Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment

Kyungeun Sung Supervised by Tim Cooper & Sarah Kettley Sustainable Consumption Research Group

School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment

Action across multiple levels for scaling up sustainable behaviour: The case of

individual upcycling in the UK

Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment

Table of contents

Introduction

Setting the scene

Method

Results

Conclusion

Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment

Introduction:

Sustainable lifestyle choices by individuals (Goodall 2007; Jackson 2005; Jones 2010)

Environmental initiatives in business as CSR (Swaffield & Bell 2012; Elkington, 1997)

Regulations and policies by national governments (Urwin & Jordan 2008) and various other participants (Yamin & Depledge 2004)

Various actors in climate change action

Image sources: http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1412345/images/o-THE-NEWMAN-FAMILY-facebook.jpg; http://www.west-info.eu/files/settore-sostenibile.jpeg; http://dsps.wi.gov/Images/Rules_and_Regulations.jpg

Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment

Introduction: Limitations in current research

Image sources: https://cdn-images-2.medium.com/max/600/0*_37rn2APhBPcf0zr.png

Single level cases (e.g. Jones 2010; Swaffield &

Bell 2012; Urwin & Jordan 2008)

Underestimating the complex nature of each action involving/requiring actors at multiple-levels

Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment

Introduction: Aim of the paper

Show how action across multiple levels for ‘scaling up’ sustainable behaviour (van den Bosch 2010) could, in theory, be more effective in addressing negative environmental impacts than action at a single level

Image sources: http://almcleary.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/before_after.jpg; https://www.oxfamireland.org/sites/default/files/upcycling-collage-drawers-2.jpg; Sung (2016) Sustainable Production and Consumption by Upcycling (unpublished doctoral thesis). NTU, UK

Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment

Introduction: Scaling up

Scaling up: the process of initially deviant or unusual sustainable practices to become the dominant or mainstream practice (Van den Bosch,

2010)

Niche-cluster: a niche network by linking different niches (Van den Bosch, 2010)

Niche-regime: the constellation between niche and regime, illustrating higher stability and influence which can challenge the power of the regime (Van den Bosch, 2010)

Scaling up of niches to regimes through niche-cluster and niche-regime, adapted from Van den Bosch (2010)

Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment

Setting the scene: Individual upcycling

The emerging household behaviour which creates or modifies any product from used materials, components or products to generate a product of higher quality or value than the compositional elements (Sung, Cooper &

Kettley 2014)

Image sources: https://www.oxfamireland.org/sites/default/files/upcycling-collage-drawers-2.jpg; https://i.ytimg.com/vi/q4Efq880Yog/hqdefault.jpg; https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/81/a8/1a/81a81a218b87a1db22bcefd589e30046.jpg; https://drwsxce6xtjnu.cloudfront.net/uploads/images/1924/original/Upcycling-Plastic-Soda-Bottles-As-An-Urban-Garden-1.jpg; http://www.livbit.com/article/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/upcycledplaystation_1.jpg

Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment

Setting the scene: PhD on Sustainable Production & Consumption by Upcycling

Investigate household upcycling as an opportunity to reduce carbon emissions related to materials and energy consumption

Niche status of household upcycling in the UK Develop actionable strategies for scaling up

Three elements: a) understanding behaviour and actors; b) identifying key behaviour-influencing factors; and c) developing intervention strategies for scaling up

“Which combination of interventions should be implemented by which actors at which level, for successful scaling up of individual upcycling?”

Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment

Method: Semi-Delphi (questionnaire + workshop)

Questionnaire:

explore and assess the initial intervention strategies developed on the basis of interview + survey results with British consumers

Rate importance + feasibility; vote for the most suitable actor(s)

Workshop:

Critique preliminary analysis results

Select intervention combinations for short-term + long-term success using card sorting exercises

Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment

Method: Sampling and study participants

About 80 individuals in the UK based on the expertise in environmental policies, behaviour change, transition management and sustainable design

25 responded and completed the questionnaire

22 academics from 8 universities (in politics, engineering, psychology, sociology, art and design, business management, and economics) + 3 policy-related professionals

11 of the respondents in the workshop

Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment

Results: Important & feasible interventions with suitable actors

8 important interventions + 9 feasible interventions (out of 15)

Multiple suitable actors: e.g. LAs + NGOs + local communities for improving facilities, access and services relating to community workshops

Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment

Results: Multiple actors for each intervention

Multiple actor interventions: 13 out of 15

Yellow green: relatively high number of answers (n>5)

Green: high number of answers (n>12)

Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment

Results: Interventions for short term success (high impact + feasible in 2yrs)

1. Operating a reuse/upcycle centre with a product collection service aligned with an existing waste management system (LAs + NGOs)

2. Providing a service model for improved provision of used materials (companies)

3. Changing government procurement policy to favour upcycled goods (government + LAs)

Image sources: http://blog.theodorewatson.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/181929062.jpg; https://groups.freecycle.org/group/FreecycleNottingham/posts/offer; http://www.thejunkmap.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/The-Recycling-Shop5.jpg ;

Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment

Results: Interventions for long term success (high impact + feasible in 10yrs)

1. Enriching the art and design curriculum at schools, colleges and universities to incorporate advanced upcycling skills and knowledge (government, educational institutions and designers)

2. Providing tax benefits and subsidies for upcycling-related businesses (government)

Image sources: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Sawdust_Art_Class.jpg;; http://twohillsfcss.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/vector-taxes-help.jpg

Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment

Conclusion: Cross-level collaborations

Individual upcycling may be scaled up more effectively through a combination of interventions by actors at various levels

potential importance of collaboration between actors at different levels with a shared vision

∵ If Scaling up upcycling ⊂ system innovation

System innovation characteristics: Multi-actor + multi-factor (Quist

& Vergragt 2000; Elzen et al 2004; De Bruijin et al 2004)

Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment

Conclusion: Link to the practitioners’ workshop

Asked 12 upcycling practitioners (with commercialisation experience) about barriers to the upcycling start-ups, support to overcome barriers and expand the business, and key actors for support

key actors: industry, government, local authorities, and practitioners

partial confirmation of the results from the semi-Delphi: the importance of coordinated actions from different actors at multiple levels

Kyungeun Sung, Sustainable Consumption Research Group, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment Image sources: http://image.slidesharecdn.com/clapresentation-talisopenday-march14-140328085008-phpapp01/95/cla-presentation-talis-open-day-march-14-14-638.jpg?cb=1395996639