Consum Psychol Rev. 2018;1–12. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/arcp | 1 © 2018 Society for Consumer Psychology 1 | INTRODUCTION The world is facing many environmental problems, and people are responsible for most of them. For example, the number of natural disasters has increased significantly, drastic changes in weather patterns are obvious, glaciers are melting, and global tempera- tures continue to rise, largely from greenhouse gases produced by humans (Cramer et al., 2014). Greenhouse gases largely consist of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Humans have in- creased carbon dioxide concentration by more than 33% through deforestation, urbanization, manufacturing, auto emissions, and burning of fossil fuels. The use of fertilizers in the production of cotton and agricultural products increases nitrous oxide. Even post-consumption disposal decisions to trash or recycle affect greenhouse gas emissions. The decomposition of waste in land- fills increases methane levels (methane is a far more active green- house gas than carbon dioxide), not to mention the net increase of producing a product from new materials in comparison with recycled materials. Consumption, therefore, is inherently linked to sustainability because every decision of what to buy, how much to buy, how much to consume, and how to dispose has a direct impact on the environment and future generations, and the cumulative effect of each individual consumer’s consumption is devastating. Most people want to live and make decisions to satisfy their present needs without compromising the environment. From this perspective, environmental or sustainable behavior is best defined by its impact: the extent to which decisions are driven with the in- tention to benefit or limit the impact on the environment (Stern, 2000). Yet most, if not all, people find themselves engaging in behav- iors that have negative environmental impacts. Consumer psychol- ogy researchers have investigated why people engage in sustainable behaviors and why others engage in unsustainable behaviors despite having environmental concerns. Understanding the psychology be- hind environmental or sustainable behaviors is central to a sustain- able future and widespread behavior change. However, despite its obvious importance and the substantive impact of research in this domain, knowledge of sustainable behavior and decision-making is scant and significantly lags behind other areas in consumer psychology. Received: 5 September 2018 | Revised: 22 October 2018 | Accepted: 24 October 2018 DOI: 10.1002/arcp.1045 REVIEW Sustainable consumer behavior Remi Trudel Questrom School of Business, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts Correspondence Remi Trudel, Questrom School of Business, Boston University, Boston, MA. Email: rtrudel@bu.edu Abstract Most agree that climate change is a serious threat. It has increasingly been recog- nized by scientists and policymakers as a consumer behavior issue: What, how, and how much people consume directly impacts the environment. Sustainable consumer behavior is behavior that attempts to satisfy present needs while simultaneously benefiting or limiting environmental impact. Moreover, understanding sustainable consumer behavior is central to any paradigm shifts in how society approaches envi- ronmental problems. This article summarizes and organizes research from the past 20 years and explores the psychological drivers of sustainable consumer behavior. Four areas of scientific inquiry that have dominated research agendas are identified: (a) cognitive barriers, (b) the self, (c) social influence, and (d) product characteristics. The objective is to provide a valuable research tool that stimulates additional research in the area of sustainable consumer behavior. KEYWORDS behavioral economics, decision-making, environmental consumer behavior, green consumer behavior, prosocial behavior, sustainability