Mapping the Landscape of Pro-Environmental Behavior

High environmental sensitivity, known as sensory processing sensitivity, characterizes certain individuals, causing them to perceive and react intensely to external stimuli. Individuals with sensory processing sensitivity, referred to as highly sensitive people (HPSs), exhibit heightened emotional reactivity and empathy, alongside a profound aesthetic sensitivity and a unique connection to nature. This trait can lead to both advantages and challenges, including increased vulnerability to sensory overload. This correlation study explored the hypothesis that highly sensitive people could be more sensitive to natural stimuli, leading to a stronger environmental identity, a higher level of eco-anxiety, and more pronounced pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. Data collection involved 501 Italian citizens (65.1% women; M age = 27.69 years; SD = 10.54). This study found positive correlations (between 0.20 and 0.47) between high sensitivity and environmental attitudes (e.g., New Ecological Paradigm and Climate Change Attitude Survey dimensions), identity aspects (e.g., connectedness to nature), behavioral aspects (e.g., pro-environmental behaviors), and eco-anxiety, suggesting that the highly sensitive person trait might be related to a stronger environmental identity, higher levels of eco-anxiety, and more pronounced pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. However, some exceptions were identified: ease of excitation and low sensory threshold were not significantly correlated with conservation behaviors and environmental citizenship, while aesthetic sensitivity was consistently associated with pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs). Additionally, the low sensory threshold dimension appears to have a low association with attitudinal aspects measured by the Climate Change Attitude Survey. This suggests the complexity of sensory processing sensitivity and its nuanced impact on environmental dynamics. The findings emphasize the need for future research to explore the implicit dimensions of environmental attitudes and the emotional responses of HSPs to climate change. Practical recommendations include tailoring environmental education and policy strategies to address the unique emotional sensitivities of HSPs, fostering stronger engagement in pro-environmental actions.

ABSTRACTTo better understand the consistency of people’s proenvironmental intentions and behaviors, we set out to examine two sets of research questions. First, do people perform (1) different types of proenvironmental behaviors consistently, and (2) the same proenvironmental behavior consistently across settings? Second, are there consistent predictors of proenvironmental behavioral intentions across behavior and setting type? Participants reported four recycling and conservation behaviors across three settings, revealing significant variability in rates of behaviors across settings. Prior behavior, attitudes toward the behavior, and importance of the behaviour consistently predicted proenvironmental intentions. However, perceived behavioral control tended to predict intentions to perform proenvironmental behavior outside the home. Future research aimed at understanding and influencing different proenvironmental behaviors should carefully consider how settings affect intentions and behavior.

Manuscript type: Research paper Research aims: This study examines perceived self-efficacy and its role in fostering pro-environmental attitude and behaviours. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study employs a quantitative approach to explain the relationship among the variables. The data of 500 individuals are collected and then analysed through the partial least squared (PLS) approach. Research findings: Results show that perceived self-efficacy has a positive influence on attitude; it enables individuals to orchestrate their capabilities in pursuing pro-environmental behaviours. Theoretical contributions/Originality: This study expands on previous literature by adapting lifestyle-centric pro-environmental behaviour and social cognitive theory to identify the factors that motivate pro-environmental behaviours. Practitioner/Policy implications: This study provides insights for marketers and other policy makers to better understand how perceived self-efficacy impacts the attitude and pro-environmental behaviours of individuals. The results imply that practitioners need to include attitude change campaigns and intervention programmes that can increase self-efficacy so as to encourage individuals to engage in more challenging environmental behaviours. Research limitation: Since this study focusses on the urban population of Malaysia only, the generalisability of the findings may be restricted. Future studies need to incorporate a larger and more diverse samples. Keywords: Attitude, Intrinsic Motivation, Perceived Self-efficacy, Pro-environmental Behaviours, Social Cognitive Theory JEL Classification: M310

