Hartmann, E. (2024). Sufficiency as relations of enoughness. Sustainable Development, sd.3090. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.3090
The main contribution of this paper is the introduction of the concept of relations of enoughness, building on the general notion of ‘enough’, which is prevalent in sufficiency literature. Diverse uses and understandings of sufficiency can be united in a shared structure of ‘enough/too much/too little of X regarding Y’. Relations of enoughness can be connected to sustainability by expanding them into chains of enoughness, which serve as a conceptual foundation for the sustainable consumption corridor approach. 

Beyeler, L., & Jaeger-Erben, M. (2024). Sufficiency as a Matter of Care: Practices to Provide for Needs. SSRN. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4732416
Sufficiency can be understood as the work of economic actors to adapt to human and more-than-human needs, by delivering only what is required to satisfy these needs – nothing more, nothing less. This interpretation reveals a connection between sufficiency and feminist concepts of care as both advocate for a need-centred economy. This study explores how a logic of care influences business practices and how characteristics of care support the implementation of sufficiency in business. 

Leifeld, L. (2024). Alles Klasse, oder was? Suffizienzpraktiken im Kontext von sozialer Positionierung und Distinktion. Universität Innsbruck.
Previous research has focused on the influence of social position on sustainable lifestyles; this thesis goes one step further and combines Bourdieu’s theory with sufficiency. This master’s thesis uses a qualitative study to examine the influence of the three axes of social position, distinction and living conditions on sufficiency behaviour and a sustainable lifestyle. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with people from different social classes and with different living conditions. The results of the study show that Bourdieu’s theory can still be applied today. However, the individual lifestyles in sufficiency can no longer be assigned to individual classes but are also differentiated within social positions. 

Stuart, D., Petersen, B., & Gunderson, R. (2024). Addressing the Irrational Drivers of the Climate Crisis: Surplus Repression and Destructive Production. Nature and Culture, 19(2), 113–134. https://doi.org/10.3167/nc.2024.190201
Drawing from the work of Herbert Marcuse and André Gorz, we discuss the irrationality of a system of excess work, production, and consumption in terms of unnecessary human repression and environmental destruction. In the context of the climate crisis, this system becomes even more irrational as it threatens the habitability of Earth for humans. We examine work-time reduction and related sufficiency measures as a rational response to the climate crisis. 

Koch, M., Emilsson, K., Lee, J., & Johansson, H. (2024). Structural barriers to sufficiency: The contribution of research on elites. Buildings and Cities, 5(1), 268–282. https://doi.org/10.5334/bc.439
A better scholarly understanding of the structural barriers to sufficiency dissemination can be facilitated through a systematic account of the political, social and symbolic strategies deployed by elites to accumulate and legitimise power. The discussion highlights how research on sufficiency and elite consumption may interact to be mutually beneficial. 

Dzüvichü, K., & Yhome, V. (2024). A Contemporary Reflection On Economy And The Quest For A Simplified Lifestyle: Revisiting Thoreau’s Walden. ShodhGyan-NU: Journal of Literature and Culture Studies, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhgyan.v2.i1.2024.23
This study explores the complex interrelationships between money, education, and employment, challenging the narrow view that links education only to financial gain. Thoreau’s call for a simple lifestyle, exemplified in his work ‘Walden,’ is analyzed in the light of contemporary research that highlights the tangible benefits of embracing simplicity for individual well-being, economics, and environmental sustainability. Additionally, the study explores the role of advertising in shaping consumer preferences, emphasizing Thoreau’s call to reevaluate our needs in the face of widespread consumerism.

 André, H. (2024). “If less is more, how you keeping score?” Outlines of a life cycle assessment method to assess sufficiency. Frontiers in Sustainability, 5, 1342223. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2024.1342223
This short paper aims to stimulate a discussion on how sufficiency measures can be assessed with LCA methodology. By analyzing the very few LCAs of explicit sufficiency measures in terms of the components of a functional unit (what function is provided, how much, for how long, and how well) features of a potential new branch of LCA methodology are outlined, called Sufficiency LCA. Developing Sufficiency LCA could be critical considering that sufficiency measures are expected to be required, and that LCA is expected to be serviceable as decision-making support, in the transition toward environmental sustainability. 

