Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI
Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI

Project

Time rebound, time wealth, and sustainable consumption (ReZeitKon)

Despite the increasing application of efficient (allegedly) 'time-saving' technology in private households and at the workplace, there is increasing evidence that a lot of people in modern societies experience time scarcity. This paradox is interpreted as the time rebound effect. The concept of time wealth goes beyond calculable time budgets and includes the dimensions of life pace, predictability and synchronization of activities, time sovereignty, and free, unplanned time. Since all everyday activities have an impact on the environment, the question arises as to the environmental impact of time-efficient practices, the time rebound effect, and changes in time wealth.

The ReZeitKon project was the first to examine the connections between time-saving practices, the reallocation of saved time budgets, time wealth, and sustainable consumption in a conceptual, empirical, and forward-looking way.

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The aim of the project was to shed light on the question of whether time-efficient practices and changes in time wealth can act as levers for reducing environmental impacts. 

The relationship between the central constructs time rebound effect, objective time use, subjective time perception, and sustainability of consumption was investigated empirically with the help of the first comprehensive nationwide survey in three waves, (before during and after the COVID-19 lockdown) and it was simulated prospectively. To this end, a simulation model was developed, calibrated with empirical data, and the effects of three qualitative future scenarios (A »Time is money«,  B »Time is personal time«, and C »Time is externally controlled time« on CO2-emissions were simulated quantitatively.

Fraunhofer ISI (Lead Department of Foresight) drafted, developed, validated and runs a simulation model to assess the time rebound effect and its associated environmental impacts of consumption under the conditions of time scarcity and time affluence:

  • Environmentally Extended Input-Output-Models for the national economy (EE-IO) with extrapolation of the environmental effects in Germany taking into consideration the sample of the representative survey
  • Prospective simulation of the environmental impacts of time-efficient practices, time rebound effects and time wealth changes with the help of a system dynamics model

The time rebound effects constructed and anticipated this way provided insights for the realization of novel technologies and practices as well as additional time policy measures to reduce carbon emissions.

The research project Time rebound, time wealth, and sustainable consumption (ReZeitKon) provided new empirical evidence on todays and future relationships between time-related and environment-related variables. Three key findings stand out:

  • The three waves of the representative survey before, during, and after the COVID-19 lockdown in spring 2021 provided empirical access to the effects of this quasi-experimental intervention on everyday time. Before the lockdown, there were significant discrepancies between desired and actual sleep duration (sleep deprivation) and between contractual and actual working hours (blurring of work boundaries). During the lockdown, people slept longer, reduced their mobility and social contacts, and prepared more meals themselves. After the lockdown, conditions returned to what they had been before, with the exception of the substitution of direct social contacts for digital media use.
  • The behavioral patterns from the representative survey led to the formulation of three qualitative future scenarios for 2040. They differ significantly in terms of everyday time mode: Scenario A: Time is money, Scenario B: Time is personal time, and Scenario C: Time is externally controlled time, each of which is associated with different environmental effects.
  • Quantification of the future scenarios in the simulation model showed that the actual time rebound effect ranges from “negligible” to low single-digit percentages. However, there is an 11% difference in CO2-emissions between the scenarios. Time policy therefore has significant decarbonization potential because activity patterns with their respective CO2-footprints are interwoven in time.

The Foresight Department at Fraunhofer ISI now has a versatile system dynamics simulation model from ReZeitKon that translates changes in everyday time budgets into CO2-emissions. The modeling of everyday life in ReZeitKon is a time-related entry to integrated socio-ecological everyday life modeling.

The research project succeeded in bringing together the time research and sustainability research communities at a joint final conference. At the same time, there is a clear need to systematically and more effectively consider the environmental-policy implications of time policy, as people's everyday time use patterns reflect their lived reality to a greater extent than individual areas of activity such as mobility or nutrition.

Numerous results from ReZeitKon are published on the project website.

Empirical findings from the representative survey on the correlations between time spent online, exposure to digital advertising, and consumption levels have contributed elements to an Attention Theory 2.0 for digital platforms:

Klobasa, M.; Pelka, S.; Martin, N.; Erdmann, L.; Gutknecht, R.; Heimberger, H.; Lerch, C.; Eberling, E.; Brugger, H.; Mandel, T. (2021): Plattformbasierte Datenökonomie: Ein strategisches Eigenforschungsprojekt des Fraunhofer-Instituts für System- und Innovationsforschung ISI [in German only]. Final report, Fraunhofer ISI report. https://publica-rest.fraunhofer.de/server/api/core/bitstreams/a641cbd6-2ab7-4d92-bd25-b51f15a90ab6/content.

These publications originate from employees of Fraunhofer ISI:

Duration

09/2018 − 08/2021

Client

  • German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), social-ecological research scheme (SÖF) on the topic »Rebound effects from a social-ecological perspective«

Partners

  • TU Berlin, Division of Economic Education and Sustainable Consumption (ALÖNK)
  • Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI, Karlsruhe
  • Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Institute for Environmental Communication