Pro-environmental Behavior Research Articles

Airbnb Versus Hotel Guests: Proenvironmental Behaviors, Place Attachment, and Environmental Concern

The Airbnb business plays a significant role in connecting visitors to the local community and promoting the protection of the local environment. However, little research has focused on the proenvironmental behaviors (PEBs) of Airbnb guests. This study aims to investigate the differences in PEBs between hotel guests and Airbnb guests by examining a conceptual model that incorporates place attachment, environmental concern, and PEBs. An online survey involving 254 hotel guests and 259 Airbnb guests was conducted. The findings revealed that place attachment significantly predicted visitors’ environmental concern and PEBs. The results of the mediation analysis further demonstrated that environmental concern played a significant role as a mediator between place attachment and PEBs. Additionally, the invariance test indicated that place dependence had a stronger impact on environmental concerns among Airbnb guests than hotel guests. These findings highlight the distinct roles of place attachment dimensions in shaping PEBs between the two groups.

Becoming ‘Wild Citizens’: Children’s Articulation of Environmental Citizenship in the Context of Biodiversity Loss

AbstractCalls to tackle the global disasters of climate change and loss of biodiversity are becoming more and more prominent and urgent. Such calls require environmental citizens, that is citizens who act at local, national and transnational scales, assuming environmental agency through pro-environmental behaviours, attitudes and values in public and private spheres. To enable children to become active environmental citizens, we collaborated with five inner city primary schools in the south-east of England in co-designing a school-based, outdoor ‘Wild Citizens’ programme, underpinned by socioscientific inquiry-based learning, focusing on biodiversity loss. Approximately 130 primary school children (6–10 years old) explored their school grounds, discussed, decided on, and implemented interventions to enhance biodiversity, and communicated their findings within their community (schools, peers, parents, teachers). Semi-structured group interviews were conducted with a sub-sample (60%) exploring how children articulate environmental citizenship within this context. We found that environmental citizenship was articulated at both local and global scales of influence in relation to (a) environmental awareness, (b) values and (c) action competence. Children articulate the links between their performed actions to the impact these might have at a global scale, showing their ability to conceptualise and discuss implications and consequences of issues such as biodiversity loss in simple terms. Their articulation of actions as relevant and impactful to their school’s grounds, transforms the issue of biodiversity loss from a slow, invisible disaster to an observable phenomenon for children, which they then act to mitigate against. This work provides empirical grounding towards the operationalisation of environmental citizenship at the primary school level in the context of a less discussed, but as urgent, ecological disaster, that of biodiversity loss.

Do Chinese Residents’ Perceptions of Air Pollution Affect Their Pro-Environmental Behaviors: The Moderating Role of Environmental Knowledge

Air pollution has become an important environmental and public health problem in China; improving air quality has become one of the most important tasks of the Chinese central government in recent years. In all aspects of environmental governance, the public’s pro-environmental behavior is crucial to comprehensively improve air quality. This study used data provided by the 2021 China General Social Survey (CGSS) to explore the relationship between air pollution perception, environmental knowledge, and pro-environmental behavior. The results of the study indicated that: (1) Residents’ subjective perception of air pollution has a significant positive impact on residents’ pro-environmental behaviors. The more serious the air pollution in the surrounding area is, the more likely residents are to adopt more pro-environmental behaviors; (2) Environmental knowledge also has a positive impact on residents’ pro-environmental behaviors and individuals with higher environmental knowledge are more likely to adopt more pro-environment behaviors; and (3) Environmental knowledge plays a positive regulating role in the relationship between air pollution perception and pro-environmental behavior. Individuals with higher environmental knowledge are more willing to engage in more pro-environmental behaviors when they perceive air pollution. To promote the residents’ pro-environmental behaviors, we should further strengthen the education of environmental knowledge and strengthen the disclosure of environmental information. This study provides valuable insights for China to formulate environmental governance policies, enrich the research on pro-environmental behavior to a certain extent, and provide lessons for other developing countries and high-polluting countries to find environmental governance methods.

Determinants of pro-environmental behaviour: effects of socioeconomic, subjective, and psychological well-being factors from 37 countries

The investigation of the relationship between pro-environmental behaviour and the determinants of natural environment sustainability is increasing; however, the heterogeneous effects of these determinants remain unclear. Based on large-scale original cross-sectional data (100,804 observations) from 37 countries, this study investigated the average and heterogeneous effects of socioeconomic, demographic, subjective, and psychological well-being characteristics on individuals’ pro-environmental behaviour using quantile regression. The results confirmed that, on average, a positive association existed between subjective well-being, knowledge of environmental issues, educational attainment, life satisfaction, mental health, positive emotions, and pro-environmental behaviour engagement. Importantly, heterogeneous effects were confirmed in the majority of determinants, including knowledge of environmental issues, education, number of children, life satisfaction, income, negative and positive emotions, and mental health. Given the heterogeneous effect of the determinants, the results suggest that overall better characteristics, including knowledge level, educational attainment, well-being, and family structure, are associated with better pro-environmental behaviour engagement among individuals, contributing to creating an eco-surplus society.

