In the first half of the project, FULFILL focused on developing the conceptual framework. To this end, a database of the relevant literature was built up, including more than 500 papers, book chapters, articles and grey literature selected and reviewed by the project partners. This aimed at establishing an operative definition of sufficiency: FULFILL understands the sufficiency principle as the creation of the social, infrastructural and regulatory conditions for changing individual and collective lifestyles in such a way that energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to an extent that they remain within planetary boundaries, while contributing to societal well-being.
This means, as a first step, taking an output-oriented perspective on sufficiency. We therefore focus on measuring and understanding lifestyles that have a high probability of reducing carbon emissions and protecting ecosystems to stay within planetary boundaries, while maintaining and enhancing quality of life. Furthermore, FULFILL argues for sufficiency as an overarching principle that enables (structural) change, but also requires enabling structures.
At the individual level, this should be partly visible in individual reductionist behaviour (e.g. no car use and increased use of public transport), a low overall carbon footprint, but also in people's values and attitudes (a high willingness to reduce consumption). At the meso- and macro- levels, this should be visible through the provision of infrastructure that enables individuals to choose options that follow the principles of sufficiency (e.g. access to services without a car for all) or the organisation of local communities (e.g. community gardening projects that enable citizens to grow the ingredients for a healthy vegetarian diet). Legislation and policy (e.g. requiring space for bicycles or line drying in buildings) are also highly relevant to enabling people to live more sufficiency-oriented lives.
In order to differentiate these multifaceted components, we developed the following definitions in the course of FULFILL, extracted from the literature review:
Sufficiency habits = Sufficiency measures taken by individuals as a result of permanent lifestyle changes.
Sufficiency infrastructures = physical and non-physical infrastructures that enable sufficiency habits.
Sufficiency societal frameworks = institutions, laws, norms that enable sufficiency habits and sufficiency infrastructure change.
Building on this initial conceptual work, empirical work at the micro and meso levels has begun as part of FULFILL. The developed concept has been developed into a research design to study individuals, households, initiatives and communities across Europe to better understand the conditions that enable and hinder sufficiency lifestyles. In addition, citizen science activities have already started.
