Efficiency, sufficiency and consistency in sustainable development: Reassessing strategies for reaching overarching goals

Humanity faces a dilemma: The satisfaction of human needs gravely endangers the natural basis of life. As potential strategies for resolving this dilemma, we revisit the discourse on efficiency, sufficiency and consistency. Although there has been much discussion about the three strategies in recent decades, there is a lack of a clear distinction between the strategies and little understanding regarding their respective impact on both the environment and human needs satisfaction. This leads to persistent disagreement about which strategies are best suited to pursue in the short, medium and long term. In this article, we resolve this problem on a conceptual level through a graphical classification of the three strategies according to their effects on consumption levels and environmental impact. This framework contributes to the literature on energy transition and the circular economy as key paths to sustainability by showing the limited effects of efficiency and sufficiency strategies over the long run in contrast to the promise of the consistency strategy as a systemic change.