Research Synthesizes in Pro-environmental Behavior in Education: A Text Mining Approach

Research Synthesizes in Pro-environmental Behavior in Education: A Text Mining Approach

After the storm: Environmental tragedy and sustainable mobility

Due to mounting environmental challenges, communities are increasingly prioritising resilience and sustainability. Environmental disasters can be seen as windows of opportunity for collective action, influencing pro-environmental attitudes and engagement. While personal experiences of catastrophe can increase environmental awareness, they can also affect social capital, impacting relationships with peers and institutions. Within this context, a post-disaster community might be encouraged to put more efforts in the local urban sustainable transformation to reduce the impact of climate-change related event. To this end, individuals' daily micro-mobility choices may offer insight into community engagement with sustainability initiatives, given the link between modes of transportation and long-term urban pollution. Through a survey of Italian citizens, we explored how disaster experiences shaped attitudes towards sustainable modes of mobility, as well as changes in individual and social factors. The analysis employed a structural equation model based on an extended version of the theory of planned behaviour. The results revealed that disaster experiences tended to heighten awareness of climate change risk while also reducing social interaction, thereby affecting pro-environmental behaviour. Trust in local government was not permanently affected, highlighting the difficulty in identifying the direct impacts of environmental disaster experiences on pro-environmental actions. Sustainable consumption choices and pro-environmental attitudes may be influenced by social and psychological factors, including personal experiences, personal well-being and civic engagement.

A Study on the Cognitive, Normative, and Affective Factors That Enhance the Pro-Environmental Behaviors of Consumers in the Context of Drone Food Delivery Services

The current study examined consumers’ sustainable behavior in the context of eco-friendly drone food delivery services. It thus focused on the cognitive triggers, normative factors, and affective triggers in forming pro-environmental intentions. This study more specifically developed a comprehensive framework that included cognitive triggers, which included environmental awareness, ascribed responsibility, biospheric value, environmental concern, and perceived effectiveness, personal norm, and affective triggers, which included positive anticipated emotion and negative anticipated emotion, subjective norm, and pro-environmental intentions. The 312 samples were randomly extracted through an online survey company in Korea, which targeted individuals who have dined out within the last six months. A theoretical model that included mediation and causal hypotheses was proposed and tested by conducting structural equation modeling. The data analysis results indicated that the four dimensions of the cognitive triggers, such as ascribed responsibility, biospheric value, environmental concern, and perceived effectiveness, positively affect personal norm, and consequently have a positive effect on positive anticipated emotion. In addition, subjective norm aids in regards to enhancing personal norm and pro-environmental intentions. The study consequently contributes knowledge that addresses the acknowledged research gap and provides practical suggestions for green marketing strategies in regards to promoting the services.

Exploring students pro-environmental knowledge and behaviour perceptions: a mixed methods investigation

Exploring students pro-environmental knowledge and behaviour perceptions: a mixed methods investigation

Informal Institutions and Environmental Quality: Exploring the Mediating Roles of Different Civic Pro-Environmental Behaviors in China

Informal Institutions and Environmental Quality: Exploring the Mediating Roles of Different Civic Pro-Environmental Behaviors in China

Climate change distress and impairment in Germany.

Climate change has been widely recognized as one of the most challenging problems facing humanity and it imposes serious mental health threats. It is important, however, to differentiate between the affective experience of distress over climate change and the functional impairments associated with climate change. Such a distinction is crucial because not all negative affective states are pathological, and they might even motivate pro-environmental behavior. Functional impairments, like not being able to work or maintaining social relationships, however, might require immediate treatment. This study assesses climate change distress and climate change impairment within the population of Germany using a population-representative sample. The results identify vulnerable subgroups and thereby can help to facilitate the development of target group specific intervention programs. Furthermore, this study explores whether climate change distress and climate change impairment are associated with general health, physical health, mental health, and diverse health behaviors. Study participants were drawn from a panel which is representative of the German-speaking population in Germany with Internet access. Participants answered a series of questionnaires regarding their climate change distress, climate change impairment, general health, physical health, mental health, and diverse health behaviors. To evaluate differences between subgroups, Bayesian independent samples t-tests were calculated. To evaluate associations between constructs, Bayesian correlations were calculated. Especially women, younger people, people from West Germany, and people with a high level of formal education seem to experience higher levels of climate change distress. Regarding climate change impairment, the results suggest that especially women, older people, people from West Germany, people with a low level of formal education, people with a low or middle social status, and people with an inadequate/problematic health literacy seem to experience higher levels of climate change impairment. Furthermore, climate change distress and climate change impairment were weakly and differently associated with general health, physical health, mental health, and diverse health behaviors. Climate change distress and impairment are not evenly distributed within German society. The results of this study provide a starting point for the development of target group specific intervention programs.

