1. Household MIPS – Natural resource consumption of Finnish households and its reduction
- Author
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Kotakorpi, Elli, Lähteenoja, Satu, and Lettenmeier, Michael
- Subjects
jätteet ,ekotehokkuus ,mittarit ,kestävä kehitys ,kotitaloudet ,asuminen ,elintarvikkeet ,kulutus ,harrastukset ,kuluttajakäyttäytyminen ,tavarat ,matkailu ,ympäristövaikutukset ,kulutustottumukset ,liikenne ,MIPS ,luonnonvarat - Abstract
How much natural resources do Finnish households consume? What does resource consumption consist of? How can the resource consumption be reduced? This report answers these and other questions. In the research project the natural resource consumption of 27 Finnish households was calculated with the MIPS method (material input per service unit). The consumption components studied were housing, mobility, foodstuffs, tourism, leisure time activities and household goods and appliances. Differences of even ten-fold were found in the resource consumption of the households studied. The components that consumed the most were mobility, tourism and housing. Besides the research results, the report presents the calculation methods used and the consumption and MIPS data. The report also includes the results of the focus group interviews with the households that participated in the study. On the basis of the interviews the action space of the consumers, that is the social and structural factors influencing sustainable consumption, is shown. In addition to interested consumers, the research can be utilised by consumer and environmental NGOs, governments and politicians, researchers and students from different disciplines and other people interested in resource efficiency. The appendices of the report present a comprehensive summary of the MIPS figures calculated in Finland. The research project FIN-MIPS Household – Promoting Sustainable Consumption, which the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation carried out during 2006 to 2008, was part of the fourth environmental cluster programme “Eco-efficient society” of the Finnish Ministry of the Environment.
- Published
- 2008