<p><b>Business leaders are likely to have a key role in driving pro-environmental behaviours in their businesses as they continue to face increasing political, social, and economic pressures to become environmentally responsible. While research has shown that a connection to nature is associated with pro-environmental behaviour uptake in a non-business context, there is limited research that explores how a connection to nature relates to pro-environmental behaviours in businesses. This study investigates how New Zealand business leaders perceive their connection to nature in a business context, and how this relates to the pro-environmental behaviours undertaken within their business now and their plans for the future. Specifically, this study aims to: 1) assess how business leaders perceive their current connection to nature; 2) identify the pro-environmental behaviours that business leaders currently report their business undertakes and the barriers to undertaking these behaviours; and 3) evaluate what environmental and business aspirations business leaders hold for the future. This study follows a mixed methods approach to gain an in-depth and broad perspective on these key aims. In Chapter 2, a quantitative online survey was used to gather information from 216 individual business leaders from small to medium-sized businesses from across New Zealand. The survey collected information on the business leaders’ individual demographics and connection to nature, business characteristics and pro-environmental behaviours, and perceived barriers to undertaking pro-environmental behaviours. Cluster analysis and independent samples t-tests were used to explore how these characteristics were associated and their significance. The results showed that business leaders who more frequently undertake pro-environmental behaviours have a significantly higher connection to nature and perceive less frequent barriers to adopting pro-environmental behaviours in their businesses. Recycling, purchasing of sustainable products, and conserving electricity were the most frequently undertaken pro-environmental behaviours. </b></p> <p>In Chapter 3, qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 business leaders who had previously participated in the survey. The interviews examined concepts from the quantitative survey in further detail and explored future aspirations of the business leader. Thematic analysis was used to uncover emerging themes and patterns from the business leaders’ responses. The results indicated that business leaders perceive a connection to nature and express this through a variety of different pro-environmental behaviours that were not captured in the quantitative survey, such as sourcing local ingredients for products and utilising virtual teams. Both Chapters 2 and 3 indicate that business leaders currently undertake pro-environmental behaviours that may not have direct effects on conserving biodiversity, instead, they can be associated with ‘sustainability’ more generally. These commonly undertaken pro-environmental behaviours have previously been classified as individual lifestyle behaviours as opposed to conservation behaviours. Business leaders hold aspirations for contributing positively to environmental and biodiversity outcomes, as well as aspirations for New Zealand to further realise its clean, green image. Across both studies, not enough time, the current relationship between businesses and the economy, and costs associated with pro-environmental behaviours were the most commonly identified barriers. </p> <p>In this research, I show that a greater connection to nature in New Zealand business leaders is associated with more frequent undertaking of pro-environmental behaviours in their business. Findings from this research could inform interventions that support business leaders in growing their connection to nature, potentially leading to more widespread adoption of pro-environmental behaviours in the business community. Findings might be beneficial for organisations that support businesses to become more sustainable because they may be able to anticipate some of the barriers preventing pro-environmental behaviours, and provide targeted materials to assist business leaders on their sustainability journey. Further research is still required to identify how barriers to pro-environmental behaviours can be reduced to enable business leaders to undertake as much as they aspire to for the environment.</p>

