Sustainable Lifestyles

Status

completed

Summary

"Sustainable Lifestyles" links two strategic questions of the bid invitation in one project. On one hand an analysis of consumer typologies regarding sustainability-oriented attitudes and actions will be carried out, with the objective of defining options for sustainable product development and marketing. On the other hand the participation of consumers, experts and stakeholder groups in two exemplary processes of the development of sustainable products and services will be accomplished.

The creation and preservation of high quality of life is one main focus of sustainable development. Therefore we need innovative, efficient products and services as well as sustainable attitudes on the part of users and consumers. Only those products and services that are required by consumers are also economically sustainable. Since sustainability is a learning process, "Sustainable Lifestyles" is process and participation orientated as well as inter- and transdisciplinary.

As a major focus two of the main areas of life with the most resource-intensive background have been chosen, which are food and leisure. Both areas are closely linked with consumption attitudes and contain great potentials regarding social, environmental and economic improvement in terms of sustainability. For each area of life - food and leisure - one Lifestyle Panel (approximately 10-15 persons - experts, consumers and stakeholders) have been formed. The Lifestyle Panels act as a temporally limited network, which compile innovative, sustainable solutions in several workshop series.

Options for the development and commercialisation (marketing) of sustainable products and services are compiled in the Lifestyle Panels through the application of different methods (e.g. vision development, backcasting, dialogue). Together with consumers and representatives of companies exemplary product developments will be applied. "Sustainable Lifestyles" has the following goals:

Analysis of lifestyle typologies and trends: Collection, analysis and preparation of environment -, life-style- and consumer typologies for the identification of starting points and obstacles of sustainable consumption (both in general and particularly in the two selected areas of life). Analysis of general social trends and their effects on the spreading of sustainable consumer behaviour as well as analysis of special trends and their implications on sustainable development within the two selected consumer areas (food and leisure)

Testing the Lifestyle Panel-Approach: in the areas of life that are food and leisure/tourism

Adapting the Lifestyle Panel-Approach: Lifestyle Panels as real life solution to implement in companies and cross sectoral

The results of the project are:

• a substantiated analysis of lifestyle and consumer typologies concerning sustainability capabilities
• a practicable innovation process for sustainable and participative development of products and services
• valuable experiences and confirmation regarding the usability of the Lifestyle Panel-Approach
• development of concrete product ideas that can be followed up by companies which participated in the project
• implementation of content and results of the project into the course of an Austrian management academy for sustainability
• a broad dissemination of experiences and results (symposium, publications, conference attendances, implemented qualification modules into the course of an Austrian management academy, embedding of Lifestyle Panels into the portfolio of two corporations)

Project management

DI Dr. Florian Heiler
Österreichisches Institut für Nachhaltige Entwicklung (ÖIN)

Project or cooperation partner

• Ao. Univ.Prof. Dr. Karl-Michael Brunner
  Institut für Soziologie und empirische Sozialforschung, Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien
• Dr. Alfred Strigl
  p l e n u m - gesellschaft für ganzheitlich nachhaltige entwicklung GmbH
• Mag. Dr. Margit Leuthold, Mag. Sylvia Stuppäck
  respect - Institut für integrativen Tourismus und Entwicklung
• Mag. Hanni Rützler
  futurefoodstudio - Ernährungswissenschaften und Gesundheitspsychologie
• Ao.Prof. Dr. Alexander Keul
  Angewandte Psychologie, Universität Salzburg
• Univ.-Doz. Dr. Dietmar Kanatschnig
  selbständiger Berater und Wissenschafter
• Mag. Martina Schmalnauer, DI Petra Schmutz
  (vormals Österreichisches Institut für Nachhaltige Entwicklung, ÖIN)
• Mag. Sylvia Brenzel
  ASD - Austrian Business Academy for Sustainable Development

Österreichisches Institut für Nachhaltige Entwicklung (ÖIN)
DI Dr. Florian Heiler
Lindengasse 2/12
1070 Wien
Tel.: +43 (1) 5246847-0
E-Mail: oin@boku.ac.at
Web: www.oin.at