Independent Research Project to Develop a Consumption

Clearinghouse for EPA Region 10

Marie Curatolo
Pre-Capstone Seminar: Project Proposal Rough Draft
November 13, 2010

Abstract

This capstone project will develop a consumption clearinghouse, defined as an online

annotated bibliography of relevant literature, research, and information that will serve as a tool
for the consumption workgroup of the Environmental Protection Agency’s West Coast Climate
and Materials Management Forum. As developed nations continue to engage in overconsumption
and developing nations strive to increase consumption in hopes of achieving economic growth,
the environmental impacts associated with the production of goods and products to be consumed
increases. Of the multiple means proposed to address this issue, one that proves promising is the
adoption of sustainable consumption. This option does not only seek to reduce unnecessary
consumption, but also addresses ways to “green” consumption. In trying to implement
sustainable consumption, the consumption workgroup is tasked with educating itself and creating
an information-sharing tool that will allow it to easily access the best available science and
information on consumption. My internship will be composed of an individual research project
where I will locate, evaluate, and summarize existing information in order to help this workgroup
obtain the tools they need to better understand a multi-dimensional issue and better inform policy
related to it.

Context and Background

The Environmental Protection Agency defines consumption as “the utilization of goods

and materials in the satisfaction of wants or in the process of production, resulting chiefly in their
destruction, deterioration, or transformation” (West Coast Climate and Materials Management
Forum [hereinafter WCCMMF] 2010). In a practical sense this refers to the goods and products
people buy and/or use. What often goes unseen by the consumer is not only the paths of the
various materials that came together to form a product, but also the consequences and
implications of their consumption on resources used to make that good. Consumption and
consumer choice have widespread consequences that pose a hefty burden on the environment
and natural resources. As one author explains, “[o]ur damage to the planet follows from a simple
equation: population x consumption = environmental impact. Two hundred and fifty years ago
the Industrial Revolution tapped the concentrated energy stored in fossil fuels and ignited the
growth of both population and consumption” (Hart 2010). While traditional environmental
rhetoric touts overpopulation as the biggest threat to the environment, it is increasingly viewed to
be the case that overconsumption is actually a much more considerable burden.
Overconsumption is often seen as going hand-in-hand with growth which is frequently
hailed as good and beneficial to humanity while its devastating environmental consequences are
ignore or written off as necessary costs. This is in many ways a cultural phenomenon that makes
individuals strive to accumulate (and consume) more material possessions: “We're awash in
goods, surrounded by what not so long ago would have been unimagined wealth. But we can't
shake the addiction that drives us to lust for more, more, more” (Hart 2010). This pattern is
especially exemplified in first-world, developed nations such as the United States where
consumption rates are exceptionally high: the average American consumes about eighteen tons
of natural resources per year (Harris 1997). While this is not the case for all nations, “[t]he
standard conception of economic development envisions the rest of the world’s population as
moving steadily up the ladder of mass consumption” (Harris 1997). This means one can
reasonably expect an increase in consumption from the developing world as it pursues economic
growth and strives for a standard of living closer to that of the developed world.
Technological solutions to this expected increased have been proposed as one way to face
this expected increase, but the scale of the problem seems to be too much for innovation alone to
bear: “Growth promoters assure us that new technology will accommodate all the unrestrained
growth we care to generate. But the scale of our meddling with the planet has reached levels that
dwarf anything that came before” (Hart 2010). From this it becomes clear that the actions and
behaviors of consumers need to also be addressed: “Efficiency gains and technological advances
alone will not be sufficient to bring global consumption to a sustainable level; changes will also
be required to consumer lifestyles, including the ways in which consumers choose and use
products and services” (WCCMMF 2010). Along these lines of thought, many have proposed
methods of limiting consumption. The EPA has recently expressed a shift in materials
management policy that reflects a hierarchy in which prevention and reduction at the source is a
main concern, whereas management of discarded and used goods is secondary (Allaway 2009).
These efforts would primarily focus on heavily consumptive areas and would emphasize various
mechanisms and incentives to influence consumer behavior and curb consumption. However,
certain problems arise. First, a substantial ethical roadblock arises when one speaks of limiting
consumption in the developing world which often cannot cut back anymore and may actually
need to increase consumption in order to have basic needs met. Additionally, lessening
consumption, even in societies where it is high, is difficult to implement because it is perceived
as a step backwards in quality of life. Even more proximate and implementable than reducing
consumption could be approaching the problem as one requiring a change in the type of
consumption, or getting consumers to consume “better” rather than just less. The EPA’s own
hierarchy policy is limited because it promotes lessening consumption and does not set a
framework for consuming better (Allaway 2009).
One way that better consumption can be addressed is through the idea of sustainable
consumption, which the EPA defines as “the level of flow and degradation of materials through
our economy that maintains or restores the environment, economic vitality and quality of life for
current and future generations” (WCCMMF 2010). To achieve this, three main areas need to be
addressed: eliminating unnecessary consumption, “greening” the remaining consumption, and
shifting to less consumption in general (WCCMMF 2010). These approaches not only promote a
reduction of consumption, but it also helps direct this reduction by targeting “unnecessary”
consumption that is less likely to be significantly linked to quality of life. It also recognizes that
while reducing consumption is key, the need for at least some consumption persists and offers
opportunity for the incorporation of sustainability. Sustainable consumption is a particularly
difficult issue to scope because while the effects of cumulative consumption choices are global,
the decisions going into choices are somewhat individual. For example, one of the most effective
and predictable measures influencing individual consumer behavior is something familiar to
most people; simple peer pressure (Simon 2010). However, targeting individuals alone is largely
insufficient in that it ignores the political and economic facets that influence consumption:
“Consumers can exercise their power through the market by selecting purchases based on price
and other information easily available to them. But to affect the multitude of other factors
shaping the market itself, they must be involved in public policy issues” (Harris 1997). While
having and educated, well-informed body of consumers helps promote sustainable consumption,
“the forces that drive markets toward ever-higher levels of consumption will have to be tamed if
the underlying conflict between consumer desires and biophysical realities is ever to be
resolved” (Harris 1997). Agencies wishing to address sustainable consumption must obtain
information at multiple levels ranging from individual behavior to international economic and
political forces. Currently, the EPA contains a West Coast Climate and Materials Management
Forum containing a consumption workgroup. Region 10 of the EPA has been extensively
involved in this workgroup and is currently working to help further existing
projects/achievements as well as assist in accomplishing new goals. One of the roles of this
workgroup is outlined as identifying “what policies we need to achieve the future we want”
which takes the following steps to achieve this goal: “Do/ review/ collect/ disseminate: economic
research, psychological research, communications research; Do the research that helps tell the
story of impacts of consumer choices; Focus on specific materials; Do focus group research (or
review the results of research already done); Tie with pilot programs” (WCCMMF 2010).
Clearly, research and collection of information play a crucial role in the promotion of sustainable
consumption as part of “the future we want”.
As an intern for Region 10 of the EPA, I will help develop and refine a consumption
clearinghouse comprised of easily accessible information that can be accessed by the
consumption workgroup. I will be working cooperatively with two other interns with whom I
will create a final deliverable. This deliverable will be the online clearinghouse that will take the
form of an annotated bibliography that gives a representative sample of the various sources of
consumption information, as well as directs members of the consumption workgroup to certain
foci within the general category of consumption. As was explained earlier, consumption spans a
scope ranging from global to individual and part of our project will entail categorizing
information in order to more clearly address the question of what is known about this topic. The
overarching goal of this project is to better inform environmental decisions, be they laws, social
movements, norms, or otherwise, related to consumption.

