Samenvatting

Given the increasing importance of sustainability as a part of one’s daily routine and life in countries in the European Union, there is a need to establish a basic understanding of the attitudes, behaviours and culture among older people. This, in turn, should lead to better policies which help alleviate the effects of the current cost-of-living and energy crises and make our societies more sustainable and resilient. Despite the growing awareness of sustainability amongst the general public, a conceptual model of a sustainable lifestyle among older people is missing. The existing reports from the WHOprovide some guidance on how to move along, as they touch upon items that are related to sustainability such as walkability, proximity to transportation stops and emergency preparedness, and highlight the need to improve the fit between people’s needs and the environments in which they live.
Any effort to come up with such a conceptual model would have to acknowledge that energy conservation and sustainable behaviours among our older population, as was shown by Bennetts et al., are not an integral part of all older people’s lifestyles and day-to-day choices. Also, following Dikken et al.,many seemingly sustainable choices may be made purely out of financial necessity. New models and policies would have to acknowledge that in times of declining purchase power, the majority of older people living on the edge make sacrifices in terms of energy use in the broadest sense of the word due to financial constraints and not out of concern for the environment.