Avoid-Shift-Improve (A-S-I) (German: ''vermeiden'', '' verlagern'', ''verbessern'') is an approach to
environmental sustainability
Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...
that seeks to increase efficiency by modifying consumer behavior. Though it originated in transportation studies, it has since been used to apply to other ways that consumers use natural resources.
History
Avoid-Shift-Improve (A-S-I) was first developed in Germany in the early 1990s as ''vermeiden, verlagern, verbessern''. The term was first published in a 1994 report by the
German Parliament's Enquete Commission.
Method
As denoted by the name, Avoid-Shift-Improve has three avenues. It seeks to modify the behavior of consumers rather than producers to make
consumer choice
The theory of consumer choice is the branch of microeconomics that relates preferences to consumption expenditures and to consumer demand curves. It analyzes how consumers maximize the desirability of their consumption (as measured by their pr ...
s more environmentally sustainable.
*Avoid, also called reduce: The consumer chooses to use none of or less of a resource.
*Shift, also called maintain: The consumer switches from a less sustainable method of consumption to a more sustainable one. If the more sustainable option is already in use, the consumer maintains its use.
*Improve: The consumer increases the resource efficiency of an existing good or service.
In the context of transportation efficiency, "Avoid" could mean consolidating or eliminating vehicle trips; "Shift" could include using a bicycle instead of an automobile; and "Improve" could include trading in a gas-powered personal vehicle for a hybrid or electric one.
The three routes are considered hierarchical, with avoiding consumption the most impactful, and thus, most important priority.
Application
Though developed for use in transportation, A-S-I has been applied to other consumer sectors, including food, homes, and energy. Technological and entrepreneurial developments can create more A-S-I opportunities, such as
smart thermostats that raise and lower interior temperatures based on human occupancy and activity patterns, or
meal kit
A meal kit is a subscription service–foodservice business model where a company sends customers pre-portioned and sometimes partially prepared food ingredients and recipes to prepare home-cooked meals. Services that send pre-cooked meals are ...
s that can reduce
food waste
The causes of food going uneaten are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during food production, production, food processing, processing, Food distribution, distribution, Grocery store, retail and food service sales, and Social clas ...
by sending pre-apportioned ingredients.
See also
*
Transport ecology
*
Waste hierarchy
The waste management hierarchy, waste hierarchy, or "hierarchy of waste management options", is a tool#Non-material usage, tool used in the evaluation of processes that Environmental protection, protect the environment alongside resource consu ...
*
Net zero emissions
Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net ze ...
References
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Sustainability and environmental management