Understanding the impact of volunteering on pro-environmental behavioural change

This article examines whether there is an association between engaging in environmental volunteering activities and pro-environmental behavioural change. Utilising self-reported surveys, the article explores the potential impact that environmental volunteering has on people's pro-environmental behaviours over time, using The Conservation Volunteers' two volunteering programmes – Green Gyms® and Action Teams – as a comparative case study. The findings show a positive association between environmental volunteering activities and a person's self-reported pro-environmental behaviours over time. Further, volunteers presented improved impact across almost all of the eight pro-environmental behaviours measured, with differences observed between the two volunteering programmes as well as sociodemographic groupings

Enhancing nature conservation and health: Changing the focus to active pro-environmental behaviours

Most research about the promotion of pro-environmental behaviours has focused on actions conducted at home (e.g. energy saving). While acknowledging their relevance, the effect of such behaviours on the mitigation of two of the most relevant global environmental problems (climate change and biodiversity loss) is relatively small. We present a literature review with two main objectives. First is to introduce the concept of active pro-environmental behaviours. These are a combination of outdoor physical activities and pro-environmental behaviours. The latter involve behaviours that have a minimum impact on the environment, or even have positive consequences for the environment. Active commuting and tree planting are examples of active pro-environmental behaviours. The second objective is to discuss the relevance of active pro-environmental behaviours for people’s health and sustainability and, thereby, to encourage more research and efforts towards the promotion of these behaviours. We conclude by suggesting how stakeholders can promote active pro-environmental behaviours

Research on Status and Influence Factors of Citizen's Environmental Behaviors in Beijing

AbstractThe citizen's environmental behaviours will directly affect the urban ecological environment construction. In order to provide the references for construction of ecological city in Beijing, this paper takes the citizen's environmental behaviours in Beijing as a breakthrough point to analyze the status of citizen's environmental behaviours and research their influence factors by constructing a structural equation model with the sampling survey data

Faktor-faktor Perilaku Pro-lingkungan Dalam Mendukung Pelaksanaan Implementasi Campus Sustainability

Universitieshave an important role in protecting the environment in the future. To develop campus sustainability programrequire an understanding about the determinant factors that influence pro-environmental behaviours. The purpose of this paper is identify characteristic pro-environmental behaviours. This study use factor analysis to reduce factor determinant and survei to collect the data. The survey tool used the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) throughout the questionnaire which had shared to 400 college students.Result of this study conclude pro-environmental behaviours is influenced by attitudes, subjective norms, perceived control, perceived consequences, and situational factors, behaviour intention

The Intrinsic Route to Pro-Environmental Behaviour

Engaging in pro-environmental behaviours is oftentimes associated with some personal costs. Despite this, many people do engage in different types of pro-environmental behaviours. Why is this the case? In this dissertation, we propose that people engage in pro-environmental behaviours because they are intrinsically motivated to do so. Across four empirical chapters, we, indeed, found a strong and consistent relationship between intrinsic motivation and different pro-environmental behaviours. Importantly, we found that intrinsic motivation remains an important factor encouraging pro-environmental behaviour, even after controlling for the perceived personal costs associated with the behaviour. Furthermore, intrinsic motivation is not weakened in the presence of a financial incentive, and it can be strengthened by frequent environmental information provision to further promote pro-environmental behaviour change

The Relationship Between Connectedness to Nature, Environmental Values, and Pro-environmental Behaviours

The aims of this study were to investigate (a) the relationship between connectedness to nature and pro-environmental behaviours; (b) the relationship between environmental values and behaviours; and (c) whether or not there is a mediating effect of values in the relationship between connectedness and behaviour. Seventy-six undergraduate students completed an online survey that measured connectedness to nature, egoistic values, altruistic values, biospheric values, pro-environmental behaviours, and social desirability. The results showed that connectedness to nature, altruistic values and biospheric values were positively related to pro-environmental behaviours; and that environmental values partially mediated the relationship between connectedness to nature and pro-environmental behaviour. These results lend support to Wilson's (1984) biophilia hypothesis, which suggests that all humans are innately and emotionally connected to nature, and the value-belief-norm model of Stern, Dietz, Abel, Guagnano and Kalof (1999), which suggests that values activate cognitions that create a positive environmental personal norm to engage in pro-environmental behaviours

Beyond the psychology of self and individual's pro-environmental behaviours: exploring how technology innovations can help organisations achieve and promote sustainability.