<p><b>Business leaders are likely to have a key role in driving pro-environmental behaviours in their businesses as they continue to face increasing political, social, and economic pressures to become environmentally responsible. While research has shown that a connection to nature is associated with pro-environmental behaviour uptake in a non-business context, there is limited research that explores how a connection to nature relates to pro-environmental behaviours in businesses. This study investigates how New Zealand business leaders perceive their connection to nature in a business context, and how this relates to the pro-environmental behaviours undertaken within their business now and their plans for the future. Specifically, this study aims to: 1) assess how business leaders perceive their current connection to nature; 2) identify the pro-environmental behaviours that business leaders currently report their business undertakes and the barriers to undertaking these behaviours; and 3) evaluate what environmental and business aspirations business leaders hold for the future. This study follows a mixed methods approach to gain an in-depth and broad perspective on these key aims. In Chapter 2, a quantitative online survey was used to gather information from 216 individual business leaders from small to medium-sized businesses from across New Zealand. The survey collected information on the business leaders’ individual demographics and connection to nature, business characteristics and pro-environmental behaviours, and perceived barriers to undertaking pro-environmental behaviours. Cluster analysis and independent samples t-tests were used to explore how these characteristics were associated and their significance. The results showed that business leaders who more frequently undertake pro-environmental behaviours have a significantly higher connection to nature and perceive less frequent barriers to adopting pro-environmental behaviours in their businesses. Recycling, purchasing of sustainable products, and conserving electricity were the most frequently undertaken pro-environmental behaviours. </b></p> <p>In Chapter 3, qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 business leaders who had previously participated in the survey. The interviews examined concepts from the quantitative survey in further detail and explored future aspirations of the business leader. Thematic analysis was used to uncover emerging themes and patterns from the business leaders’ responses. The results indicated that business leaders perceive a connection to nature and express this through a variety of different pro-environmental behaviours that were not captured in the quantitative survey, such as sourcing local ingredients for products and utilising virtual teams. Both Chapters 2 and 3 indicate that business leaders currently undertake pro-environmental behaviours that may not have direct effects on conserving biodiversity, instead, they can be associated with ‘sustainability’ more generally. These commonly undertaken pro-environmental behaviours have previously been classified as individual lifestyle behaviours as opposed to conservation behaviours. Business leaders hold aspirations for contributing positively to environmental and biodiversity outcomes, as well as aspirations for New Zealand to further realise its clean, green image. Across both studies, not enough time, the current relationship between businesses and the economy, and costs associated with pro-environmental behaviours were the most commonly identified barriers. </p> <p>In this research, I show that a greater connection to nature in New Zealand business leaders is associated with more frequent undertaking of pro-environmental behaviours in their business. Findings from this research could inform interventions that support business leaders in growing their connection to nature, potentially leading to more widespread adoption of pro-environmental behaviours in the business community. Findings might be beneficial for organisations that support businesses to become more sustainable because they may be able to anticipate some of the barriers preventing pro-environmental behaviours, and provide targeted materials to assist business leaders on their sustainability journey. Further research is still required to identify how barriers to pro-environmental behaviours can be reduced to enable business leaders to undertake as much as they aspire to for the environment.</p>

Despite decades of research, uncertainty remains about what motivates individuals to engage in pro-environmental behavior. The multifaceted and complex nature of energy conservation, like other forms of pro-environmental behavior, still poses a challenge to efforts at accurately explaining or predicting it. This paper examines the extent to which variables in the value-belief-norm framework are able to explain engagement in energy conservation and environmental citizenship behavior in an institutional setting. The results indicate that valuebelief-norm constructs, which largely reflect environmental considerations, were more successful at explaining subjects’ pro-environmental citizenship behavior than their energy conservation behavior. Individuals’ personal norms and selftranscendence values were found to be the most influential precursors of their pro-environmental behavior. Subjects’ behavior-specific beliefs also influenced their pro-environmental behavior and were mediated by their personal norms. The implications of our results for the design of pro–energy conservation intervention are discussed.

Purpose This study aims to examine the influence of pro-environmental awareness and social media advertising on hotel customers’ pro-environmental behaviours. The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and social impact theory (SIT) are applied to investigate how environmental and advertising-related factors interact to shape customers’ behavioural outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The study employed an online survey in this study, with a focus on customers who recently stayed at a hotel and engaged in pro-environmental behaviours. Both symmetrical (partial least squares–structural equation modelling [PLS–SEM]) and asymmetrical (fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis [fsQCA]) methods were used to analyse the roles of subjective norms, pro-environmental attitudes and perceived behavioural control in driving pro-environmental accommodation behaviours. Findings The results highlight the mediating role of subjective norms and attitudes in translating environmental and advertising influences into pro-environmental behaviours. The findings underscore the synergistic effects between environmental awareness and advertising characteristics, highlighting their combined impact on customer behaviour. Practical implications This study provide guidelines for hotel managers and policy makers to promote customer incentives, differentiated social media communication strategies and a green certification system with cross-sectoral collaboration to promote customer eco-behaviour effectively and to facilitate the sustainable transformation of the hospitality industry. Originality/value By integrating the TPB and SIT, this study advances the theoretical understanding of the interplay between environmental awareness and advertising strategies. Further, the use of both PLS–SEM and fsQCA offers a comprehensive perspective, bridging the gap between statistical and configurational analyses.