Freeman, R., Seljom, P. M. S., Valkering, P., & Krook-Riekkola, A. (2024). Low Energy Demand Scenarios for OECD Countries: Fairness, Feasibility and Potential Impacts on SDGs. In M. Labriet, K. Espegren, G. Giannakidis, & B. Ó Gallachóir (Eds.), Aligning the Energy Transition with the Sustainable Development Goals (Vol. 101, pp. 17–40). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-58897-6_2
Low energy demand (LED) scenarios, modelled with energy system optimisation models (ESOMs), show that there is potential for meeting national and global climate mitigation targets more economically and with less technological uncertainty, while buying time during the transition. In a review of 11 LED modelling studies, demand reductions by 2050, compared to 2020, range from moderately (8%) to much higher (56%) than non-LED scenarios. When modelling LED scenarios in ESOMs, there should be more representation of the rebound effect and feedback between demand and economy, heterogeneity in societal responses to LED-type policies, and the idea of sufficiency to better reflect the novelty of pathways to achieving LED scenario narratives. 

Nick, S. (2024). Systems perspectives on transforming Swiss housing by 2040: Wellbeing, shared spaces, sufficiency, and de-sprawl. Frontiers in Sustainability, 5, 1375271. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2024.1375271
Guided by values of wellbeing for all within planetary boundaries, we propose a normative scenario based on a nationwide moratorium on new construction until 2100, coupled with four simultaneous neighborhood-scale interventions: renovating buildings to achieve energy class A with high indoor environmental quality, creating flexible shared living spaces, ensuring essential daily services are available within each neighborhood, and deconstructing unneeded settlements. Our model predicts that full renovation could be accomplished in 14–18 years, significantly reducing labor, energy, materials, and costs both during and after the transition. Furthermore, it could reverse urban sprawl to levels seen in 1935 or even 1885, depending on deconstruction choices.

Bärnthaler, R. (2024). When enough is enough: Introducing sufficiency corridors to put techno-economism in its place. Ambio. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-024-02027-2
Recognising the limitations of techno-economism, focused on markets (price adjustments) and technology (efficiency gains), this contribution introduces sufficiency corridors as a concept, research field, and policy approach. Establishing such corridors entails a process over time that continuously narrows the gap between floors and ceilings, lifting the former and pushing down the latter by strengthening forms of consumption and production that contribute to need satisfaction while shrinking those that do not. The article discusses the profound implications of this approach for how societal reality is reproduced and/or changed, highlighting the need for decisions that eliminate options between and within sectors and in the realms of consumption and production. 

Kalke, K., Haderer, M., Hausknost, D., & Deflorian, M. (2024). Can liberal democracies thrive with consumption limits? Barriers to implementing consumption corridors. GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society, 33(2), 243–249. https://doi.org/10.14512/gaia.33.2.19
To what extent, if at all, are upper limits to consumption compatible with liberal democracy? Because consumption plays a constitutive role in social reconciliation, the formation and exercise of autonomy, and democratic legitimacy in liberal democracies, introducing upper limits may indeed hit harder boundaries ‐ boundaries that sufficiency approaches to reducing consumption (and production) levels increasingly face in the current political landscape. 

Iten, T., Seidl, I., & Pütz, M. (2024). Sufficiency policy: A definition, conceptual framework, and application to municipalities. Sustainability Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-024-01534-1
This article, examines three questions: how is sufficiency policy understood in the literature? How can sufficiency policy be conceptualized? And what does sufficiency policy mean at the municipal level? In the course of a systematic literature review, we determine a sample of 111 publications on sufficiency policy and identify an ecological, social, and action-oriented dimension of sufficiency understanding. We apply the framework at the municipal level and compile a total of 198 municipal sufficiency policy measures. We find that municipalities have numerous levers to pursue sufficiency policy, both in terms of instruments and sectors. 

