Exploring the nexus of consumer policy and environmental sustainability: A scoping review

Sustainable consumption has gained global attention, particularly in the context of environmental agendas like the European Green Deal. While consumer policy plays a pivotal role in the envisioned green transition, concerns have been raised about its efficacy and alignment with sustainability goals. Some argue that there is a need for a comprehensive reevaluation of consumer policy. However, the research on the nexus of consumer policy and environmental sustainability is fragmented. This is also the case for sustainable consumption as a policy area as a plethora of policy instruments relate to consumption in different ways, and they can be adopted at different levels. This research provides a scoping review of the global literature on the role of consumer policy, and the consumer policy toolbox, in the green transition. The key aim of the review is to map the available evidence by factors such as (but not limited to) the consumer policy tools examined, how consumer policy is defined, policy recommendations, theoretical perspectives, geographic location, and scientific disciplines. This mapping aims to identify the volume, nature and characteristics of the extant research as well as unexplored gaps, offering crucial insights for policymakers and facilitating informed decision-making in future policy development. We extract relevant articles from Scopus, Web of Science, EconLit and PsycINFO databases published from January 1990 to December 2023 and conduct a scoping review following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. We anticipate presenting further results at the conference.