Sufficiency in action: variants, operationalizations, hybridizations
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1How is sufficiency to be implemented? Mirroring the concept’s theoretical malleability, sufficiency-centric solutions are equally heterogeneous – in terms of goals as well as concrete operationalization mechanisms. Additionally, the solutions necessarily vary according to the actors and sectors concerned, with each facing certain specific issues and challenges.
2Laurence Lehmann-Ortega analyzes the underpinnings of sustainable business models and variants of frugal approaches. These approaches can be seen as strategies involving a greater or less degree of renouncement, from energy efficiency solutions to circular economy and functional economy models and including models with a more explicit focus on renouncement. A key element in the different factors for the success of these approaches is the invention of new governance and value-sharing models, along with the juxtaposition, or hybridization, of different paradigms.
3Analysis of solutions related to operational sufficiency highlights a more nuanced vision of the concept, indicating that in the real world it is often coupled with value-creation models, inviting us to see sufficiency/performance as a complementary pairing rather than mutually exclusive alternatives. The success story of the leboncoin online sales platform, described by Amandine de Souza, illustrates the relevance of an approach that does not explicitly invoke sufficiency, based on buying and selling of secondhand goods. These activities are driven by a range of diverse and ambivalent motivations that depend on the buyers’ profiles: environmental awareness, limited spending power, desire to treat themselves, etc. As a key actor in the democratization and destigmatization of secondhand, leboncoin is an instructive example of positive sufficiency. Echoing this evolution, Stéphanie Calvino looks at the gradual transformation of the fashion industry and the central role the sector plays in shifting representations and perceptions.
4In towns and cities sufficiency is applied to different remits: urban planning, managing transport flows, and optimizing access to essential goods and services. Charlotte Halpern points out that the North-South divide does not come into play in this domain, underlining the diverse array of approaches adopted in various large. Jean-François Nogrette explores the relevance for Veolia of certain solutions inspired by sufficiency, such as supporting individual behavioral changes and inventing new economic models for water distribution in a context marked by heightened water stress. However, sufficiency does not offer a one-size-fits-all response and must go hand in hand with solutions based on innovation and circularity.
5In this context and in the face of the diversity of approaches, which key factors for success can be identified? Two answers suggest themselves. Firstly, the need to anchor policies for behavioral change in a realistic and nuanced understanding of human behavior, as behavioral psychology researcher Xavier Brisbois reminds us. Secondly, as discussed throughout the issue, it is also important to look beyond the individual prism to create the conditions for transforming society and organizations on a far larger scale. Within this perspective, Philippe Bihouix calls for systemic sufficiency hand in hand with ambitious public policies working to transform uses and practices as well as infrastructure.
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References
Bibliographical reference
Iris Levy and David Ménascé, “Sufficiency in action: variants, operationalizations, hybridizations”, Field Actions Science Reports, Special Issue 26 | 2024, 62-63.
Electronic reference
Iris Levy and David Ménascé, “Sufficiency in action: variants, operationalizations, hybridizations”, Field Actions Science Reports [Online], Special Issue 26 | 2024, Online since 10 August 2024, connection on 12 November 2024. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/factsreports/7515
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