Resumo

as, other sectors of society had dedicated attention to this enormous world problem (Lim, 2017). In this sense, Sustainable Development perspective emerged and embraced three primary objectives, poverty eradication, changes in the patterns of production and consumption and, protection and management of natural resources for social and economic development (Sachs, 2007). As part of this perspective, "sustainable consumption" was formally introduced by the Oslo Symposium in 1994, it has attracted growing academic studies (Liu, et al., 2017).

What are the essential roles that play governments, companies and civil society to promote the necessary changes toward to sustainability? In response to this question, the objective of this research has identified the roles played by governments, companies and civil society to promote sustainable consumption based on the perception of brazilian experts.

On the one hand, sustainable consumption means using products and services that fulfill needs and, at the same time, improve society’s quality of life and don't compromise the needs of future generations (Luskin & Del Matto, 2007). That is consumption as an act of intra and intergenerational balance. On the other hand, consumption means to use it up or destroy it, that is complete opposite o “sustainability, therefore "sustainable consumption” requires a perspective beyond the traditional viewpoint, i.e., beyond the lens of purchasing (Lim, 2017).

It was an exploratory study developed in two stages. The first stage identified the distinct roles regards to promotion of sustainable consumption based on a comprehensive theoretical framework. Then, the selected roles played were grouped into categories according to macro, meso, and micro level. These roles were submitted to a validation process by an expert panel using a Policy Delphi. The Delphi is initially a technique that seeks the consensus of opinions within a group of specialists regards to future events. It is based on the structured use of knowledge, experience, and creativity.

The results showed that experts' panel had maintained the degree of relevance to the roles on both Policy Delphi rounds. The meso level stands up as the space for actions toward promoting sustainable consumption. These findings confirm that is as a bridge between the macro and the micro level. Therefore, 35 roles and its relevance degrees were considered validated by experts on the Delphi panel. The high rate of approval of the roles indicated by the literature review shows that scholars are aligned with the market, since practitioners, businessmen, and government representatives.

we conclude that the promotion of sustainable consumption must be considered as a sociocultural activity. That means, consumption is more than an individual event, and its analysis should consider the group of factors, actors, and levels. Also, it is a complex structure generated by social interactions among responsible actors for reaching more sustainable practices. Therefore, to make changes in the consumption behavior we need efforts of governments, civil society and firms are required. Note that some validated roles will cause short-term impact, while others at long-term.

Jackson, T. (2007). 16 Sustainable consumption. Handbook of Sustainable Development, 254. Jackson, T., & Michaelis, L. (2003). Policies for sustainable consumption. Sustainable Development Commission, London. Jaeger-Erben, M., Rückert-John, J., & Schäfer, M. (2015). Sustainable consumption through social innovation: a typology of innovations for sustainable consumption practices. Journal of Cleaner Production, 108, 784–798. Tukker, A., Emmert, S., Charter, M., Vezzoli, C., Sto, E., Andersen, M. M., … Lahlou, S. (2008). Fostering change to sustainable consumption and production.