Researchable Questions

1. How is information about consumer behavior, habits, and choices currently implemented
and applied in order to better inform policy and other environmental decisions and how
could it be used better?

2. What kind of knowledge and information is missing or needed in order to improve this
decision-making process?

Responsibilities and Methods

This project is largely independent in nature. From the very beginning we were made to
understand that we would be performing independent research largely, if not exclusively, outside
of the EPA office. Our site supervisor, Ashely Zanolli, will approve of our researchable
questions insofar as they are consistent with the research needs of the consumption workgroup.
Seeing as these needs are variable in focus and scope, each intern will be focusing on something
slightly different so as to accommodate and emphasize multiple facets. I will be focusing on both
the relationship between consumption and human behavior (from a somewhat psychological
perspective) as well as the use of consumption information in law and policymaking. These focal
directions are exemplified by my researchable questions. As an intern, I will work predominantly
on my own; there will be no fixed schedule or hours. I will be responsible for performing and
documenting all work I do and making sure I meet appropriate deadlines. I will also be
responsible for coordinating with the two other interns with whom I will need to meet frequently.
My day to day tasks will include performing online literature reviews of relevant consumption
information to be made into an annotated bibliography as part of my final deliverable. I will also
be focusing my searches on information that relates to my researchable questions. A large part of
this project will also include determining, based on the available information, what information
is salient or ought to be made readily accessible to the consumption workgroup. This will require
obtaining and maintaining an up-to-date working knowledge of the issues surrounding
consumption and an ability to critically evaluate sources. Our predominant mode of
communication between interns and between our site supervisor and other members of the
consumption workgroup, will occur via email and conference calls.

