Product adoption. Circular economy.
Effective actions for change.
Products wouldn’t exist without consumers. For most durable products that consume energy in some way, the environmental impacts are greatest when it is used (aka. “Use Phase” in LCA). Our research group is interested in how to make less impactful products as well as the actual use of those products by consumers.
I’m interested in how the exact same product can have very different environmental impacts when adopted by people with varying characteristics and behaviors. I’m also interested in how new products or technologies can change consumption, and how to incorporate those behavior changes into LCA.
“It’s not clear that just because people want single-use plastics to go away, that they’re actually willing to change their behavior in order to support the models to make it happen”
–NPR Marketplace interview
Current Projects
The Influence of Consumer Characteristics on Environmental Impacts
What is the environmental benefit of a “green” product when consumed by different kinds of consumers?
Sustainable Consumption
How can individuals most effectively reduce our impact?
Circular Economy and Sustainable Production
How can product systems be designed for sustainability?
Featured Research Papers
Full list of publications on Google Scholar
Influence of Consumer Behavior on Environmental Impacts
The need for realistic behavior modeling in life cycle assessment
The effect of product price on life cycle inventory results (PDF)
The impact of self-driving cars depends on adoption patterns (PDF)
The Influence of Household Refrigerator Ownership on Diets (PDF)
Circular Economy and Sustainable Production
Reducing CO2 emissions from US steel consumption by 70% (PDF)
An applied analysis of the recyclability of electric vehicle battery packs (PDF)
Media Releases
Bottle Deposit Systems
Bringing Michigan’s bottle deposit system into the 21st century
Carbon Capture and Use
What products are best suited for carbon capture technologies?
Misperceptions of plastic
Mythbusting: 5 common misperceptions surrounding the environmental impacts of single-use plastics
Reusable alternatives
Is reusable always best? Comparing environmental impacts of reusable vs. single-use kitchenware
Refrigeration and the Cold Chain
Just chillin’: Is a refrigerated food chain a net win or loss for climate emissions?
Toxic releases from fracking vs. coal
Electricity from shale gas vs. coal: Lifetime toxic releases from coal much higher