Indeed, the general consensus is that sustainable consumption should be an integral part of everyday life, which requires solutions from governments and businesses alike, as well as, in some cases, changes to consumer behavior. However, sometimes, even if the consumer is informed and ready, the means to follow a sustainable lifestyle are not always available in certain segments. A classic example in Germany are varying waste separation rules and options for recycling, which may differ not only by federal state, but by district within one city. Encouragingly so, the recycling rate for plastic packaging has remained high in recent years.
Delving deeper into shopping behavior specifically among German consumers following LOHAS (lifestyle of health and sustainability), almost 85 percent looked for regional products on grocery shelves, while around 73 percent also checked whether the product originated from appropriate animal husbandry, where animals were involved. Also, as of 2023, roughly 29 million Germans thought it was important to save energy. This attitude could be put to a severe test as energy prices rise. Sustainable consumption across various areas therefore proves to be a necessity not only in terms of environmental protection, but also for (household) budget reasons.
German cities scored across the board in the national Smart City Index. As of 2023, Trier in southwest Germany was in the lead in terms of using smarter energy and putting environmentally friendly concepts into practice. In this case, the indicators defining the evaluation were smart streetlights, electric vehicles, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, low-emission buses and some others.
