Among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the UN is “responsible consumption and production.”

To contribute to this goal, this project investigates whether—and under what conditions—consumers systematically neglect the environmental impact attribute in their purchasing decisions. Two preliminary studies conducted in Brazil indicate that, in most cases, sustainability is overlooked in consumer choices. Given the global relevance of this phenomenon, the project also proposes to investigate its occurrence in other countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom.

Additionally, experiments were conducted to examine the situations in which the purchase of sustainable (vs. non-sustainable) products is more prevalent. The findings suggest that this tends to happen when:

(i) the environmental impact is a central attribute of the product (e.g., single-use bag vs. reusable bag);
(ii) individuals are exposed to a seal, label, or prompt that highlights the product’s sustainability.

The main objectives of this project are:

(i) to understand the extent to which consumers neglect sustainability in their purchasing decisions; and
(ii) to design behavioral interventions that encourage more sustainable choices aligned with the SDGs.

Researcher: Eduardo Andrade
Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration (FGV EBAPE)

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