Dr Elena Dawkins
IFS, University of Surrey
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Elena is a Future Fellow in Sustainability Science at the University of Surrey. She investigates sustainable consumption, looking at systemic changes and policy interventions to deliver more sustainable production-to-consumption systems. She is interested in what locks society into unsustainable behaviours and what a fair transition to more sustainable lifestyles would mean for different groups in society. In a research programme on cultural shifts for sustainability, she investigates how we might move to Sustainability-As-Usual. This project investigates sustainable consumption from the perspective of wider societal shifts to reconnect humans with nature, move away from individual competition and prioritise genuine wellbeing over the commodification of human desires. Elena collaborates with local and national governments, government agencies and business for both research and implementation of practical solutions for sustainable consumption in practice.
Prior to joining the University of Surrey, Elena worked at the Stockholm Environment Institute since 2007.
Selected Publications
2023, Dawkins E, André K, Leander E, Axelsson K and Gerger Swartling Å (2023) Policy for sustainable consumption – an assessment of Swedish municipalities.
Front. Sustain. 4:1265733. doi:10.3389/frsus.2023.1265733
2022, Dawkins E., Strambo C., Xylia M., Grah, R., Gong, J., Axelsson K., Maltias A., Who is most at risk of losing out from low-carbon transition in the food and transport sectors in Sweden? Equity considerations from a consumption perspective. Energy Research & Social Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2022.102881.
2021, Ran, Y., Nilsson, A., Dawkins, E., Grah, R., Vanhuyse, F., Engström, E., Lambe, F. Information as an enabler of sustainable food choices: a behavioural approach to understanding consumer decision-making. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 31, 642-656: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2022.03.026
2021, Dawkins, E., Kløcker Larsen, R., André, K., Axelsson, K. Do footprint indicators support learning about sustainable consumption among Swedish public officials? Ecological Indicators 120, 106846. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106846
2019, Dawkins, E., André, K., Axelsson, K., Benoist, L., Swartling, Å.G., Persson, Å. Advancing sustainable consumption at the local government level: A literature review. J. Clean. Prod. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.05.176