There are about 47,000 hotels in the United States that spend an average of $2200 per room on energy annually, averaging $6 per hotel room per night. The average total energy cost per room represents approximately 6% of a hotel’s operating costs. Studies found that guests’ energy-related behavior is one of the main factors that affects energy consumption in hotel buildings. However, there has been little or no research study that provides practical and efficient energy-use reduction strategies based on guests’ energy-related behavior in hotel buildings. Existing research studies are either limited to offices and residential buildings or lack analysis showing occupant impact on hotel buildings’ energy consumption. To address this research gap, this study aims to develop an integrated energy-use framework in two steps: (1) identifying and synthesizing four energy-related behaviors models (i.e., Motivation-Opportunity-Ability, Norm Activation Model, Theory of Planned Behavior, and Pro-environmental Behavior) adopted from the field of social psychology; and (2) developing a set of hypotheses and their relevant measures to examine the relationship among the energy-related behavior models and hotel guests’ energy-use behavior. The findings of this study will provide decision-makers in hotels with a better understanding on how to measure their guests’ energy-related behavior; and accordingly develop effective strategies to reduce energy consumption in hotel buildings.

The purpose of this study is to explore how pro-environmental energy behavior is manifested at a military unit and what behavioral change factors can enhance such behavior. The military unit represents an organization dominated by an exceptionally strong sense of community and belonging where individual pro-environmental energy behavior goes in line with a collective one. The application of Capability-Opportunity-Motivation-Behavior (COM-B) approach led to a better understanding of energy-saving behavior in the military as an organization where personnel are trained to increase their awareness of their peers’ behavior. Methods: The results were obtained using data collected from two independent samples of both professional soldiers and conscripts at a military unit of Lithuanian defense forces located in a fixed installation in the time frame of 2018–2019. The total sample of respondents (professional soldiers and conscripts) was N = 454. A series of statistical tests were performed at the 0.05 level of confidence. Results: An extended COM-B model for the analysis of pro-environmental energy behavior in the military was proposed and applied. The results show that the three behavioral change factors—capability, opportunity, and motivation—are first of all positively linked with the collective energy behavior at the military unit and only then with the individual soldier’s pro-environmental energy behavior. This is a new insight into the COM-B model as collective and individual behavior are identified as separate indicators and then combined into a single measurable construct. In addition, the results indicate that in the military unit, communality plays an important role in sustaining pro-environmental energy behavior, even if an individual behavior indicates low-involvement.

