The overall research project (PhD thesis) explores what contribution insights from happiness research could contribute to the current debate on spreading of sustainable lifestyles, especially in western industrialized societies. With this question, the project refers to contemporary discourses on sustainable lifestyles (sufficiency), post-growth, as well as concepts and indices on prosperity and well-being. The work refers to the increasingly relevant argument, that to achieve a sustainable development not only efficiency and consistency are needed, but also more focus on sufficiency is necessary. (Stengel 2011)

Current research shows a clear discrepancy between knowledge and action of individuals in the field of sustainability. An important aspect of this is the fact that sustainable lifestyles are usually connoted with waiver, limitation, loss. In particular, the concept of sufficiency has had negative connotations for long and is still commonly perceived as deprivation in the consumer oriented westen industrial societies.

But recently concepts of sustainable development are more and more often linked to ideas of 'the good life' or well-being, from Gross National Happiness in Buthan to Buen Vivir in Ecuador, from the UN to initiatives in the EU – countries are looking for new indicators to measure well-being beyond material wealth. (Martens 2010; UN 2012)

Empirical research shows that happiness/subjective well-being is connected to a less material lifestyle: enjoying more leisure, taking care of social interactions with friends and family, pursuing artistic interests, engaging in meaningful (and often socially beneficial) work and enjoying nature. (Seligman 2002; Layard 2005; Skidelski 2012)

While well-being therefore appears to be a promising path to sustainability, only few people seem to actively pursue such lifestyle of well-being and opt for a good life alternative to the goods life. Despite the hurdles of influences, temptations and manipulations of the consumer society, taking a deliberate choice for ones lifestyle is possible. Here the question arises: What does it need to pursue well-being? When, where and how do (young) people actually learn about well-being? How can this be connected with Learning for sustainability?

Generally education seems to have put little attention on Happiness at all (Noddings 2003). But in recent years new approaches develop: first schools have introduced 'happiness' as a subject and various educational tool-kits mention life quality and well-being. (O'Brien 2008, 2010)

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), the leading educational concept regarding sustainability, is albeit its focus on skills and capabilities not yet mentioning the topic of well-being. (Overwien 2012) EDS could though be a fertile soil for addressing (individual and global) well-being. As individual well-being is linked with the common good and vice versa, the topic of sustainable development is approached from a different ankle, yet strongly centered in a “happiness based approach”, featuring e.g. a “happiness competence”.

Layard, Richard (2005): Die glückliche Gesellschaft. Martens, Jens (2010): Thinking Adead. Development Models and Indicators of Well-Being Beyong the MDGs. Berlin Noddings, Nel (2003): Happiness and Education. O'Brien, Catherine (2008): Sustainable Happiness: How Happiness studies can contribute to a more sustainable future. In: Canadian Psychology, 2008, Vol. 49, No. 4, S. 290 O'Brien, Catherine (2010): Sustainability, Happiness and Education. Journal of Sustainability Education, Vol. 1, May 2010 Overwien, Bernd (2012): Kompetenzmodelle im Lernbereich globale Entwicklung – Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung. In: Gritschke, Hannah et al. (Hrsg.)(2012): Erkennen, Bewerten, (Fair-)Handeln. Seligman, M. (2002): Authentic Happiness. Seligman, M. et al. (2009): Positive education: positive psychology and classroom interventions. Oxford Review of Education. Vol 35. No 3, pp. 293-311 Skidelsky, R; Skidelsky, E. (2012). How much is enough? Stengel, Oliver (2011): Suffizienz. Die Konsumgesellschaft in der ökologischen Krise. UN (2012): Defining a New Economic Paradigm: The Report of the High-Level Meeting on Wellbeing and Happiness.