Although academic research has increased our understanding on what constitutes sustainable lifestyles and theoretical models of how this could be achieved, and on technological solutions available, the practical situation in the world is that trends are going in the wrong direction. Apparently, current policies are insufficient and weaker than the dominant economic and cultural trends. We can see some persistent trends around many societies in Europe and North America: larger homes, rising material consumption, and little change in high-impact behaviours (e.g. flying and meat consumption). Advertising and social media fuel consumerist lifestyles worldwide in a false belief that it will bring greater happiness and well-being.
In contrast, many traditional societies around the world demonstrate that placing high value on family, community, human interactions and shared social and cultural experiences is more effective in bringing about wellbeing and happiness with a lower ecological footprint
In this project we are looking for examples of cities, countries and communities to try to understand what are the factors for success and barriers to more sustainable lifestyles and whether we could leapfrog the stage of overconsumption in more traditional societies to improve quality of life whilst maintaining valuable societal and cultural norms.
A deeper look at some specific countries which have a better record of living well within planetary boundaries could be helpful. No country is an ideal model but there are countries which are in the right direction.
Two leading countries which combine good economic, social and environmental performance are not among the highest income per capita group but they do offer their citizens a good life. Costa Rica and Uruguay show relatively high levels of HDI with relatively low ecological footprints. Denmark offers a high quality of life but has a higher ecological impact.
Several other countries are identified as ‘flourishing’ in the recently published Global Flourishing Study, which puts more emphasis on social connectivity, religious or civic group activity and mental health. The leading 5 countries out of 22 countries are Indonesia, Israel, Philippines, Mexico and Poland.
This working group will take an in depth look at how certain countries and cities are progressing and what policies seem to be effective. They may include Costa Rica, Uruguay, Mexico, Brazil, Poland, Israel, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan, India– and may include parameters which differ from those commonly used in Western cultures and economies.
The SCORAI Working Group will investigate characteristics and policies in about 15 countries to identify factors which seem to constitute pre conditions for either promoting or preventing more sustainable lifestyles.
The findings will be summarized in a paper that will be presented at the upcoming SCORAI conference in June 2026 in Brazil.
For further details, please contact:
- Philip Vergragt pvergragt@outlook.com
- Or Valerie Brachya valerie@jerusaleminstitute.org.il