Ana Poças: ‘Selfishness and greed are not the only reasons for unsustainable consumption’

The global quest for profit is driving consumption patterns that cause extreme environmental degradation and contribute to a changing climate. So what influences consumption, and what are the alternatives?

Ana Poças is a PhD researcher at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University. In this interview, Ana tells us about her work on sustainable consumption, its connection to the degrowth movement, and why we need to go out there and change the world.

You study sustainable consumption. Why is this important?

“Our current system is built around the idea of ever increasing production and consumption. There is little regard for environmental consequences, as long as there’s a profit. Both environmental degradation and climate change are a direct consequence of the overuse of resources that comes from this drive for profit.” 

How did we get here?

“Transformation to a consumer society was a big part of the post war strategy to restart the global economy. Governments promoted consumption because it was seen as necessary for economic growth, which would in turn create more jobs. We now depend on both economic growth and the unsustainable consumption patterns that go with it.

For a sustainable future we need an alternative system that is not dependent on economic growth, and that is centered around different values. Sufficiency, instead of more and more, communitarianism instead of individualism, and caring and belonging instead of having and competing.” 

Consumption fulfils many purposes and happens for many different reasons

And how does your research contribute to a more sustainable society?

“Selfishness and greed are also not the only reasons for unsustainable consumption. Consumption fulfils many purposes and happens for many different reasons: history, culture, power, habits, practicality, and of course the influence of advertising. 

The obligation to give a present at a birthday is cultural. In countries where public transportation is bad having a car is a necessity. Many other things we buy for their functionality. To go camping we need a tent, mattress and sleeping bag. Our parents’ old camping stuff might still be lying around, but it’s too heavy or bulky so we don’t consider using it. This ever increasing convenience and comfort associated with practices and fashion are important drivers of consumption.

I think it's important to understand all these contexts and agents that influence consumption and contribute to a consumer society.

I don't focus on the individual scale, like how to change consumer behaviour. I think it's important to understand all these contexts and agents that influence consumption and contribute to a consumer society.” 

A part of this looking at alternative production-consumption systems. Can you tell us about your work here?

“At the moment I’m writing a paper about short food supply chains - where food producers are connected more directly to consumers. This can be done in many different ways, but includes consumer cooperatives, and community supported agriculture seasonal box schemes. 

Short food supply chains can have many advantages. They reduce the distance that food travels and support small-scale, often organic, farmers who receive very low payments when selling to wholesalers. They also get consumers used to seasonal products - what is in season is what the farmers can offer, and create incentives for non-monoculture farming as consumers want a wide diversity of products.

I’m interested in the challenges initiatives face while trying to do things differently, and the things that help them along the way.”

Interesting! Your work is very much linked to the degrowth movement, which has been gaining a lot of traction recently. What does a degrowth society look like?

“A degrowth society is no longer dependent on economic growth - where we cannot just consume more and more. It’s one kind of alternative to what we have now. The movement is investigating how we can transition to a society that both reduces material use, while also focusing on the immaterial things we value more, like social connections and personal fulfilment, and decreases inequalities.”

You were recently involved in organising the 1st Utrecht Degrowth Symposium. What was the response like? 

“The response to the symposium was really great - we had about 300 people attending from all sorts of different sectors and all over the Netherlands. We heard from many participants that they were inspired and activated after attending. What I like about degrowth conferences is that it’s not only about academic theory or writing papers. It’s about changing the world and yourself. Given the limited time we have, I think it would make sense for academics to not only write about and advise on sustainability, but also to be out there pushing for change. 

I’ve recently become part of Scientists4FutureNL. We’re trying to spark discussions on the role of scientists in times of climate emergency. We don’t have much time left!”

Further reading

Poças Ribeiro, A., Harmsen, R., Rosales Carreón, J. & Worrell, E. (2019). What influences consumption? Beyond consumers - Purposes, contexts, other agents, and history. Journal of Cleaner Production, 209, 200-215.

Poças Ribeiro, A., Rok, J., Harmsen, R., Rosales Carreón, J. & Worrell, E. (2019). Food waste in an alternative food network - A case-study. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 149, 210-219.