Faculty Publications

A Moving Target Concept? The Challenge Of Defining Sustainability

Document Type

Article

Keywords

define sustainability, sustainability, sustainability definition, sustainable

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Sustainability and climate change

Volume

15

Issue

2

First Page

112

Last Page

125

Abstract

Sustainability is a complex and elusive concept to define. The malleability of the term has stretched the utility of the concept in practice which has led to significant confusion in how to apply the concept in practice. With the shifting meaning of sustainability, there is little understanding of how the mass public defines sustainability and if public perceptions are like those advocated at the elite level. This article explores how members of the American public define the concept of sustainability. Using data from the Natural Marketing Institute 2016 LOHAS survey, this study evaluates how 4,130 US survey respondents define sustainability through open-ended responses. The results reveal that there are several competing definitions used by the American public with none clearly matching or emulating existing elite-level definitions. There are a range of demographic characteristics that illuminate reasons for divergent conceptions of sustainability and demonstrate challenges for sustainability in practice.

Department

Center for Social and Behavioral Research

Original Publication Date

4-1-2022

DOI of published version

10.1089/scc.2021.0083

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