Barriers and Drivers of Sustainable Consumption among Students at the University of Iceland

• Main Author: Jade Emma Farabet 2000-
• Other Authors: Háskóli Íslands
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Umhverfis- og auðlindafræði; Reykjavík; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1946/44512

Citizens of high-income cities need to reduce their consumption-related emissions by two thirds before 2030. Policymaking can foster the needed change, but better knowledge of the drivers and barriers of sustainable consumption is needed in order to do so. Concentrating on students, who will become the leaders of tomorrow, this thesis focuses on Reykjavík, a high-income city. The overall aim of this thesis is to identify and categorize the drivers and barriers to sustainable consumption faced by students at the University of Iceland. This is done by answering the following questions: Which barriers prevent students at the University of Iceland from adopting sustainable consumption practices? What are the main drivers of sustainable consumption for students at the University of Iceland? An online survey based on a systematic literature review was conducted, whose results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Participants were asked about their consumption of food, clothes, and housing energy, as well as their use of transport modes and electronic products and the drivers and barriers to changes in consumption. Contributing to the theoretical knowledge on student population included in the study and the findings suggest that environmental concerns are a prevalent driver of sustainable consumption for all the categories investigated, while the main barriers were diverse. Main barriers were the absence of feasible travelling modes other than planes, the lack of sizes available in second-hand clothing, the difficulty to walk or bike in Icelandic weather conditions, and the lack of knowledge on ways to cook plant-based meals, repair electrical devices, or to reduce energy use related to housing. The findings show that students studying at the University of Iceland do not lack knowledge about the environmental impact of their consumption, but stronger commitments are needed from private and public sectors to create the enabling environment to facilitate their path to sustainability. Overall, the findings and ...