Do honesty, SDO, and environmental concerns predict priorities of sustainable development?

Abstract

In 2015, the United Nations defined Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Whereas the SDGs have a global scope, the motivation to achieve these goals may depend on local priorities. We examined whether priorities of SDGs are influenced by an altruistic personality trait (Hon-esty-Humility or HH), social attitude (Social Dominance Orientation or SDO) and environmen-tal concerns. We categorized sustainable development in three themes: satisfying human needs, ensuring social equity, and respecting environmental limits. Results from a large student sample (N=1976, 38 nationalities), made clear that globally climate change is prioritized. Two other issues relating to environmental limits (availability of resources, waste and pollution) scored globally low. Three items of satisfying human needs scored high (availability of food, energy, and water), while population-related issues were considered of low priority. Regarding ensuring social equity issues, poverty and human rights, usually got a medium priority, while religion a low priority. Results showed that HH had positive direct effects on the priorities of the SDGs of human rights and poverty (ensuring social equity) and negative effects on the SDG priorities of food, waste and religion. In addition, environmental concerns mediated the relationships between HH and the SDGs of food, energy, climate change, resources, waste, human rights and religion. SDO had positive direct effects on the priorities of the SDGs of energy and population and negative effects on the SDG priority of water (all three within the category of satisfying human needs). In addition, environmental concerns mediated the relationships between SDO and the SDGs of food, energy, water climate change waste and human rights. Our research refines previous research concerning the relationship between HH, SDO, and ecological behavior: only in case people with high HH have environmental concerns, they tend to respect the environmental limits of climate change, waste and resources. People with a SDO prioritize satisfying human needs over respecting environmental lim¬its and ensuring social equity. SDO reduces a pro-environmentalist attitude but when people with high SDO have environmental concerns, they tend to respect the environmental limits of climate change and waste. On average in our research, issues concerning resources, waste and pollution were prioritized relatively low. More attention should be given to sustainable challenges regarding these topics. This paper increases the understanding of motivation to implement sustainable businesses on a global scale.