Positive leadership and employees’ pro-environmental behavior: a meta-analysis

Positive leadership and employees’ pro-environmental behavior: a meta-analysis

Toward sustainable energy transition: understanding electricity-use behavior among low-income urban households in Kumasi

ABSTRACT The residential sector is a critical contributor to global energy consumption. In Ghana, it accounts for 47% of the total electricity consumed. However, inadequate knowledge of categories of residential consumers, their profiles, and the implications on their consumption patterns could impede the development of targeted and sustainable interventions. This study examined the behavioral patterns among low-income urban households in Kumasi, using their socio-demographic and housing characteristics, and self-reported values. This is coherent to the current discourse on Ghana’s transition to zero carbon by 2070 given that Kumasi is the fastest-growing city in the country. Using quantitative methods within a transdisciplinary research design, a survey of 285 households was conducted. The findings yielded varied outcomes. Households reported good electricity use behavior (e.g. covering liquids in the refrigerator) and poor behaviors (e.g. not adjusting the power setting of refrigerators to weather conditions). Logistic regression operations showed associations between energy use behavior, the type of housing units and the type of electricity meters. A significant proportion of respondents exhibited pro-environmental behaviors across all nine value domains. The study concludes that low-income households engage in energy-saving practices. We suggest that policy mediation could enhance the effectiveness of behavioral interventions toward electricity use efficiency.

What encourages pro-environmental behavior by tourists? Insights from the protection motivation theory

What encourages pro-environmental behavior by tourists? Insights from the protection motivation theory

The Impact of Organisational Culture on Transportation Behaviours: An Exploratory Analysis

By annually accommodating a growing number of students, higher education institutions contribute significantly to the daily flow of individuals. This flow exerts a significant impact on greenhouse gas emissions caused by transportation. Several studies have addressed promoting sustainable transportation at the individual level, while little attention has been drawn to examining the impact of organisations in this realm. This paper proposes a model of organisational influences on pro-environmental behaviours. Therefore, we thus identify a set of variables within organisations that expect to influence these behaviours. Among these variables, organisational culture appears as a major predictor. Organisational culture is a set of values, norms, beliefs, meanings and behaviours. Based on this definition, we propose to study organisational culture through measurable elements such as the organisation's values, norms and perceived practices. Additionally, we have identified variables directly influenced by organisational culture, such as leadership and organisational trust. Further variables, including personal norms and facilitating conditions, interact with the organisational culture and provide a more precise understanding of pro-environmental behaviours. This framework will be used to investigate student transportation behaviours. The results are expected to provide valuable insights for developing a culture of sustainable transportation at the organisational level.

From Theory to Action: Evaluating How (Digital) Nudges Influence Pro-Environmental Behaviors

From Theory to Action: Evaluating How (Digital) Nudges Influence Pro-Environmental Behaviors

The more the better? Synergies of prosocial interventions and effects on behavioural spillovers

Incentivising prosocial and pro-environmental behaviours is a sensitive endeavour. While behavioural change is urgently needed to mitigate the consequences of climate change, monetary interventions often have negative side effects. Such interventions are prone to motivation crowding, which can impede lasting positive behavioural change and stimulate negative temporal spillovers to other prosocial behaviours. In this study, we investigate whether implementing monetary interventions as part of policy mixes can mitigate these negative side effects. In an online experiment involving 3782 participants, we test whether the use of nudges that make personal and social norms salient can counteract the motivation-crowding effect and explore the effects of such policy mixes on temporal spillovers. We find that policy mixes of norm-based nudges and monetary incentives are more effective at stimulating engagement in targeted prosocial behaviour than no intervention when controlling for sample characteristics. Analysing the temporal spillover effects of these interventions reveals that policy mixes can alleviate the tendency of monetary incentives to negatively affect subsequent prosocial behaviour. This indicates that norm-based nudges are suitable complements to monetary interventions, facilitating long-lasting positive effects.