Grewer, J., Keck, M., & Zscheischler, J. (2024). Different interpretations of sufficiency in climate-protection strategies: A typology based on 40 pioneering municipalities in Germany. Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 20(1), 2350216. https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2024.2350216
Using examples from 40 German Masterplan municipalities, our qualitative study examines different interpretations of sufficiency in municipal climate-protection concepts. The results show that sufficiency is gaining importance for municipal climate protection and can contribute to alternative future visions. However, sufficiency remains mostly subordinated to technological solutions and is hardly woven into the specific sectoral strategies and concrete measures. Furthermore, the transformative trajectories are limited through depoliticized understandings of sufficiency in many cases.

Bengtsson, M., Latva-Hakuni, E., Toivio, V., & Akenji, L. (2024). Options for reducing lifestyle emissions in Norway. Future in our hands, Hot or Cool Institute.
The study estimates how an average Norwegian lifestyle affects the global climate. It identifies options for reducing these lifestyle emissions, assesses their respective effectiveness, and creates scenarios for how targets for emissions reduction could be met. An assessment of a fictive high-consumption lifestyle, assumed to be common among well-off Norwegians, shows that the footprint of such lifestyles could easily be twice as high as for the average person.

Bauer, F., Holmberg, K., Olsen, T., Stripple, J., & Tilsted, J. P. (2024). Limits to Plastic Growth: Towards a global cap on primary plastics production. Environmental and Energy Systems Studies, Lund university.
A cap on primary plastic production is possible and has precedent in environmental and climate change law. One approach for implementing such a cap is through a cap-and-trade system, which involves the distribution of production allowances. Different approaches to allocating plastic production allowances vary in terms of their alignment with equity principles for distributive justice, either mitigating or reinforcing existing inequalities. 

Cherry, C., Verfuerth, C., & Demski, C. (2024). Discourses of climate inaction undermine public support for 1.5 °C lifestyles. Global Environmental Change, 87, 102875. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2024.102875
Urgent action to tackle the climate crisis will only be possible with significant public support for radical lifestyle change. Here we report the results of novel public deliberation and visioning workshops, conducted across the UK in 2020/2021 to explore visions of a 1.5 °C future. We found that despite very strong public support for many low-carbon lifestyle strategies in principle, entrenched discourses of delay are limiting beliefs that a fair, low-carbon future is possible. We argue that countering these narratives, and the defensive responses they invoke, is essential for achieving meaningful public action on climate change.

Moynat, O. (2024). Everyday practices and needs as entry points for an operationalisation of more collective approaches to sufficiency. Consumption and Society, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1332/27528499Y2024D000000028
This article exposes an engaging conceptual framework that describes the reduction of consumption through social practice theory, combined with a eudaimonic approach to wellbeing. Drawing on individual interviews with people who declare themselves as ‘living degrowth’ in French-speaking Switzerland, the article discusses everyday practices of consumption reduction that inform the actualisation of fundamental needs. The article proposes an operationalisation of Max-Neef’s approach of needs satisfaction, showing that an emphasis can be placed on sustainable practices representing synergic satisfiers. To support social change towards sufficiency, the article discusses that synergic satisfiers must be planned for collectively. 

Richter, J. L., Lehner, M., Elfström, A., Henman, J., Vadovics, E., Brizga, J., Plepys, A., & Mont, O. (2024). 1.5° lifestyle changes: Exploring consequences for individuals and households. Sustainable Production and Consumption, S2352550924002094. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2024.07.018
This paper systematically and empirically maps what types of effects individuals experience with low-carbon lifestyle changes, what desirable effects are encouraged and how undesirable effects can be addressed. For this purpose, we adopted a qualitative research approach, conducting five workshops with a total of 84 participants across five EU countries (Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Spain, Sweden) who had changed their lifestyles by adopting significant low-carbon lifestyle options. In the workshops, the consequences of four low-carbon lifestyle changes – giving up (1) car ownership, (2) flying, (3) meat, or (4) living space – were explored using simplified cause-effect diagrams, personal written reflections and discussions in focus groups. 

