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Rebound Effects in Practice: An Invitation to Consider Rebound From a Practice Theory Perspective

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  • Sonnberger, Marco
  • Gross, Matthias

Abstract

Rebound effects are the unintended consequences of improvements in energy efficiency. They refer to situations in which efficiency improvements are reduced or even reversed by changes in behavior. In many cases these effects stem from small behavior changes rooted in cultural values or from the interconnectedness of everyday practices. Practice theory has established itself in many social science disciplines, including ecological economics, and its focus on routinized activities in everyday life promises to provide beneficial insights to debates on rebound. Since this has not been done to date, this article aims to fill the gap by offering suggestions as to how practice theory can complement and enhance existing explanations of rebound effects. Drawing on existing practice theory research on energy consumption, we identify and discuss a number of starting points for practice theory-inspired research on rebound effects. These include the pivotal role of distributed agency between humans and non-humans (e.g. technical devices), the co-dependence of practices, the co-evolution of practices with systems of provision, as well as a general trend towards the acceleration of everyday life.

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  • Sonnberger, Marco & Gross, Matthias, 2018. "Rebound Effects in Practice: An Invitation to Consider Rebound From a Practice Theory Perspective," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 14-21.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:154:y:2018:i:c:p:14-21
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.07.013
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    1. Filippo Corsini & Rafael Laurenti & Franziska Meinherz & Francesco Paolo Appio & Luca Mora, 2019. "The Advent of Practice Theories in Research on Sustainable Consumption: Past, Current and Future Directions of the Field," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-19, January.
    2. Monia Niero & Charlotte L. Jensen & Chiara Farné Fratini & Jens Dorland & Michael S. Jørgensen & Susse Georg, 2021. "Is life cycle assessment enough to address unintended side effects from Circular Economy initiatives?," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 25(5), pages 1111-1120, October.
    3. Chris Foulds & Sarah Royston & Thomas Berker & Efi Nakopoulou & Zareen Pervez Bharucha & Rosie Robison & Simone Abram & Branko Ančić & Stathis Arapostathis & Gabriel Badescu & Richard Bull & Jed Cohen, 2022. "An agenda for future Social Sciences and Humanities research on energy efficiency: 100 priority research questions," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-18, December.
    4. David Font Vivanco & Jaume Freire‐González & Ray Galvin & Tilman Santarius & Hans Jakob Walnum & Tamar Makov & Serenella Sala, 2022. "Rebound effect and sustainability science: A review," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 26(4), pages 1543-1563, August.
    5. Guzzo, D. & Walrave, B. & Videira, N. & Oliveira, I.C. & Pigosso, D.C.A., 2024. "Towards a systemic view on rebound effects: Modelling the feedback loops of rebound mechanisms," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    6. Ahmann, Lara & Banning, Maximilian & Lutz, Christian, 2022. "Modeling rebound effects and counteracting policies for German industries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).

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