Significance

The consumption workgroup is a part of the West Coast Climate and Materials Management
Forum which has already done a significant amount of work with regards to consumption
including policy setting at the city and community level and product-specific initiatives,
measurements of individuals and communities (inventories), additional research detailing what is
happening and what needs to happen, citizen engagement, education, and outreach, and external
partnerships and collaboration (WCCMMF 2010). The workgroup and WCCMMF recognize the
large-scale nature of their work as it can be applied to other situations or serve as a
model/framework for other decision-making bodies, big or small: One of their outlined goals is
to “[m]ake the West a model for communities around the world; show how it’s possible to go
from being a big consumer to moving down the path toward sustainable consumption”
(WCCMMF 2010). However, this is no easy feat and the time and resources allocated to the
project associated with my internship are not adequate for directly addressing this goal.
Therefore, the WCCMMF has included a narrower focus that still addresses society-wide
consumption trends, but also makes allows for a more detailed examination of some of the
building block, foundational, components of consumption: “While we acknowledge that
consumption includes [different kinds of consumption] on a societal level, this group will focus
on the use and consumption of goods and services by households, businesses, and governments,
to focus on restorative/conscious consumption” (WCCMMF 2010). My internship will help
address this goal. The consumption clearinghouse will be developed and refined as part of the
consumption workgroup’s stated goal to “[c]reate a living annotated reading list, covering
important existing research in 4 topic areas: Environmental impacts of consumption and the
environmental benefits of alternatives to consumption; Actions that state/local governments can
take to impact consumption (education, policy, procurement, incentives, etc); Communications
and psychology that documents how to talk about consumption effectively; [and] Relationship
between consumption and economy” (WCCMMF 2010). The information that we collect and
catalogue will be used to help address the other goals of the WCCMMF as it works to identify
“what policies we need to achieve the future we want”. Our project is one that is not free-
standing; it is part of a calculated and cooperative effort that has been underway for years. This
should not serve to belittle the significance of our project, it ought instead be thought of as an
indication of the complexity and inclusive scope of this issue. It does, however, address a tricky
theme of consumption research that seems to come up all too frequently. It seems that those who
wish to access information on consumption regularly confront an overwhelmingly large quantity
of information and are stuck trying to sift through to find out what is credible, what is important,
and what is relevant. Far too often, this ends up causing confusion and contradiction. Research
on predictors of ethical consumption is scattered, often producing mixed results, offering
differing opinions, and failing to consistently answer fundamental questions such as those
outlining the socio-demographic profiles of ethical consumers (Hiscox 2010). In many cases,
“re-inventing the wheel” is a problem arising when a false need for additional research is created
due to a lack of awareness of existing information. For an agency like the EPA who is charged
with a myriad of issues and tasks, it is inefficient and costly to re-invent the wheel. Our project
serves as a mechanism against this.
Our work will be used as a tool; it will help inform policies whose reach could extend to
the federal government and beyond. Because a sizeable portion of our project is involved in
narrowing down a large quantity of information and highlighting what is important, our work
will help make efficient and expedient the work of those who use the information. Instead of
performing lengthy literature searches, our project will provide them with an easy, accessible
tool for information-sharing and gathering allowing the most salient information to be used
quickly and easily.
 Works Cited

Allaway, D. (2009). Waste management, the waste prevention hierarchy, and consumption.

Paper presented on behalf of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

Harris, J. (1997). Consumption and the environment: Overview essay. In N. R. Goodwin, F.

Ackerman & D. Kiron (Eds.), The Consumer Society (pp. 269-278). Washington DC:

Island Press.

Hart, J. (2010, July 31, 2010). The fallacy of growth in a finite world. The Oregonian,

OregonLive.com. Portland.

Hiscox, M. (2009). Consumer demand for the fair trade label: Evidence from a field experiment.

Seattle.

Simon, S. (October 18, 2010). The secret to turning consumers green. The Wall Street Journal,

Retrieved from

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704575304575296243891721972.html

West Coast Climate and Materials Management Forum. (2010). Consumption workgroup

scoping paper. Unpublished manuscript.

West Coast Climate and Materials Management Forum. (2010). Draft notes: Consumption
workgroup retreat. San Francisco, Seattle, Portland. 1-12.