Minimalism and Frugalism: Towards a Social Psychology of Voluntary Simplicity (Ref. PID2022-140048NB-I00). Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación. 2023-2026. IP: Guillermo Willis Sánchez.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations, states in Goal 12 that “there is an urgent need to reduce the ecological footprint by changing methods of production and consumption of goods and resources” (UNDP, 2022). So far the thrust of public policy has been to encourage a change in consumer demand rather than a reduction in demand. The message to the public is that it is good for environmental protection to drive electric vehicles instead of petrol cars, but there is no emphasis on the need to drive less. Green purchasing behaviour cannot be properly understood without reference to a reduction in the level of consumption, as proposed by the Voluntary Simplicity movement. From our project, we hope to identify the psychosocial processes associated with the Voluntary Simplicity movement that could promote behavioural change and reduce the ecological footprint.