Title of the project: Sustainable consumer behavior thanks to ecological services and organized communal utilization in an urban residential environment

Leader of the project:
Prof. Dr. Ines Weller,
TU Berlin, Sekr. BH 14, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Tel. #49 (0)30 / 3 14 - 2 65 74;
wellaiaj@mailszrz.zrz.TU-Berlin.de
at present: Gastprofessorin an der Universität Bremen: Universität Bremen, FB 4, Postfach 33 04 40, 28334 Bremen,
Tel. #49 (0)4 21 / 2 18 23 07; weller@uni-bremen.de

Duration: 07/2001 - 07/2004

A change in current consumer behavior would be highly significant for sustainable development. At present forms of consumption which can be considered sustainable are only practised by a small percentage of consumers, these include buying environment-friendly products, sharing products among several users (e.g. car sharing). This can perhaps be attributed to the fact that obstacles often stand in the way of the integration into daily life of sustainable consumer behavior.

This tenet forms the basis for three initial theses of this research project: (1) Sustainable consumer alternatives are easier to accept if these are linked to everyday routines and ideally actually provide relief in the service area. (2) The participation of those involved offers an opportunity to develop services which are suited to requirements and which are possibly easier to integrate in everyday practice. (3) A link with the residential environment appears to facilitate the development of new utilization strategies. The spatial proximity of services and consumers can possibly be used to reduce the organizational, economic and logistic obstacles. In addition it is possible to address people in an everyday context and this can facilitate the participative development of services which are suited to requirements.

In the research project examples of adapted and sustainable concepts for organized communal utilization and ecological services are to be developed, tested and evaluated in four apartment buildings. The objective is to examine which communal utilization and ecological services are of interest to tenants and how they can be organized in the residential environment. This will take place in collaboration with companies of the Berlin housing industry in four specific apartment buildings in different social contexts. The services will be offered in participation with the tenants of the houses. As women are often particularly concerned with organizational aspects of ecological requirements for everyday life, the collaboration will be organized in such a way as to ensure they can make their requirements actively known. New collaboration between tenants, providers of ecological services, local initiatives and companies in the housing industry is to be established for the implementation of the project. The evaluation of the pilot projects target the examination of various aspects of the burden and relief of communal utilization (ecological, temporal, financial, reduction of the complexity of everyday behavior) and especially to investigate the interrelations between them. The intention is in particular to examine the extent to which alternative behavior which is considered to be ecological actually leads to relief of the environment when it becomes part of everyday organization or whether new environmental burdens are produced in the context of changes in behavior. The potential for linking organized communal utilization and ecological services with everyday routines and/or the limits of integration in everyday life should be determined. The aim is to use these model solutions to determine the obstacles to and potentials of these new utilization strategies as regards environmental relief potential and their adaptability to daily routine.

The project can be divided into five work packages: preparation phase, concept development, implementation and review of concepts in the pilot projects, evaluation of the pilot projects and derivation of action recommendations. The results of the project should contribute toward extending the ways and means of implementing sustainable development. Finally, action concepts for diverse target groups (housing industry, tenants and opinion leaders such as consumer initiatives) will be elaborated.

Partners:

• Dr. Christine Bauhardt, Sekr. FR 2-7, Franklinstr. 28/29, 10587 Berlin,
  Tel: #49 (0)30 / 3 14-7 33 37, Fax: #49 (0)30 / 3 14-7 35 17, E-Mail: bauhardt@imup.tu-berlin.de
• Dorothee Keppler, TU Berlin, Sekr. BH 14, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin,
  Tel: #49 (0)30 / 3 14-7 98 59, Fax: #49 (0)30 / 3 14-2 66 76, E-Mail: keppler@ztg.TU-Berlin.de

• Prof. Dr. Udo Kuckartz, Wilhelm-Röpke-Str. 6b, 35032 Marburg,
  Tel: #49 (0) 64 21 / 2 82 30 24 / 2 82 30 26 (Sekretariat), Fax: #49 (0) 64 21 / 2 82 28 23, E-Mail: kuckartz@mailer.uni-marburg.de
• Heiko Grunenberg, Wilhelm-Röpke-Str. 6b, 35032 Marburg,
  Tel: #49 (0) 64 21 / 2 82 30 23, Fax: #49 (0) 64 21 / 2 82 28 23, E-Mail: grunenbe@stud-mailer.uni-marburg.de

• Ulrike Strate-Schneider, Sekr. HH 8, Steinplatz 1, 10623 Berlin,
  Tel: #49 (0)30 / 3 14-2 20 34, 3 14-2 55 09 (Sekretariat), Fax: #49 (0)30 / 3 14-2 42 76, E-Mail: strate@zek.TU-Berlin.de

• Frau Brosch-Borgmann, Gothaer Str. 42, 12629 Berlin,
  Tel.: #49 (0)30 / 56 89 16 11, Fax: #49 (0)30 / 5 61 90 17

• Frau Walleczek, Knobelsdorffstr. 96, 14050 Berlin,
  Tel: #49 (0)30 / 3 03 02 41, Fax: #49 (0)30 / 3 03 02 65, e-mail: sylvia.walleczek@bbwo1892.de

• Herr Heitmann, Schönhauser Allee 59 b, 10437 Berlin,
  Tel.: #49 (0)30 / 4 46 77 60, Fax: #49 (0)30 / 44 67 76 20, e-mail: vorstand@bremer-hoehe.de

• Herr Boltz, Werbellinstr. 12, 12053 Berlin,
  Tel.: #49 (0)30 / 6 89 23 73, Fax: #49 (0)30 / 6 89 28 91, e-mail: p.boltz@stadtundland.de

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