Conclusion: tackling the 'missing scale' in environmental policy

Conclusion: The foregoing chapters have demonstrated that household sustainability is a complex issue that requires thoughtful discussion from multiple perspectives. Indeed throughout this collection we have encouraged a dialogical approach. On the one hand our aim has been to bring researchers from human geography and cultural studies into a productive dialogue around the material geographies of household sustainability. There has been enthusiastic cross-fertilisation of ideas and approaches shown through the chapters, which critically develop the interconnections between the material, socio-technical, cultural, embodies and political dimensions which make households function, with particular attention to how they (might) function in environmentally sustainable ways. On the other hand the actual format of the book also deployed a dialogical approach, with discussants providing commentary and reflection on the chapters in each of three sections. These discussion pieces draw out the connections between the chapters and are suggestive of possibilities for developing further work. This approach to the edited collection means that tentative conclusions have already been provided throughout the book. So in this brief ‘wrap up’ we want to return to the big themes and suggest key areas for advancing research on household sustainability from the perspectives of material geographies. Having encouraged dialogue, we do not want to close (it) off with a ‘final’ conclusion, but rather clear ground for further interrogation and debate.