A Holistic Approach to Understanding and Addressing Sustainable Consumption

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The earth has finite resources to support human consumption, making sustainability a critical issue for organisations seeking to deliver goods and services. Sustainability is also a critical issue for governments, seeking to ensure that there are increases in countries’ economic and societal wellbeing. Within the free market economic systems of Western economies it is however, ultimately the consumer who decides what to purchase and how to consume, thereby addressing their underlying wants and needs.

It is an individual’s aggregate consumption that determines their environmental impact, with some consumption behaviours creating a greater environmental impact than others. However, given that consumers make multiple purchases and consumption decisions, and these generate their own interactions, it is important to focus on the aggregate impact of an individuals’ set of consumption decisions. This is especially important, because researchers have found consumers are inconsistent in their behaviour in regards to the environmental impacts (i.e. acting sustainably in one area but not another). Furthermore, in some cases, they consume more green goods than non-green, escalating overall consumption rates (i.e. a boomerang effect). This highlights the need to focus on aggregate consumption rather than focusing on specific individual behaviours.

The two theses will address this issue, using qualitative and quantitative methods to examine how attitudes, knowledge and intentions shape overall behaviour, as assessed though a holistic measure of consumers’ environmental impact (e.g., carbon-foot printing). The research will examine how consumers consider their overall environmental impact and whether the undertaking of a systematic assessment of their consumption shapes attitudes, intentions and behaviours.

About the host Centre/Department:

The Centre for Business in Society (CBiS) is the Faculty of Business and Law’s hub for specialist research. In this vibrant and collegiate environment, a number of research clusters have emerged. CBiS’s research groups are examining aspects of sustainability and ethical consumption in the circular economy, as well as investigating new models and policies in economic development to reflect changing societal values and realigned public spending. Emerging business impacts on society have led to new research teams exploring the economic and social impact of financialisation at the national, organisational and individual level; behavioural change interventions to enhance societal well-being; and the impact of the digital economy in terms of data innovation and strategy, data protection and privacy.

About the Supervisor:

David’s research interests lie within the domains of ethical trade and sustainability. He has undertaken research focusing upon the fruit, wine and cut flower sectors. He has been involved in a series of projects examining the scale, structure and sustainability of the Cape Flora industry in South Africa. David is particularly interested in (i) the ‘business case’ for sustainability and the ways that businesses are incorporating sustainability strategies into their daily operations; (ii) the role of consumers in influencing upstream ethical and sustainability practices.

Candidate specification:

Successful applicants will have:
• A minimum of a 2:1 first degree (second class honours upper division) in a relevant discipline/subject area with a minimum 70% mark in the project element or equivalent with a minimum 70% overall module average, and/or
• A Masters Degree in a relevant subject area will be considered as an equivalent. The Masters must have been attained with overall marks at 70%. In addition, the dissertation or equivalent element in the Masters must also have been attained with a mark at 70%.
• The potential to engage in innovative research and to complete the PhD within a prescribed period of study
• Language proficiency (IELTS overall minimum score of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in each component).

Additional items for candidate specification:

Preferences will be given to applicants with an H1 Honours or Master’s thesis

How to apply:

Application Procedure:https://pgrplus.coventry.ac.uk/studentships/fbl-a-holistic-approach-to-understanding-and-addressing-sustainable-consumption

Duration of Study:

Full- Time- three and a half years fixed term

Entry point is May 2018