Household consumption
Understanding household consumption patterns is about understanding human behaviour. Consumption patterns in Europe are very different to those 50 years ago. Important factors that drive our consumption include growing incomes, globalisation of the economy, technological breakthroughs (such as the Internet and mobile phones), decreasing household sizes and an ageing population. At the same time, the growing number of goods and services we consume often offsets the efficiency gains we achieved through for example, improved production technologies and processes. As a result, environmental pressures are increasing. Housing, food and drink, and mobility have the greatest environmental impact over their lifecycle in terms of emissions of greenhouse gases, acidifying and ozone-depleting substances as well as resource use.
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Articles
- Golf courses and washing machines: obstacles and opportunities for sustainable water management
- 17 Mar 2009
- Not in my back yard — international shipments of waste and the environment
- 23 Feb 2009
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Publications
- Time for action - towards sustainable consumption and production in Europe
- 25 Feb 2008
- Sustainable consumption and production in South East Europe and Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia - Joint UNEP-EEA report on the opportunities and lessons learned
- 11 Oct 2007
- Household consumption and the environment
- 02 Jan 2006
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Highlights
- A greener music festival in Roskilde
- 29 Jun 2009
- The waste trade – legal and illegal
- 04 Mar 2009
- Taming Goliath — tackling consumption patterns
- 03 Jun 2008
The European Environment Agency (EEA) is an agency of the European Union.