An Empirical Study to Understand Whether Sustainable Consumers Have Sustainable Behaviours

Sustainability and the circular economy (CE) are issues of increasing interest to governments, investors, industry, and civil society, and for this reason, the implementation of a business model for circularity and/or sustainability is becoming crucial for achieving and maintaining a competitive advantage for various organizations. In this context, consumers play a crucial role in reducing the environmental impact of business processes through their choices and behaviours (van Bussel et al, J Clean Prod 341:130904, 2022). However, even though sustainability issues and the circular economy have now widely involved consumers, making them seemingly well aware of how their behavior can have a direct impact on the environment, the percentage of people who accompany this awareness with truly sustainable behaviour and who are therefore willing to embrace the goal of “saving the planet” is small (D’Arco, Marino, Transform Gov 16:185–202, 2022). Through an empirical survey, the research aims to understand the actual level of consumer awareness of sustainability issues, with a focus on the environmental dimension, and to analyse the main characteristics that distinguish a genuinely sustainable consumer, through his behaviour, from a less sustainable consumer.