Purpose – The primary aim of this quantitative survey research is to explore the connection between environmental education, participation in environ-mental programs or actions, and the enhancement of pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors in individuals. In light of global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation, under-standing how education and active engagement can promote sustainability is increasingly crucial. This study aims to determine whether exposure to environmental education and participation in environmental actions can influence individuals’ environmental consciousness and encourage more sustainable practices. Design/Methodology/Approach – The study sample consisted of 2,687 Greek consumers, aged 18 to 29 years. This age group was specifically chosen to capture insights from young adults, who are key to future sustainability efforts. The Mann-Whitney non-parametric test was used to analyze potential differences in environmental awareness among participants who had received environmental education and those who had participated in environmental programs. The survey gathered responses related to specific actions, dailyhabits, and individual choices to assess the level of environmental consciousness among the participants. The research method focused on determining how environmental education and participation in programs impacted behaviors related to sustainability.Findings – The findings of this survey indicate that individuals who received environmental education in school are more likely to consider the environmental consequences of their purchasing decisions. Furthermore, those who have participated in environmental programs or actions were more inclined to adopt pro-environmental behaviors, such as reducing waste, conserving energy, and opting for sustainable products. Additionally, the analysis revealed that participants aged 26–29 demonstrated higher environmentalconsciousness than their younger counterparts aged 18–21, suggesting that environmental awareness increases with age and experience. Originality – This study contributes to the body of research on environmental education and sustainability by highlighting the significant role that both education and active participation in environmental initiatives play in fostering environmental awareness. It emphasizes the importance of these factors in encouraging sustainable behaviors and helping create a more sustainable andeco-conscious society. Design/Methodology/Approach – The sample involved 2,687 Greek consumers aged 18 to 29 years. The non-parametric Mann–Whitney test was used to explore possible differences in the environmental consciousness of the research participants in relation to whether they have been taught environmental education at school and/or they have participated in an environmental program or action in the past. The survey participants were asked to respond regarding the frequency of specific actions and daily habits, which frame their environmental consciousness and awareness. The questionnaire included behaviors such as recycling, reducing water and energy use, and choosing eco-friendly products. A multiple linear regression analysis was also conducted to assess the effect of age and other factors on environmental attitudes and actions. Findings – The results of this survey showed that the people who have been taught about environmental education at school are more likely to consider the environmental impact of the products they buy, while those who have participated in environmental programs or actions adopt more consistent pro-environmental behaviors. These include limiting single-use plastics and supporting sustainability-related initiatives. Furthermore, through the multiple linear regression analysis, it was found that the participants aged 26–29 have an increased environmental consciousness compared to the participants aged 18–21, possibly due to increased maturity, life experience, and exposure to sustainability-related information. Originality – This survey adds to the existing literature on environmental education and sustainability by highlighting the importance of environmental education and participation in environmental programs or actions towards increasing environmental consciousness and awareness and building a sustainable society. It underscores the necessity of incorporating structured environmental education within formal curricula and promoting active participation through community-based programs.

Environmental psychology has exhibited a notable propensity for promoting pro-environmental conduct as a feasible strategy for confronting environmental issues and fostering sustainable development. Recent research has incorporated the norm activation model (NAM) into several investigations concerning individual and organizational pro-environmental conservation behaviors. The objectives of this literature review were to: 1) examine pro-environmental behaviors previously studied using the NAM framework; and 2) analyze the extended NAM components. 3), understanding NAM construct framing; 4), finding environmental studies' NAM model theories; and 5), assessing variables' importance and linkage, including mediating variables. This review employed a systematic literature review encompassing 53 articles published from 2018 to 2023. The results indicated that 98.11 percent of studies employed NAM by integrating additional constructs to improve its ability to predict environmentally friendly behavior. About 39.62% of research included constructs from other theories to improve the main theory's predictive power. TPB was heavily integrated into the NAM model. The results of the review also indicate that NAM is a strong paradigm for explaining pro-environmental behavior when combined with relevant constructs. Its application differs between core factors like personal norms, awareness of consequences, and ascription of responsibility and literature-introduced notions like motivation, risk, benefits, beliefs, knowledge, personality, and cultural values. These additional factors may greatly affect human pro-environmental behavior, drawing attention to using NAM in environmental behavior studies in new ways.

Despite the circulation of climate content on social media, little longitudinal research has explored their relations with pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. Considering that individual behaviors, in conjunction with structural change, are critical to mitigate climate change, this two-wave panel study among 657 adolescents examined how social media interactions (i.e., exposure, liking, commenting, sharing and posting of climate messages) reciprocally related to adolescents’ pro-environmental cognitions (i.e., descriptive and injunctive norms, attitudes) and behavior. The study showed transactional relationships between self-posting and sharing of climate content over time. Pro-environmental behavior at Wave 1 (W1) positively related to all cognitive variables at Wave 2 (W2), yet no reciprocal relationship occurred as none of the cognitive variables (W1) predicted behavior (W2) over time. Moreover, with the exception of the positive link between “liking” (W1) and attitudes (W2), no (reciprocal) relationships between social media interactions and adolescents’ pro-environmental cognitions and behavior occurred over time.

