Sustainable Consumption: Representative Survey on Knowledge, Acceptance, Behaviour, Expectations and Attitudes in the Context of SDG 12

The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development includes Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 12) ´Sustainable Consumption and Production´. The aim of the survey conducted on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection for the German Council of Consumer Experts is to determine the extent to which the population living in Germany is informed about SDG 12, to identify attitudes and expectations in this regard and to explore how the population itself assesses its sustainability-relevant behaviour. The data form an empirical basis for a report by the German Council of Economic Experts on the situation of consumers.

The survey was conducted in September 2020 by means of computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) by forsa marplan Markt- und Mediaforschungsgesellschaft mbH (Berlin). 1,000 German-speaking persons aged 18 and over living in private households in the Federal Republic of Germany were interviewed. The respondents were selected using the dual-frame approach based on the ADM sampling system for telephone surveys.

The survey focuses on knowledge and associations with SDG 12, awareness of sustainable consumption (CSC scale), sustainability literacy, resource consumption, perceived barriers to sustainable consumption, changes in consumption behaviour due to the COVID 19 pandemic, socio-demography.<br>1. Knowledge of the term ´sustainable consumption´; awareness of the Sustanilable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed by the United Nations; awareness of the sub-goal of ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns; associations with this sub-goal (open question).

2. Awareness of sustainable consumption (e.g. recyclable materials, environmentally friendly packaging, climate-friendly production, respect for workers´ human rights in production, no discrimination against workers, fair and equitable remuneration of workers, borrowing product instead of buying it, sharing product with others instead of owning it, buying only when really needed, etc.).

3. Sustainability literacy: Difficulties in obtaining information on whether a product was produced sustainably (e.g. under fair working conditions or resource-efficiently), which means of transport is most sustainable for a certain distance, how old appliances can be recycled or reused, understanding how heating energy and electricity consumption can be made sustainable, understanding information on the sustainability of products as well as in assessing the trustworthiness of sustainability information; difficulties in understanding why food waste should be avoided in order to consume more sustainably, assessing whether or not sustainability information is sufficient for a consumption decision, assessing how sustainable one´s own consumption habits are, making sustainability-conscious consumption decisions with the help of the available information, following recommendations for more sustainable consumption (e.g. from politicians, the media or friends), developing more sustainable behaviour strategies together with family, friends or acquaintances.

4. Sustainability-relevant behaviours (resource consumption): Contract with a green electricity provider; estimated personal electricity consumption per year; main energy source used; estimated personal heating energy demand per year; kilometres travelled by car in 2019; type of car driven most in 2019; number of hours flown in 2019; dietary style; percentage of spoiled food regularly thrown away; estimate of resource consumption per year on average based on respondent´s information; respondent´s reaction to this estimate; consequences of the result (open question); support for a sustainability tax.

5. Barriers and conflicts/ COVID-19: Preconditions for easier sustainability-conscious consumption (open question); changed consumption behaviour due to the COVID-19 pandemic; current consumption behaviour more or less sustainable than before the Corona pandemic; reasons for this assessment (open question); assessment of the extent to which the changed consumption behaviour will be maintained after the pandemic; Importance of making consumption and production sustainable to prevent future pandemics and crises; agreement with a statement on the emergence of pandemics (factory farming, first encounters with wildlife during rainforest clearing and wildlife markets like in Wuhan, increase the likelihood of novel infectious diseases).

Demography: sex; age (month, year of birth); highest general education degree; type of vocational training qualifications; net household income (categories); household size; number of landline telephone numbers; number of mobile phone numbers through which the respondent can be reached privately.

Additionally coded were: Serial number; federal state; city size; BIK; resource consumption; weight.