Chapter 4. Understanding of sustainability in general

Respondents’ understanding of sustainability in general was assessed with four closed-ended questions with multiple choice answers. One of the answers for each question was more closely aligned with official sustainability definitions, e.g., those stemming from the Brundtland report (WCED, 1987) and UN/SDGs described in the introduction, and is, thus, highlighted in italics in the tables below.

Tables 10 to 13 below show the frequencies for each answer per question.

Most respondents per country perceived sustainability as being about ‘the fair share of resources between us, other people, and the people after us’, except in Denmark where half of those asked reported that in their view sustainability is about ‘achieving the circular green transition and innovating new technologies’. This latter view of sustainability was relatively common in Finland as well. On the other hand, few stated that sustainability is about ‘treating animals with respect’ (Table 10).

Table 10. Sustainability perceived meanings

Q2.1. If someone would tell you what sustainability means … to which of these explanations do you agree most?
	Denmark	Finland	Norway	Sweden	Lithuania	Latvia	Estonia
Sustainability is about the fair share of resources between us, other people, and the people after us	46% a	50% a	61% b	61% b	67% b	68% b	63% b
Sustainability is about achieving the circular green transition and innovating new technologies	50% a	45% a, b	37% b, c	35% c	32% c	29% c	36% c
Sustainability is about treating animals with respect	4% a, b, c, d	5% c, d	2% a, b, c, d, e	5% b, d	2% a, e	3% a, b, c, d, e	1% e
Notes. Percentage of respondents that selected the answer. Only one answer could be selected. In bold the highest percentage per country. In italics the answer that is closest to the definitions of sustainability. Each letter denotes a Country whose column proportions do not differ significantly from each other at the .05 level (Chi-square test in Crosstabs, Pearson Chi-Square= 124.6, df=12, sig.<.001).

Across countries, most respondents associated sustainability with the pair of words ‘environmentally-friendly, healthy’. The percentage of respondents making this association was highest in Denmark and Lithuania (but similar to Sweden), whereas it was the lowest in Finland and Norway (but similar to Estonia). The second most common association overall was with ‘circular, innovative’. This was more common in Norway, Finland, Estonia and Denmark, and least common in Lithuania and Latvia. Finally, fewer respondents considered sustainability to fit best with the word pair ‘safe, fair’. This was most common in Latvia and least common in Denmark (Table 11).

Table 11. Word pairs that are perceived to fit best with sustainability

Q2.2 Which of the following words fit best to what you think sustainability is?
	Denmark	Finland	Norway	Sweden	Lithuania	Latvia	Estonia
Environmentally-friendly, healthy	65% a	45% b	46% b	62% a, c	68% a	56% c, d	48% b, d
Safe, fair	5% a	17% b	16% b	12% b	17% b	26% c	15% b
Circular, innovative	30% a, b, c	38% c, d	39% d	27% b	15% e	19% e	38% a, c, d
Notes. Percentage of respondents that selected the answer. Only one answer could be selected. In bold the highest percentage per country. In italics the answer that is closest to the definitions of sustainability. Each letter denotes a Country whose column proportions do not differ significantly from each other at the .05 level (Chi-square test in Crosstabs, Pearson Chi-Square= 270.4, df=12, sig.<.001)

The majority of respondents across countries perceived that sustainability is when ‘all current people´s lifestyle allows all children´s children to have a similar lifestyle’. This was most frequent in Latvia (but similar to Estonia) and least frequent in Norway (but similar to Finland and Sweden). The perception that sustainability is when ‘the way we live could be how everybody else on the planet lives’ was more common in Norway, Sweden and Finland as opposed to the other countries. Whereas the perception that sustainability is when ‘we live the simple way our grandparents did’ was more common in Lithuania, Denmark and Estonia (but similar to Latvia), although overall it was the least frequent of the three answer options (Table 12).

Table 12. Sustainability description perception

Q2.3 How would you end the sentence, if you would want to find a good lay-person description of sustainability? Sustainability is when …
	Denmark	Finland	Norway	Sweden	Lithuania	Latvia	Estonia
we live the simple way our grandparents did	18% a	8% b	9% b	7% b	18% a	12% a, b	17% a
the way we live could be how everybody else on the planet lives	13% a	29% b	37% b	31% b	14% a	9% a, c	6% c
all current people´s lifestyle allows all children´s children to have a similar lifestyle	69% a, b	63% b, c	55% c	62% b, c	68% b	79% d	76% a, d
Notes. Percentage of respondents that selected the answer. Only one answer could be selected. In bold the highest percentage per country. In italics the answer that is closest to the definitions of sustainability. Each letter denotes a Country whose column proportions do not differ significantly from each other at the .05 level (Chi-square test in Crosstabs, Pearson Chi-Square= 376, df=12, sig.<.001)

Most respondents in all countries except Denmark understand sustainability as being about ‘Make every decision that we make relate to the welfare and well-being of the future generation to come’, whereas in Denmark this came second. This view was more prevalent in the Baltic countries as opposed to the Nordic countries. The expression ‘We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them’ was seen by most in Denmark as reflecting sustainability, but it was also common in the other Nordic countries. In the Baltic countries it was less prevalent compared to the Nordic countries, with fewest respondents in Lithuania seeing sustainability as reflected by this expression (Table 13).

Table 13. Sustainability expressions perception

Q2.4 Which of these sayings best expresses sustainability for you?
	Denmark	Finland	Norway	Sweden	Lithuania	Latvia	Estonia
The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life	8% a, b, c	13% c, d	5% b	8% a, b, c	18% d	11% a, c	13% a, c, d
Make every decision that we make relate to the welfare and well-being of the future generation to come	43% a	48% a	51% a	50% a	73% b	68% b	70% b
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them	49% a	40% b	44% a, b	42% a, b	9% c	21% d	17% d
Notes. Percentage of respondents that selected the answer. Only one answer could be selected. In bold the highest percentage per country. In italics the answer that is closest to the definitions of sustainability. Each letter denotes a Country whose column proportions do not differ significantly from each other at the .05 level (Chi-square test in Crosstabs, Pearson Chi-Square= 445.4, df=12, sig.<.001)

Overall, the Nordic-Baltic respondents are familiar with elements of sustainability definitions, such as ensuring fair share of resources between us and future generations, our lifestyle should allow future generations to have a similar lifestyle or environmentally friendly and health aspects. On the other hand, few respondents emphasise the safe and fair elements of sustainability definitions. Across the Nordic countries there is a stronger belief that we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them, as opposed to the Baltic countries. There are some country differences in respondents’ understanding of sustainability, however, the Nordic-Baltic countries are similar in respondents’ understanding of several elements of sustainability definitions.