Each year, BECC brings sought-after speakers to engage participants on diverse topics of interest. We are honored to have economist and bestselling author Juliet B. Schor as our 2020 keynote speaker. Dr. Schor will discuss the concepts of the sharing economy and sustainable consumption.
BECC features plenary sessions, lighting presentations, and virtual poster sessions covering over 18 topical areas requested by past BECC attendees. Our speakers are selected by a panel of expert reviewers. New research is emphasized. For five hours a day, over four days, you can click and choose your sessions. Not what you want? Jump to another session. Miss a session? Watch it "on-demand" on your schedule.
We challenged our talented, creative, and popular social committee to make sure that attendees connect and engage with thought leaders, sustainability advocates, funders, program developers, technical experts, policymakers, and an ever-growing BECC family while having fun. Join us in 2020!
The sharing economy was launched in the late 2000s with the promise that it would bring lower eco and carbon footprints. Consumers would share rides, tools, lodging, and food. Majorities of Americans believed the promise, which lent a “green halo” to the sector. A decade later, it’s clear that the biggest platforms, such as Airbnb and Uber, have had negative impacts on carbon footprints, by inducing private transport and additional travel. But what about more genuine forms of sharing? If consumers did deploy resources more efficiently and act in more generous ways to others, can that be a foundation for sustainability? In this talk, Dr. Schor will report on a decade of research on the “sharing economy,” including both the large, corporate platforms and smaller community initiatives, and their implications for energy and climate.
Juliet B. Schor is a Sociology Professor at Boston College. She has studied trends in working time, consumerism, the relationship between work and family, women’s issues and economic inequality, and concerns about climate change in the environment. She is the author of:
The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure, Basic Books (1992)
Sustainable Economy for the 21st Century, (1995, 1999)
The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don’t Need, (1999)
Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture, (2005)
Plenitude: The New Economics of True Wealth, Penguin Press (2010)
Toward a Plenitude Economy (2015)
In light of current events, now is a good time to ask not just what behavior is being changed but who is involved in designing solutions. By tracing the history of a ten-year documentary film project on food systems and climate, it’s possible to see a process in which power shifts from those behind the camera to those in front of it. Raj will share clips from the film and talk through the process of making it, lessons learned, and implications for storytelling and our broader efforts toward co-creation of knowledge and solutions to environmental problems.
Now in its 14th year, the Behavior Energy and Climate Change conference brings together social scientists, practitioners, utilities, academics, governments, businesses, and non-profits to share and disseminate best practices and research to encourage behavior change for energy and carbon reduction. Come present your work and learn from others about innovative methods, practices and technologies, how to evaluate these programs, understand why individuals and groups change, and make these transitions in fair and equitable ways.
