Households Behaviour towards Sustainable Energy Management in Poland—The Homo Energeticus Concept as a New Behaviour Pattern in Sustainable Economics

Alicja Małgorzata Graczyk

doi:10.3390/en14113142

Abstract

The presented article belongs to the research school of sustainable development economics as a relatively new science discipline within the broader area of heterodox economics. This paper is based on literature studies of homo concepts in economics, sociology and psychology. It identifies a research gap in sustainable economics, especially in sustainable energy management, formulating a novel concept of an economic man involved in energy management called homo energeticus. Homo energeticus concept is verified by empirical evidence at a local level-quantitative research conducted on a sample of 500 households in Lower Silesia region in Poland. The research’s first objective is to build the original author’s methodology on which the shift patterns from homo oeconomicus (neoclassical economics) to homo sustinens (sustainable economics) may be presented and may be used by scientists worldwide. After preparing a method for identifying concept, the second goal is to identify and describe the new concept of behaviour. The main conclusions are the sustainable behavioural pattern is dominating trend observed among households’ local energy management (homo energeticus). The homo energeticus behaviour was confirmed by every third respondent (critical threshold of 70%) or less restrictive and sustainable behaviour model homo sustinens (critical threshold of 50%) by more than 91.8% of whole respondents.

Highlights

Climate changes stimulated by the increased anthropogenic impact on the environment induce effective propagation and implementation of new methods in energy management
The findings revealed that the number of persons declaring their interest in renewable energy sources (RES) (28) is nearly equal to that of persons willing to carry the cost of a RES investment for their household (27)
It was demonstrated that processes associated with local energy management in households are dominated by motives and purposes characteristic of the concept of homo sustinens and fitting with the paradigm of sustainable development, but—at the same time—

Summary

Introduction

Climate changes stimulated by the increased anthropogenic impact on the environment induce effective propagation and implementation of new methods in energy management. 1127) indicated the crucial “drivers” of environmental change such as extensive environmental sources consumption, increased garbage, air pollution, biodiversity loss. He outlined the tremendous acceleration in scale and pace of those human impacts last decades and the significance the “sustainability revolution”—sustainalization”. It reflects human behaviour; attitudes, values change and setting the new rules to follow. It takes place in science and practice (see Figure 1)

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion