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Participation in Green Consumer Policies: Deliberative Democracy under Wrong Conditions?

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Abstract

In policy debates about reducing environmental and social harms, political consumerism is often called for by actors from a broad political spectrum. This paper examines traits of deliberative democracy in cases where instruments of political consumerism (eco-labelling, certificates and standards) are developed. The empirical cases are processes surrounding eco-labelled, standardised forestry, food and electricity in Sweden. In green forestry certification, deliberative processes have taken place close to deliberative democracy ideals. Yet, these processes have been made possible because of equal power levels, although power, according to deliberative theory, should be irrelevant. In organic food labelling, a smothering consensus climate has enabled deliberation, although such a policy condition is at odds with certain deliberative democracy ideals. In electricity labelling, its deliberative processes were embraced by everyone, although the problem scope was narrowly defined, whilst fundamental problems were not addressed. If deliberative democracy researchers become involved in critical frame reflection in consumer-oriented policy making, changes can be made that help reduce environmental harms and strengthen public engagement in political consumerism.

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Acknowledgements

This article is based on research projects financed by the Swedish Research Council (2005-1720), the Swedish Research council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (2005-1014 Programme leader: Karin Bäckstrand), and The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (LETS, Programme Leader: Lars J. Nilsson, Dnr 08/191; V-179-08 ). I thank them all. Data from the cases of organic food and food certification have been collected by Magnus Boström, for which I am very grateful. The first draft of the article has been developed for a worksshop at SCORE in Stockholm in May 2007, Deliberation and Democratic Governance. I would like to thank all participants for their valuable comments.

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  1. Research Policy Institute, Lund University, PO BOX 117, Lund, SE-21 00, Sweden

    Mikael Klintman

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  1. Mikael Klintman
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Correspondence to Mikael Klintman.

Appendices

Appendix: Abbreviations, Interviews and Organisations

FSC:

Forest Stewardship Council

KRAV:

The umbrella organisation controlling the main eco-label of food in Sweden

LRF:

The Swedish Farmers’ National Association

SSNC:

The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation

Interviews

Claes Hedenström at Vattenfall, Sept. 24, 2004

Marie Hagberg, October 13, 2004. She is in charge of environmental issues at the Swedish Railways (SJ)

Johan Kling den 14/9, responsible for issues of electric distribution and transport at the SSNC

Peter Bennich, Sept. 21, 2004, at the Swedish Consumer Agency

Tord Niklasson, Sept. 20, project leader of the system of the electricity certificate at the Swedish Energy Agency

Peter Chudi at Sydkraft, Sept. 17, 2004

Inge Johansson, former representative of the Swedish forestry and wood union, see Boström 2002: 21

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Klintman, M. Participation in Green Consumer Policies: Deliberative Democracy under Wrong Conditions?. J Consum Policy 32, 43–57 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10603-009-9094-9

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