Identifying behavioral barriers to campus sustainability

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the behavioral barriers to sustainable action in a campus community. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reports three different methodological approaches to the assessment of behavioral barriers to sustainable actions on a college campus. Focus groups and surveys were used to assess campus members’ opinions about the barriers that limit sustainable behaviors on campus. After identifying general barriers, behavioral assessment was used to assess specific barriers to energy conservation in a target location on campus and to develop an intervention to reduce energy use for that location. Findings – Across methodologies, four key behavioral barriers to sustainable actions were consistently reported: communication/awareness, inconvenience, financial concerns and lack of engagement. The intervention that was developed targeted the barriers of communication issues and lack of awareness and resulted in reduced energy use for a target campus location. Originality/value – This paper highlights the value of assessing barriers to ongoing sustainability efforts using multiple methods and using this information to develop an intervention to foster behavioral change. The paper also highlights strategies that have been implemented to address some of the barriers which were identified.