Riefler, P., Baar, C., Büttner, O. B., & Flachs, S. (2024). What to gain, what to lose? A taxonomy of individual-level gains and losses associated with consumption reduction. Ecological Economics, 224, 108301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108301
This paper examines individual-level gains and losses that might motivate or hinder people to uptake consumption-reduced lifestyles and accept corresponding demand-side measures. To identify such gains and losses, the paper combines (1) an interdisciplinary systematic literature review spanning eight concepts that assess voluntary consumption reduction from different angles with (2) a qualitative vignette study based upon a sample of mainstream consumers. The findings provide relevant insights into motivators and barriers to be considered for promoting consumption reduction strategies. 

Halonen, V., Claudelin, A., Uusitalo, V., Levänen, J., & Konsti-Laakso, S. (2024). The potential of individuals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through their own actions: A case of a suburb in Finland. Discover Sustainability, 5(1), 191. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-024-00407-y
This study examines the emission-reduction potential of suburban residents in Finland through a survey that assesses their willingness to adopt climate actions, and by calculating the potential impact of various actions. Transitioning to a vegetarian diet, reducing air travel and limiting consumption are identified as the most effective mitigation actions when the potential increase in the implementation rate and impact on greenhouse gas emissions are considered. These findings emphasise the specific individual actions that should be prioritised when formulating climate policies at the national or city levels.

Erck, S. (2024). Housing Limitarianism: What’s Wrong with Owning Excess Homes? Housing, Theory and Society, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2024.2391424
This paper provides a framework to articulate and defend efforts to create housing wealth ceilings. Building on the work of Ingrid Robeyns, it develops the moral and political doctrine of housing limitarianism. This doctrine asserts it is morally wrong to have too much housing while others, human or animal, do not have enough, and that governments ought to limit the excessive acquisition/consumption of housing by individuals and corporations. 

Bagheri, M., Roth, L., Siebke, L., Rohde, C., & Linke, H.-J. (2024). Implementing housing policies for a sufficient lifestyle. Buildings & Cities, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.5334/bc.435
Sufficiency policies such as flat exchanges, a financial bonus for moving and the provision of moving advice aim to reduce the total floor area in the housing sector by using existing space more efficiently. As the sufficiency approach relies heavily on individual choices, residents’ involvement, perception and acceptance are crucial for the success of such measures. An investigation in selected German housing companies shows that the potential of these measures is not fully exploited under the current political and social framework in Germany. Social acceptance, new norms and business models for landlords are needed for the effective use of these measures. 

Oliveira Panão, M. J. N. (2024). Energy ratings as drivers of energy sufficiency in residential buildings: A comprehensive review and future directions. Energy and Buildings, 320, 114583. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2024.114583
This study addresses three key questions: what examples of energy sufficiency actions are referenced in the literature, and how can they be categorized; how building energy codes act as drivers of energy sufficiency; and whether energy ratings encourage the selection of more appropriately sized appliances. The conclusions are organized into ten key findings that underscore essential aspects of advancing energy sufficiency through future research and energy policy, emphasizing the need to rethink building codes and appliances energy rating. 

Huber, A., Heinrichs, H., & Jaeger-Erben, M. (2024). Promoting neighbourhood sharing: Infrastructures of convenience and community. Buildings and Cities, 5(1), 349–367. https://doi.org/10.5334/bc.442
Evidence from French and German case studies of ‘collaborative housing’ and ‘developer-driven neighbourhood sharing’ is used to identify two types of popular sharing practices: community-oriented and convenience-oriented. To support the establishment of such sharing practices, some social and organisational measures are suggested. 

Brauer, H. B., Hasselqvist, H., Håkansson, M., Willermark, S., & Hiller, C. (2024). Re-configuring practices in times of energy crisis – A case study of Swedish households. Energy Research & Social Science, 114, 103578. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2024.103578
In this paper, we use social practice theory to investigate how Swedish households responded to the 2022/2023 energy crisis and what changes they made in terms of re-configurations of their practices. Our results demonstrate that households were reminded of certain electricity use that is otherwise typically backgrounded in homes and that the energy crisis stimulated re-configuration and re-examination of norms as well as reflection on electricity use in general. 