The Impact of Green Purchase Intention on Compensatory Consumption: The Regulatory Role of Pro-Environmental Behavior

Green purchasing behavior refers to the potential of consumers to reduce the impact on the environment and the excessive loss of natural resources in the procurement process as far as possible under the premise of meeting their own needs. This behavior is not only helpful in alleviating environmental problems but also is an important way to achieve sustainable development. However, whether consumers will increase non-green or excessive compensatory consumption behaviors due to the “moral permission” psychological tendency, present after purchasing green products, is an important question in the current research. This study explores the effect of green purchase intention on compensatory consumption behavior, with special attention to the moderating role of pro-environmental behavior in this relationship. With the increasingly severe global environmental problems, green consumption, as a pro-environmental behavior, has gradually become the focus of social attention. By analyzing the relationship between consumers’ green purchase intention and their subsequent compensatory consumption behavior, this study further reveals the important role of pro-environment behavior in the consumption decision-making process.

Compliance with kauri forest protection in New Zealand’s regional parks: the mediating role of trust on local versus visitor populations

Realising behavioural change in long invested environmental practices is often difficult to achieve, especially when scientific understanding of the issues is still unfolding. Having confidence in one’s action requires knowledge that actions will be effective in improving environmental outcomes. Currently, we know little about the role of social trust in mediating complex and uncertain knowledge of environmental problems and the required actions needed to address them. In this quantitative study, we surveyed 472 users of endangered kauri forests in New Zealand to better explore the role of trust in relation to pro-environmental behaviours (PEB) designed to mitigate effects of the devastating plant disease, kauri dieback. Findings show uncertainty about the scientific knowledge of the issue, recommended actions and efficacy of proposed solutions significantly influenced PEB for both residents and visitors of forests; however, this relationship was partially mediated by trust, particularly among locals residing within 5 km of infected forest areas. These findings indicate the need for closer engagement with local residents to develop institutional and scientific trust in kauri dieback interventions. We outline activities that may help build trust and recommend new areas of research to support higher compliance with environmental protection initiatives.

Residents’ pro-environmental behaviors in marine environmental protection

Guiding the public to implement pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) is an important tool in protecting the marine environment. Based on a survey of 418 citizens in Qingdao, the public’s behavioral attitudes and media concerns are introduced to expand the traditional norm activation model (NAM) to understand the public’s PEBs to give references in constructing an effective public participation mechanism in marine environmental protection. The results reveal that most residents express a strong willingness to implement all types of PEBs, with a notable preference for recycling behaviors, followed by accommodating, public, and consuming behaviors. The extended NAM is found to be particularly effective in explaining accommodating and public behaviors. Personal norms can affect PEBs directly, whereas perceived responsibility and media concerns exert indirect effects on PEBs. Meanwhile, there are some differences in the formation mechanism among different behaviors. This research is conducive to understanding the public’s PEBs and thereby improving public participation in marine environmental protection.

Environmental awareness and sustainable behavior of respondents in Germany, the Netherlands and Poland: A qualitative focus group study

The diverse European landscape of climate consciousness is shaped by political values, financial constraints, and country-specific point of view. The aim of the study was to unravel age-specific ecological awareness, forms of engagement, and perceptions, contributing to a nuanced understanding of climate dynamics.Selected regions: Germany (Rheinisches Revier), the Netherlands (Amsterdam Metropolitan Area), and Poland (Upper Silesia/Metropolis GZM) present different states regarding recycling/Circular Economy principles, and different environments.The research design incorporates an inductive qualitative approach to investigate environmental awareness and attitudes toward ecologically friendly behaviors. Six FGIs (Focus Group Interviews) were conducted across three European regions, involving participants from diverse age groups (20–39 years and 40–60 years) in each region.The study shows that ecological awareness varies between countries and generations, reflecting distinctive environmental strategies shaped by cultural and developmental factors. Participants in each region and age group exhibit diverse levels of engagement in sustainable activities, and highlight issues such as the need for tailored strategies, concerns related to eco-labelling, greenwashing, and inadequate waste treatment, as well as information gaps.These variations in pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors across age groups and regions underscore the need for tailored strategies and regional policies. Transparency in waste management, eco-labelling, and sustainable transportation alternatives should be prioritized. Educational initiatives addressing information gaps, especially regarding lifestyle choices, are crucial. Collaboration and interdisciplinary approaches are essential for fostering positive change and a sustainable future across the European Union. Transparent communication, regulatory measures, and accessible eco-friendly options encourage widespread adoption of pro-environmental behaviors.