Systemic Transitions Towards Sustainable Consumption: Governance Structures, Policy Instruments, and the Role of Digital Infrastructures

Over the past decade, discussions about sustainable consumption have shifted from focusing mainly on individual choices, to examining the wider systems that shape how people and organizations utilize resources. Changes in governance, public policy and institutional practices now play a significant role in influencing consumption patterns. Many day-to-day processes (e.g., accessing public services, managing energy and food systems), are becoming increasingly digitalized. This makes room for new possibilities for transparency and better resource management, while raising questions about equity, access, and the way digital tools may reinforce or challenge existing structures. These developments may move quickly but we still know relatively little about how digital infrastructures and governance practices cooperate to support more sustainable and fair consumption systems. The goal of this Research Topic is to examine how governance arrangements, policy mechanisms and digital infrastructures shape the conditions under which sustainable consumption becomes possible. Many discussions may focus on individual behavior, however consumption patterns are embedded in broader institutional, technical and regulatory systems. Moreover, public services and resource-intensive sectors are becoming digitized, and new forms of monitoring and coordination are emerging, while policy instruments that rely on data or digital platforms are gaining traction. How these developments influence the organization of consumption, whose interests they serve, and under what circumstances they support or undermine more sustainable and equitable outcomes, is what remains less well understood. Through gathering work that investigates these questions through empirical, theoretical, or comparative approaches, this Topic seeks to build a clearer understanding of the mechanisms at play. Ultimately, the ambition is to identify pathways through which institutional change, policy design, and digital infrastructures can work together to support systemic transitions in consumption. This Research Topic invites contributions that examine how governance structures, policy instruments and digital infrastructures shape systemic transitions in consumption. We welcome work that explores institutional arrangements, regulatory approaches, public sector digitalization, data practices, and the socio-technical conditions that influence consumption patterns. Studies focusing on inequalities in access, collective or participatory forms of governance, regional resilience strategies (e.g., food, energy), and the interaction between digital systems and social norms are also encouraged. We are particularly interested in empirical studies, comparative analyses, conceptual or theoretical contributions, and policy-oriented papers that shed light on the mechanisms linking governance, institutions and digital infrastructures to sustainable consumption outcomes. Papers may draw on qualitative, quantitative or mixed-methods approaches, provided that they clearly address systemic aspects of consumption and contribute to understanding how sustainable and equitable transitions can be supported in practice. Topic editors: Teta Stamati, Thanos Papadopoulos Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/77293/systemic-transitions-towards-sustainable-consumption-governance-structures-policy-instruments-and-the-role-of-digital-infrastructures