Who determines everyday sustainability: A case study in Southern Chile

Abstract

Sustainability discourses have long been present in Southern Chile, especially in connection with nature tourism. In the meantime, the keyword sustainability is omnipresent and has become part of everyday life. The fact that sustainability has become an everyday topic depends, on the one hand, on global challenges and the discourses that follow them, and, on the other hand, its dominance is strongly influenced by local discourses, which are in particular led by individuals of the civil society. As is the case in many places around the world, these individuals carry the topic into the local society, exert considerable influence on the local understanding of sustainability and thus also on the diffusion of alternative practices and consumption.

In this case study, it was precisely such individuals who were the focus of the investigation. The interviewed individuals are not only to be seen as spokespersons for local sustainability communities, but at the same time as founders and employees of companies or organisations that have everyday sustainability at the core of their business. Sustainable business models and sustainable practises are already well researched, but in Latin-American sustainability research there is still a research gap regarding the processes that shape the understanding of sustainability and lead to action. Therefore, the aim of the case study was to use narrative interviews to reconstruct and uncover the positions, experiences and beliefs of the leaders of the local sustainability discourse that constitute enabling elements for socio-ecological change.

By analysing the case study of the sustainability community of two interconnected small towns in Southern Chile, it is possible to discuss the extent to which sustainability is linked to experienced individual privileges in everyday life. The social position of local sustainability actors is crucial for the way they understand and disseminate everyday sustainability practices. Beliefs shaped by family background, education and work experience, coupled with experiences from Chilean history, mean that certain individuals on the one hand see a high necessity in the dissemination of sustainable lifestyles, and on the other hand are able to afford these lifestyles themselves and to carry them on as a business or work content. It also becomes clear that those actively involved in this sustainability community exchange ideas and jointly develop forces to not only establish their ideas on the private market, but also to carry them into local politics.