More equitable societies consume more sustainably
2025-07-02 What motivates people to act more sustainably? Together with Prof. Dr. Steven Brieger and Xinyu Zhang from the University of Sussex, Prof. Dr. Jacob Hörisch evaluated data from across Europe. The researchers have now been nominated for a Best Paper Award at the world's largest management conference, the Academy of Management Conference.
The researchers analyzed the consumption behavior of 70,000 individuals in 20 European countries. The decisive factor was not how rich or poor the people were, i.e., whether they could afford to shop at organic markets or at discount stores. “We wanted to know how inequality in a country influences individual consumer behavior,” explains Jacob Hörisch, professor of sustainability economics and management. “There is a significant correlation between income inequality and sustainable consumer behavior—across all social classes,” summarizes Jacob Hörisch.
The researcher explains the result with the so-called norm activation theory: “All people have norms. But these must be addressed. In a society with large income disparities, the rich can shift responsibility to the poor and vice versa,” explains Jacob Hörisch. Studies by Oxfam, for example, show that a few super-rich people emit a lot of CO2. Conversely, the Brundtland Report argues that poverty causes unsustainable behavior. “Both logics are correct, are generated by an unequal society, and lead us to blame other groups for unsustainability,” argues Jacob Hörisch.
That is why the researchers advocate higher taxation of luxury goods, for example. “In Denmark, the top tax rate is relatively high. People there consume very sustainably. In the UK, it's the opposite.”
In a second part of the study, the researchers used individual surveys and the case study of the United Kingdom to show that even perceived income inequality leads to unsustainable consumption.