Factors influencing pro-environmental collaborative collective behaviors toward sustainability transition – a case of renewable energy

Abstract

The transformation to sustainable social systems requires both individual and collective pro-environmental behaviors. In this study, we quantified the impacts of factors that promote or impede collective pro-environmental behaviors around the use of renewable energy. An online questionnaire was completed by Japanese high school and college students, and covariance structure analysis was performed on groups with strong or weak intention to participate in collective behaviors and groups with rich or little experience with community activities. Our results revealed that the belief that a global environmental crisis can be avoided by individual efforts was negatively related to collective behavioral intention. We also found that environmental education that aimed to enhance attachment to community and social norms, would be effective for the youth with weak collective behavioral intention, but not so for youth with strong collective behavioral intention. It would be more effective for youth with strong collective behavioral intention to learn the practical approaches for community participation and raise awareness of the perceived importance of collective pro-environmental behaviors.