ communication as an intervention tool with little reference to communication science and theory. They also reveal integration challenges arising from the disciplinary diversity and fragmentation characteristic of the research field. Future research should develop shared frameworks and terminology, diversify its foci, synthesize relevant evidence, and innovate critical perspectives that go beyond one-way business-to-consumer communication. The results of our review can serve researchers engaged in sustainable consumption communication to better systematize their efforts and contribute more effectively to changing systems of consumption in the future.

KW - Communication

KW - Consumer behavior

KW - Consumer communication

KW - Marketing

KW - Narrative synthesis

KW - SDG12

KW - Sustainable consumption

KW - Systematic literature review

KW - Sustainability education

KW - Sustainability Science

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85103952165&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/cf0911b0-56f0-3bce-8cfa-236d0cceaf3a/

U2 - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126880

DO - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126880

M3 - Scientific review articles

AN - SCOPUS:85103952165

VL - 300

JO - Journal of Cleaner Production

JF - Journal of Cleaner Production

SN - 0959-6526

M1 - 126880

ER -