Purpose: This study proposes a new agenda for research and practice on pro-environmental behaviours in organisational settings by exploring the intersection between technology innovations and pro-environmental initiatives. The goal is to demonstrate the utility of digital technology in promoting and achieving sustainability by addressing the complexity and inconsistency in pro-environmental behaviours. Design/methodology/approach: Using relevant literature on pro-environmental behaviours, this study explores the possibility of embedding technology innovations in pro-environmental initiatives to promote and enhance sustainability in organisational settings. Findings: This study argues that the recent technological advancement and open innovation provide new insights into understanding and implementing pro-environmental initiatives in organisational settings. While pro-environmental behaviours studies have advanced over the past decades, this study shows that many pro-environmental activities do not require employees to change behaviour. According to this study, psychology and technology innovations offer various opportunities for businesses to effectively and pragmatically embed sustainability into their operations without necessarily changing employees' behaviour. Research limitations/implications: This conceptual study offers opportunities to empirically explore the collaborative nexus between "psychology-based pro-environmental behaviour research and technology innovation". Despite the plethora of studies on pro-environmental behaviours, results are mixed and inconclusive, raising questions about the dominant practice used for promoting pro-environmental initiatives and behaviours at the corporate level. This study, therefore, provides a new pathway for businesses to address their environmental aspects, demonstrating a pragmatic approach to resolving the complexity of pro-environmental behaviours. Originality/value: This study allows social investigators, policymakers, and technology developers to re-assess, revive and further investigate how they can collaborate to address practical environmental and social issues

The Impact Mechanism of Pro-Environmental Behaviours

Based on the theory of relationship quality, the research constructed the impact mechanism model of pro-environmental behaviours by applying tourist’s perceived value as the antecedent variable, while relationship quality (satisfaction and loyalty) was treated as the mediators, and place attachment as a moderator. Surveys were conducted at the Daweishan National Forest Park in Hunan Province, China, with 674 valid questionnaires collected. The empirical results provided evidence that the direct effect of perceived value of tourists on tourists’ pro-environmental behaviours is significantly positive, and the indirect effect of relationship quality (satisfaction and loyalty) between perceived value of tourists. Recommendations and strategies for further research and implementing tourist stratification management are suggested

The carbon-saving behaviour of residential households

The housing sector in 2004 was accountable for about 30% of total UK carbon emissions. The magnitude of this figure represents a significant imperative for policymakers to act on the sector through behavioural change strategies. Energy efficiency in households might easily be considered as driven mainly by economic motives, but this would not explain why even cost-free behavioural changes, like switching the lights off more often, are not adopted more widely. Literature has mainly concentrated either on the economic motives of pro-environmental behaviours or on the relevance of attitudes to shape them. Little has been said so far on the interaction between attitudes and the so called contextual factors. Diekmann and Presindörfer (2003) outlined the “low-cost hypothesis” which argues that pro-environmental behaviours are driven by pro-environmental attitudes only in the presence of low costs. However, little is known about households’ perceptions of costs and benefits in relation to energy saving behaviour. We propose to develop the low-cost hypothesis with a theoretical approach integrating attitudinal research and rational choice literature and explaining the interaction between tangible and intangible costs and benefits.Furthermore, the importance of resources such as education, information and income is highlighted in order to explain the magnitude of the perception of the costs and benefits considered by households. Finally, the scope for policy intervention aimed at shaping perceived costs and benefits to help the drive towards pro-environmental behaviour is discussed

Barriers to pro-environmental behaviours at Bournemouth University

This study investigates the main barriers to pro-environmental behaviours at Bournemouth University (BU). The University is committed to help achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals and over the years has implemented several activities to improve its sustainability performance covering aspects such as energy and carbon management, recycling, travelling, sustainable and ethical food, ethical purchasing and investment, education for sustainable development, and student and staff engagement in sustainability via the Green Impact scheme run by the National Union of Students (NUS). While most of the activities have been successful, participation to the Green Impact scheme, particularly of staff, has been slow. This research project investigates the main barriers at the university to more participation and engagement in environmental initiatives like the Green Impact. It compares cross-faculty behavioural habits and also investigates what the main barriers are to staff engaging further. The research takes a two-step approach, employing both quantitative and qualitative methods. The first part of the research includes a questionnaire and the second a semi-structured interview with staff at the University of Sheffield who is championing the Green Impact scheme. Surprisingly, results demonstrated that there was no significant difference in behaviours between faculties where staff participated to the Green Impact scheme and faculties where staff did not. Results also showed that the main barriers to pro-environmental behaviours were time, funding, and institutional hurdles, in line with other similar recent research in the field. The semi-structured interview with staff at the University of Sheffield helped in defining possible solutions for BU to increase Green Impact participation and ultimately staff engagement in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals