Sustainable Consumption in the Baltic States: The Carbon Footprint in the Household Sector

Sustainable consumption is one of the main aspects while implementing sustainable development goals. The main feature of sustainable consumption is the reduction of environmental impact. Thus, it is vital to understand and evaluate the environmental impact caused by consumption. In this paper, carbon footprint analyses of the Baltic States for the period of 2000-2019 were used to study sustainable consumption and pro-environmental behavior development. The results show not only how carbon footprint changes in different consumption categories (e.g., mobility, housing, food, and services), but whether it is related to changes in pro-environmental behavior as the promotion of sustainable consumption is crucial to reduce the consumption-based carbon footprint. The results from multi-regional input-output analyses show that in the Baltic States 62-71% of all the household carbon footprint is attributed to the three main consumption categories-transport, food, and housing. These categories are also responsible for 53-56% of the household expenditure. Consequently, changes in our mobility, food consumption, and housing management practices can significantly reduce the household environmental impacts. However, to minimize carbon footprints, behavioral changes are not enough; structural changes in the agro-food, housing, energy, and transport systems are also needed.

Automated summary

This paper investigates sustainable consumption and the development of pro-environmental behavior in the Baltic States. The results demonstrate that transportation, food, and housing contribute the most to household carbon footprints. Behavioral changes can reduce environmental impacts, but structural changes in the agro-food, housing, energy, and transport systems are also necessary.