Abstract
Community energy initiatives are set up by volunteers in local communities to promote sustainable energy behaviors and help to facilitate a sustainable energy transition. A key question is what motivates people to be involved in such initiatives. We propose that next to a stronger personal motivation for sustainable energy, people’s perception that their community is motivated to engage in sustainable energy and their involvement in the community (i.e., community identification and interpersonal contact) may affect their initiative involvement. We tested this proposition with a questionnaire study among inhabitants of seven local communities (N = 439). Results suggested that community factors are uniquely related to initiative involvement (willingness to actively participate and attendance of an initiative meeting) next to personal sustainable energy motivations. In particular, stronger community identification and more interpersonal contact with other community members increased the likelihood that people become involved in a community initiative, but the perception of the sustainable energy motivation of one’s community was not uniquely related to initiative involvement. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of these findings.
Highlights
Community energy initiatives (CEIs) could help in promoting a sustainable energy transition (Middlemiss and Parrish, 2010; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], 2018; Creamer et al, 2019)
This paper addresses the question of why people become involved in CEIs by investigating the relationship between different community factors and initiative involvement, taking into account people’s personal sustainable energy motivations
We examined the role of community sustainable energy motivation and two indicators of community involvement—the level of identification with the community and the level of interpersonal contact with other community members—in explaining people’s willingness to actively participate in a CEI and their attendance of an initiative meeting
Summary
Community energy initiatives (CEIs) could help in promoting a sustainable energy transition (Middlemiss and Parrish, 2010; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], 2018; Creamer et al, 2019). Activities include the (collective) purchase of solar cells and better home insulation, producing renewable energy locally, encouraging energy saving at home, or even achieving energy neutrality of the entire community. Research suggests that those involved in CEIs generally behave more sustainably (Middlemiss, 2011; Sloot et al, 2018). To achieve their full potential, it is key that a sufficient number of community members become involved in a CEI. This raises the question of what motivates people’s involvement in a CEI
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.