Sustainable Consumption & Social Justice in an Urbanizing World

The College of Social Science and Humanities (CSSH) and the School of Public Policy & Urban Affairs (SPPUA) at Northeastern University will host the fourth international conference of the Sustainable Consumption Research and Action Initiative, SCORAI from June 10-12th. This international conference will convene scholars and practitioners to focus on sustainable consumption as it relates to urban issues and social equity. GRI’s Director of Strategic Research Collaborations, Jennie Stephens, will co-chair the conference with Frances Fahy from the National University of Ireland. For more information, or to register, visit the official event website: cssh.northeastern.edu/scorai2020

After careful consideration, SCORAI will transition to a fully virtual conference due to COVID-19. The opportunity to transition to a fully digital conference format that will reduce our collective consumption while preserving vitally important sharing of ideas and some social networking. The conference sessions will be accessible to all who register – all that is needed is access to high-speed internet connection. Creative ideas are being developed to preserve a sense of open discourse and celebration of community as SCORAI moves to a virtual format.

With this virtual format, the conference will now be accessible to more participants. Registration is now open. The conference registration fee is $120 for regular registration and $50 for students and other low-income participants.

The theme of the conference is “Sustainable Consumption and Social Justice in an Urbanizing World” and will host 7 international Keynote presentations throughout the Conference to provide cutting edge perspectives. Opening the conference on

• Day 1 (Wednesday June 10th) will host Dr Sherilyn MacGregor (University of Manchester, UK) and Aaron Tanaka (Center for Economic Democracy, USA).
• Day 2 (Thursday June 11th ) will host Anna Coote (New Economics Foundation, London), Prof Arnold Tukker (Leiden University, The Netherlands) and Dr. Emily Kawano (U.S. Solidarity Economy Network).
• Day 3 (Friday June 12th) will host Prof Peter Victor (York University, Canada) and Prof Barbara Muraca’s (Oregon State University, USA).

In addition to the keynotes there are multiple concurrent sessions with researchers and practitioners presenting on a wide range of topics connecting sustainable consumption and social justice. The full conference program is available here.

What is SCORAI?
SCORAI (Sustainable Consumption Research and Action Initiative), founded in 2008, is an international knowledge network of researchers and practitioners committed to advancing sustainability by focusing on societal patterns of consumption. SCORAI recognizes that technological innovation alone is insufficient to achieve sustainability; social and institutional changes are required to reduce consumption of materials and energy. SCORAI’s mission is to facilitate a transition to a more sustainable society by generating and disseminating knowledge and by supporting policy and grassroots initiatives.

Previous SCORAI Conferences

• 1st International SCORAI Conference: Clark University, June 2013
• 2nd International SCORAI Conference: University of Maine, June 2016
• 3rd International SCORAI Conference: Copenhagen Business School, June 2018