Determinants of pro-environmental behavior among voluntary sport club members

Tim F Thormann,Pamela Wicker

doi:10.1007/s12662-020-00700-8

Tim F Thormann, Pamela Wicker

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-020-00700-8

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Abstract

Environmental sustainability and climate change have become increasingly important in public debates and politics. This study examines the determinants of sport club members’ pro-environmental behavior in Germany. Theoretically, we draw on the theory of planned behavior, ecofeminism, and the luxury good hypothesis to explain the effects of individuals’ environmental consciousness, gender, and income on their pro-environmental behavior, respectively. Data collection took place in 2019 and 2020 via a nationwide online survey of active sport club members in five team/racket sports (n = 3038). Regression analyses were estimated to examine the determinants of two indicators of pro-environmental behavior, i.e., the monthly carbon footprint resulting from traveling to training sessions and pro-environmental actions. The results reveal that environmentally consciousness members behave more environmentally friendly, supporting the theory of planned behavior. Women have a significantly higher carbon footprint, but only in the model including the interaction with environmental consciousness, indicating that female gender only works in conjunction with environmental attitudes. Income is associated with a significantly higher carbon footprint for training, while it has no effect on pro-environmental actions related to club sport. The findings have implications for sport managers and policy makers.

Highlights

In recent years, environmental sustainability and climate change have become an increasingly important issue in the public debate (Mallen & Chard, 2011)
This study examines the determinants of sport club members’ pro-environmental behavior in Germany
This study examined the determinants of pro-environmental behavior of voluntary sport club members across five different sports using comprehensive survey data from Germany

Summary

Introduction

Environmental sustainability and climate change have become an increasingly important issue in the public debate (Mallen & Chard, 2011). Sustainability questions and pro-environmental behavior reached the sport industry as early as the 1992 Winter Olympic Games in Albertville (Cantelon & Letters, 2000). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and other professional sport organizations have developed sustainability strategies to face public criticism. Sport policies, especially on the club level, continue to primarily focus on health and social outcomes and largely neglect pro-environmental initiatives (Wicker, 2019). To initiate change and facilitate pro-environmental behavior, knowledge about the factors contributing or restricting such behavior is important (e.g., Kennedy, Krahn, & Krogman, 2015). Studies examining the environmental impacts of sport and issues of environmental sustainability have just emerged during the last decade (McCullough, Orr, & Watanabe, 2019; McCullough, Orr, & Kellison, 2020)

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