BE-SHIFT: Reducing energy and material demand while safeguarding quality of life
BE-SHIFT identifies ways for Belgium to reduce energy and material demand while maintaining well-being and working towards climate neutrality by 2050. It focuses on buildings, transport, food and consumer products. By combining behavioural science, citizen engagement, policy analysis and energy-system modelling, the project assesses which sufficiency policies and measures could support these changes.
December 2025 - January 2029
Making sufficiency part of Belgium’s transition to climate neutrality
BE-SHIFT (Belgian Socio-psychological Interventions for Future Transformation) explores how sufficiency can become a practical part of Belgium’s pathways to climate neutrality by 2050. Sufficiency means reducing the need for energy, materials, land, water and other natural resources while safeguarding quality of life and social equity. Achieving climate neutrality requires sustained action beyond current efforts, with greater attention to how resources are used in everyday life.
The project focuses on four priority sectors: shelter and buildings, mobility and transport, nutrition and food, and consumer products. Across these sectors, the project examines how everyday practices, infrastructure and public policies interact to shape resource demand.
From near-term measures to long-term change
The research follows two complementary lines. The first focuses on near-term opportunities, mapping existing sufficiency-related policies and measures and assessing which could be implemented in Belgium while supporting social and economic well-being. The second looks at longer-term transformation, examining what drives behaviour and which conditions and societal changes are needed to build a more sustainable and equitable Belgian society.
Citizen participation and energy-system modelling
Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) leads the citizen assembly process, bringing citizens together to discuss the barriers, opportunities and policy options associated with sufficiency transitions. Together, VITO and ULB explore the social, behavioural and governance conditions that can make these transitions feasible, fair and publicly supported.
Université de Mons (UMONS) leads the energy-system modelling, translating the project’s findings into long-term scenarios. This work assesses how sufficiency measures could affect energy demand, greenhouse gas emissions and Belgium’s pathways towards climate neutrality.
Tools and recommendations for policymakers
BE-SHIFT will deliver a practical knowledge base, a toolkit of actionable policies and measures, and tailored recommendations to help policymakers and stakeholders turn sufficiency into practice across Belgium. These outputs will draw on the assessment of policies and measures, research into behaviour, citizen participation and energy-system modelling.
How VITO contributes to BE-SHIFT
VITO coordinates the project and leads the assessment of impacts across sectors and interventions. Its experts identify and evaluate sufficiency-related policies and measures relevant to Belgium, assess their readiness for implementation and develop a national Policies and Measures (PaMs) database.
VITO also leads the design and implementation of the citizen survey and analyses its results to understand social dynamics, barriers, factors that support change and levels of acceptance. These findings form the basis of sufficiency profiles.
To understand how behavioural, social and structural factors interact, VITO develops psychosocial frameworks and uses fuzzy cognitive mapping, a method for mapping causal relationships between factors. This work examines how policies and interventions can address these factors to support a more sustainable Belgian society.
Beyond the research and coordination, VITO manages stakeholder exchanges, oversees data management and dissemination, and translates project findings into practical tools, recommendations and communication materials for policymakers, stakeholders and citizens.
Project partners
The project consortium consists of VITO (coordinator), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Université de Mons (UMONS). The partners cover Belgium’s three main regions: VITO in Flanders, ULB in Brussels and UMONS in Wallonia.
BE-SHIFT is supported by the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO), under the S4Policy Policy-Driven Call 2024–2025.
Commissioning organisations are Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO) and Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment.
