Organising the subjects of responsible consumption: Analysing the locus of responsibility for transitions in the UK food sector (2007-2021)

Abstract

This paper considers the phenomenon of responsible consumption, which we approach as an organisational field. In doing so, we contribute analytic guidance for the study of both consumption and responsibility in sustainability transitions. Our analysis draws on three qualitative longitudinal case studies of ostensibly ‘consumer-facing’ policies and initiatives for healthy and sustainable food: carbon labelling, food waste campaigning, and sugar taxation. In each case we explore the mechanisms by which ‘consumers' are responsibilised and trace the effects of these over time. We demonstrate that responsibilisation is a dynamic and ongoing process that cannot be reduced to the unidirectional transfer of responsibilities from organisations to individuals. We also link shifts in the relationships between, and responsibilities of, different actor groups to tangible changes in the configuration of food consumption practices. Taken together, we argue that the enactment of responsible consumption is not contingent on the success of efforts to responsibilise individual consumers. To conclude, we consider the implications of our analysis for theoretical and practical understandings of sustainability transitions.