Slovenia has a high level of meat consumption, deeply rooted in cultural and social practices, and meat is increasingly recognized as a major environmental concern. This master’s thesis explores the potential for changing eating habits towards more sustainable dietary choices through social marketing. The theoretical part introduces key principles of social marketing, focusing on behavioral models, particularly the integrative COM-B model, and the process of strategic planning and intervention testing. It also provides an overview of sustainable development, supported by latest research amongst young adults in Slovenia highlighting key characteristics for the shift. An in-depth literature review identifies effective approaches and factors influencing sustainable dietary practice, analyzing both barriers and incentives within environmentally conscious consumption. The empirical part presents a case study of the Taste the Change intervention at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana. The analysis evaluates the intervention's alignment with social marketing principles and its integration into the faculty's sustainability strategy. Findings suggest that the intervention addresses both behavioral and structural aspects and supports sustainable dietary change through a multi-level approach including individual, social, and institutional dimensions. Lastly, it contributes to a deeper understanding of social marketing interventions in encouraging behavioral change through the eyes of environmental awareness and opens possibilities for further research into embedding sustainability within higher education institutions.
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