Van Moeseke, G., De Grave, D., Anciaux, A., Sobczak, J., & Wallenborn, G. (2024). New insights into thermal comfort sufficiency in dwellings. Buildings & Cities, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.5334/bc.444
Building on the concept of addressing the distinct heating needs of individuals and buildings separately, the Slowheat project implemented a three-year transdisciplinary real-world laboratory focusing on adaptive heating practices. Starting with a mean thermostat setting of 19°C, participants reduced their indoor temperature to a long-term mean close to 15°C thanks to adequate warming of individuals through personal comfort systems, clothing and physiological adaptation. The qualitative analysis highlights the multiple dimensions of social practices related to heating and underscores the key influence of control and comfort in sustaining significant temperature reduction. 

Sufficiency in business: The transformative potential of business for sustainability (with Gossen, M., & Niessen, L.). (2024). Transcript. https://www.transcript-publishing.com/978-3-8376-6910-7/sufficiency-in-business/
Businesses want to be sustainable but how can they promote sufficiency? Sufficiency-oriented business models focus on creating sustainable value, promoting reduced resource consumption and adjusting production volumes to planetary boundaries. The contributors to this volume present real-life examples of sufficiency-oriented companies across diverse industries. These experts share their insights on sufficiency strategies in business, barriers and opportunities discovered, and the impact on customer behavioural change. They address the far-reaching changes in business, society, and policy required for this paradigm shift and suggest future research directions. 

De Koning, J., Lavanga, M., & Spekkink, W. (2024). Exploring the Clothing Overconsumption of Young Adults: An Experimental Study with Communication Interventions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 142970. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.142970
Young adults, heavily influenced by advertisements and new trends via social media, emerge as substantial contributors to the escalating issue of clothing overconsumption. This study employs a survey experiment with communication interventions using different framing strategies. In doing so, the study focuses on the potential impact of communication interventions on the clothing consumption rates of young adults. The study showed that a communication intervention can motivate young adults to purchase less clothing and gives an initial insight into how to implement this type of intervention.

Thomas, H., Carmona Aparicio, L. G., Creutzig, F., Hara, T., Hayashi, A., Ludovique, C., Martinez, L. M., Natsuo Kishimoto, P., Niamir, L., Saheb, Y., & Trouvé, M. (2024). Models and methods for transport demand and decarbonisation: A review. Environmental Research Letters, 19(9), 093005. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ad6b3a
We review the literature on factors relevant to shifting total transport activity and mode shares, categorised into exogenous drivers, socio-behavioural, infrastructural and technological aspects. For each factor, we summarise current approaches to modelling and measuring the impact of each factor on transport systems, resulting in a proposed taxonomy to classify transport demand modelling approaches. Factors that affect transport demand are currently insufficiently represented in integrated assessment modelling approaches and thus emission reduction pathways. 

Litschgy, A. (2024). Reducing demand for air travel in France: The role of policy instruments to decrease emissions and reach targets for the aviation industry by 2030. KTH, School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE).
The transport sector is France’s leading emissions source (146 MtCO2 in 2022) and aviation accounts for 11% of this. Thus, it is natural that the French decarbonation strategy should include air transport, and in particular sufficiency tools. This leads to the aim of this study – to explore which policy instruments can be used to reduce demand for air passenger transport and reach French emission reduction targets for the aviation transport sector by 2030.

Kanerva, M., Efstathiou, S., Béné, C., Brock, S., & Clark, M. (Eds.). (2024). How to achieve a planetary health diet through system and paradigm change? Frontiers Media SA. https://doi.org/10.3389/978-2-8325-4826-4
Transforming current food systems toward sustainability is arguably largely a political and power-related issue. Our special issue draws attention to these dimensions of a planetary health-focused dietary transition. The article collection offers case studies and more global views, to identify through qualitative and quantitative analyses some key barriers to, and potential opportunities for, a sustainable food system transformation.