A time-use approach: high subjective wellbeing, low carbon leisure
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-04-2018-0024 |
| Published date | 17 June 2019 |
| Pages | 85-93 |
| Date | 17 June 2019 |
| Author | Angela Druckman,Birgitta Gatersleben |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Public mental health |
A time-use approach: high subjective
wellbeing, low carbon leisure
Angela Druckman and Birgitta Gatersleben
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to address the question: which leisure activities are relatively low
carbon and conducive to high levels of subjective wellbeing? Underlying this question is the premise that to
combat climate change, carbon emissions must be radically reduced. Technological change alone will not be
sufficient: lifestyles must also change. Whereas mainstream strategies generally address the challenge of
reducing carbon emissions through reviewing consumption, approaching it through the lens of how we use
our time, in particular, leisure time, may be a promising complementary avenue.
Design/methodology/approach –The paper brings together three areas of research that are hitherto
largely unlinked: subjective wellbeing/happiness studies, studies on how we use our time and studies on
low-carbon lifestyles.
Findings –The paper shows that low-carbon leisure activities conducive to high subjective wellbeing include
social activities such as spending time in the home with family and friends, and physical activities that involve
challenge such as partaking in sports. However, depending how they are done, some such activities may
induce high carbon emissions, especially through travel. Therefore, appropriate local infrastructure, such as
local sports and community centres, is required, along with facilities for active travel. Policymaking developed
from a time-use perspective would encourage investment to support this.
Originality/value –Win–win opportunities for spending leisure time engaged in activities conducive to high
subjective wellbeing in low carbon ways are identified. This is done by bringing three research topics together
in a novel way.
Keywords Leisure, Sustainability, Flow, Carbon emissions, Carbon footprint
Paper type Viewpoint
1. Introduction
Climate change is, arguably, the greatest threat to current western lifestyles, and in 2015, 195
nations adopted the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate agreement to put the world
on track to tackle the problem (European Commission, 2016)[1]. To achieve the agreed goal to
limit global warming to well below 2°C will require radical reductions in carbon emissions, and
while advances in technology undoubtedly have an important part to play, technological change
alone will not be sufficient (Capstick et al., 2014; Gough, 2017; Jackson, 2017). Lifestyles will
also need to change substantially, particularly those in affluent societies: this is likely to mean that
consumption and consumption growth are themselves curtailed. While this may be an enormous
challenge for many reasons, it does not necessarily mean that individual wellbeing will be
adversely affected. Evidence shows that, after a certain point, there is no strong link between an
individual’s carbon emissions and subjective wellbeing (Andersson et al., 2014). This invites the
prospect that that we could live better by consuming less and emitting less (Jackson, 2005).
An important component of lifestyles is how we use our time: whereas mainstream strategies
generally address the challenge of reducing carbon emissions through reviewing consumption,
approaching it through the lens of changes in time use may be a promising complementary
avenue (Røpke and Godskesen, 2007; Wiedenhofer et al., 2018). This is for two key reasons.
First, different uses of time generally have different types of consumption associated with them,
and it is consumption that gives rise to carbon emissions. Second, the way in which people
Received 25 April 2018
Revised 8 October 2018
27 November 2018
19 December 2018
Accepted 19 December 2018
© Angela Druckman and Birgitta
Gatersleben. Published by
Emerald Publishing Limited. This
article is published under the
Creative Commons Attribution (CC
BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may
reproduce, distribute, translate and
create derivative works of this
article ( for both commercial and
non-commercial purposes),
subject to full attribution to the
original publication and authors.
The full terms of this licence may
be seen at http://
creativecommons.org/licences/by/
4.0/legalcode
Angela Druckman and
Birgitta Gatersleben are both
based at the Centre for the
Understanding of Sustainable
Prosperity, University of Surrey,
Guildford, UK.
DOI 10.1108/JPMH-04-2018-0024 VOL. 18 NO. 2 2019, pp. 85-93, Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1746-5729
j
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC MENTALHEALTH
j
PAG E 85
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