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Empowering online consumers for a green change

ECOnsumer

In our modern society, sustainable consumption is at the heart of an urgent challenge. Consumers who shop online are often faced with a lack of information that makes it difficult for them to make environmentally conscious decisions. This lack inhibits the transition to a sustainable lifestyle and hinders efforts to protect the environment and conserve resources. To address this challenge, it is essential to develop educational resources that enable e-consumers to acquire green skills and make sustainable choices throughout the purchasing process. Only by educating and empowering consumers on a large scale can we pave the way towards a more sustainable future.

Goals and contents

As part of the ECOnsumer project, the project team has set itself an ambitious goal, aligned with the objectives of the EU Green Deal, of reducing CO2 emissions in the area of consumption in the long term. It aims to develop tools that support individuals and also educational institutions in making the entire purchasing process more environmentally friendly. This is of fundamental importance for the future of the European Union and the achievement of its sustainable development goals by 2050.

The project team will develop a comprehensive training course, a toolbox of gamified resources and a collection of green apps for sustainable consumption to promote new approaches and ideas for a more sustainable purchasing process. This course will cover the entire purchasing process and be based on active learning. By closing the knowledge gap in the area of green e-consumption, the aim is to promote skills and abilities that are essential for a sustainable future. It will strengthen consumers' systemic and critical thinking to empower them to evaluate sustainability information.

The toolbox of gamified resources is designed to supplement the training course with interactive, gamified and entertaining materials. This holistic learning experience is intended to inspire a change in consumer behavior to make a positive contribution to sustainability. In addition, a collection of green apps for sustainable consumption will be created as part of the ECOnsumer project to help consumers make environmentally conscious online purchases. This approach will help raise awareness of sustainable consumption and promote the use of mobile learning apps and, in turn, the adoption of environmentally friendly behaviors.

Project Results

The ECOnsumer training resources have been developed under a Creative Commons license, which means that they are open and completely free educational resources. They are also developed in an editable and reusable version (Creative Commons logo).

They have been developed from an innovative educational perspective that combines different methods to place people at the center of the training process.

And, of course, they can be used together or independently, including a user guide that facilitates their implementation in different environments and learning settings.

ECOnsumer training resources

The ECOnsumer training course is a course divided into 8 modules that aims to provide consumers with the necessary skills and abilities to implement a sustainable purchasing process. This course includes practical activities and self-assessment tools.

Access Powerpoint Presentations for the course

ECOnsumer training course online

ECOnsumer Toolbox, gamified activities designed and developed to help consumers develop sustainability skills based on the principles of educational gamification.

The ECOnsumer Toolbox consists of a total of 125 activities that are embedded in real-life scenarios, easy to understand, and relate to the entire purchasing process.

ECOnsumer Gamified Resources Toolbox

The FHM team

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Volker Wittberg

Vice Rector Research & International Affairs

Elisa Goldmann MBA

Research Coordinator Entrepreneurship and Sustainability
0521 96655260

Details

01.10.2023 - 30.09.2026

 

250.000 €

 

European Union, ERASMUS+, cooperation partnerships in adult education

 

Applicant and coordinator:

Project partner:

Project Brochure

Newsletter

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