Climate crisis represents a challenge for modern communities to be addressed through both individual and collective pro-environmental behaviors (PEB). Therefore, the present study proposes a theoretical model of community-related assets that may promote citizens’ engagement in pro-environmental collective and individual PEB. 427 Italian citizens answered an online questionnaire detecting their Sense of Responsible Togetherness (SoRT), Sense of Community (SoC), pro-environmental Civic Engagement Behaviors (CEB), individual PEB, and interest in collective initiatives about the use of renewable energy sources. A multiple sequential mediation model was run using Structural Equation Modeling. The results suggest that SoRT fosters active engagement in pro-environmental collective actions, up to supporting individual PEB. Conversely, a paradoxical effect emerges as to SoC as a disengagement trigger for both individual and collective PEB. Therefore, promoting feelings of responsibility toward one’s community may represent a more effective resource than enhancing individuals’ affective bond to it to address the climate crisis.

PurposeThis study aims to understand the perception of young people regarding different communication strategies to promote proenvironmental disposal behavior. Based on the attention-interest-desire-action (AIDA) model, the study analyses how university students react to different communication approaches used by a university aiming at the correct disposal of waste.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a qualitative exploratory research in two steps: (i) a narrative bibliographic review and (ii) a case study. The (i) bibliographic review was conducted about proenvironmental behavior and disposal of solid waste and response hierarchy models, with emphasis on the AIDA model. The (ii) case study was executed through an in-depth interview with a manager of the environmental sanitation area and a qualitative survey with undergraduate students from a university in southern Brazil.FindingsThe findings reveal that young people tend to prefer communication strategies related to triggers for long-term memory, especially when evaluating the cognitive stage of the response hierarchy. For example, the provision of bins identified with stickers and colors is a communication strategy that leads to a memory model of associative networks. By viewing a certain color or image of an object, the individual can quickly retrieve information already known about the act of properly disposing of waste. Additionally, convenience is a key factor for the behavioral intention of properly disposing of waste to become a reality.Originality/valueFew studies have identified the most effective communication strategies to promote proper disposal behavior among young people in universities. This study addresses this gap, based on the AIDA model.

Occupants of tertiary environments rarely care about their energy consumption. This fact is even more accentuated in cases of buildings of public use. Such unawareness has been identified by many scholars as one of the main untapped opportunities with high energy saving potential in terms of cost-effectiveness. Towards that direction, there have been numerous studies exploring energy-related behaviour and the impact that our daily actions have on energy efficiency, demand response and flexibility of power systems. Nevertheless, there are still certain aspects that remain controversial and unidentified, especially in terms of socio-economic characteristics of the occupants with regards to bespoke tailored motivational and awareness-based campaigns. The presented work introduces a two-step survey, publicly available through Zenodo repository that covers social, economic, behavioural and demographic factors. The survey analysis aims to fully depict the drivers that affect occupant energy-related behaviour at tertiary buildings and the barriers which may hinder green actions. Moreover, the survey reports evidence on respondents’ self-assessment of fifteen known principles of persuasion intended to motivate them to behave pro-environmentally. The outcomes from the self-assessment help to shed light on understanding which of the Persuasive Principles may work better to nudge different user profiles towards doing greener actions at workplace. This study was conducted in four EU countries, six different cities and seven buildings, reaching more than three-hundred-and-fifty people. Specifically, a questionnaire was delivered before (PRE) and after (POST) a recommendation-based intervention towards pro-environmental behaviour through Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The findings from the PRE-pilot stage were used to refine the POST-pilot survey (e.g., we removed some questions that did not add value to one or several research questions or dismissed the assessment of Persuasive Principles (PPs) which were of low value to respondents in the pre-pilot survey). Both surveys validate “Cause and Effect”, “Conditioning” and “Self-monitoring” as the top PPs for affecting energy-related behaviour in a workplace context. Among other results, the descriptive and prescriptive analysis reveals the association effects of specific barriers, pro-environmental intentions and confidence in technology on forming new pro-environmental behaviour. The results of this study intend to set the foundations for future interventions based on persuasion through ICT to reduce unnecessary energy consumption. Among all types of tertiary buildings, we emphasise on the validity of the results provided for buildings of public use.