To aid the rapid dissemination of information surrounding the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all publications fees for this Research Topic will be waived until 31st December 2020

The Sustainable Development Goals set the year 2030 as the target for tackling major global and social environmental crises. A noteworthy feature of these goals is that many relate to responsible consumption, with goal 12 explicitly relating to sustainable consumption and production. Sustainable consumption refers to the use of products, materials, and energy according to Sustainable Development principles. It is the conservation of natural resources and energy that have minimal impact on the environment. It is also related to minimizing the use of toxic substances and materials. The outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) drastically shifted the landscape of sustainable consumption. For example, worldwide lockdowns led to less oil consumption, where the U.S. benchmark price for oil dropped below zero for the first time in oil-market history. Likewise, the consumption and global demand for coal decreased by 8%. Despite this, the anticipated future impacts of COVID-19 on sustainable consumption are not well known.

The purpose of this Research Topic is to publish papers from scholars across disciples that consider, debate, reflect on sustainable consumption in our new post COVID-19 world. We accept submissions that draw upon theories and concepts from a variety of disciplines, as well as papers that explore contextual factors and conditions surrounding sustainable consumption. We aim to publish empirical research, case studies, theoretical developments, and review papers.

We are interested in manuscripts that bring together transdisciplinary knowledge of sustainable consumption that specifically consider sustainable consumption in a “post” COVID-19 world on the following topics:
• Theories for promoting sustainable consumption in public and private sectors
• Theories for promoting sustainable consumption in households
• Demonstrative projects of sustainable consumption
• Weak vs. strong sustainability
• Sustainable consumption good practices in small organizations
• Sustainable consumption good practices in higher education institutions
• Sustainability consumption behaviors of consumers
• Strategies for reducing and mitigating the impact of consumption
• How sustainable consumption is defined, perceived, and constructed
• Barriers to achieving sustainable consumption at the individual and societal level
• The promotion of sustainable consumption

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Frontiers in Sustainability

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