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14 - Sustainability Cultures: Exploring the Relationships Between Cultural Attributes and Sustainability Outcomes

from Part IV - Sustainability and Climate Change

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2020

By
Janet Stephenson
Edited by
Katharine Legun ,
Julie C. Keller ,
Michael Carolan  and
Michael M. Bell
Katharine Legun
Affiliation:
Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands
Julie C. Keller
Affiliation:
University of Rhode Island
Michael Carolan
Affiliation:
Colorado State University
Michael M. Bell
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin, Madison
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Summary

Unsustainable behaviour is often blamed on the ‘culture’ of organisations, businesses or households. In this chapter I unpick what culture means in the context of sustainability, and in particular how it can underpin resistance to change or alternatively can be a dynamic and creative force for more sustainable outcomes. The concept of ‘sustainability cultures’ outlined in this chapter offers a structured way of thinking about and investigating culture. It has been applied in a wide variety of situations to help explore cultural attributes that shape outcomes such as energy use and mobility choices by households, businesses and organisations. The chapter also discusses and exemplifies how cultures are both shaped and constrained by exogenous factors which may constrain or facilitate cultural change. This kind of analysis can assist in identifying policy interventions which can remove barriers or support latent potential for cultural change. Seen in sustainability terms, culture is not a bystander, but a core driver of outcomes that are critical to long-term human survival.

Keywords

Culturesustainabilityframeworkactorssocial change
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Environmental Sociology , pp. 236 - 248
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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