In view of the ecological crises and the increasing transgression of planetary boundaries by human economic activity, sustainable consumption is obviously necessary. In order to achieve sustainable consumption, it is particularly important that consumers choose sustainable, durable and repairable products in their consumption decisions and that they find and practically use options for repair and reuse. However, the current information situation has gaps: easily accessible, understandable and reliable sustainability information is often missing on online platforms, especially on repair options and second-hand products.
On behalf of the German Federal Environment Agency and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, ConPolicy is conducting a project together with co2online to investigate digital information offerings in German-speaking countries. The aim of the project is to identify deficits in the availability and quality of sustainability information and based on this, to develop recommendations for action that improve the findability and comprehensibility of this information.
The project includes the following work packages:
- Work package 1: Status quo and deficit analysis: Analysis of the current digital information on sustainable consumption in online retail. Investigation of information quality, availability and findability.
- Work package 2: Strengthening the UBA environmental tips: Strengthening and expanding digital consumer information, in particular the existing UBA environmental tips, in order to offer practical recommendations for action.
- Work package 3: Measures to disseminate and make the offer visible: Measures to disseminate the results and improve the visibility of sustainability information through cooperation with multipliers and media professionals as well as municipalities and climate protection managers.
As part of the project, ConPolicy is responsible for the status quo and deficit analysis (AP1). This includes conducting literature research, empirical surveys on consumers' online usage behavior, expert interviews and the development of recommendations for action.
