Pro-environmental Behavior Research Articles

Paths from simple game-targeted pro-environmental behaviors to more diverse pro-environmental behaviors: Empirical evidence from the Ant Forest app

Game interventions have drawn much attention for their playful features and “painless” promotion of simple game-targeted pro-environmental behaviors (GPEBs), which could spill over to more “costly” prosocial behaviors for pro-environmental causes (PSBPs). The literature places much emphasis on game-targeted mechanisms (e.g., enjoyment and competition) to explain the impacts of game interventions, but pays little attention to non-game-targeted mechanisms to explore their spillover effect. Using online survey data from 1246 Chinese residents, this paper first compares players’ and nonplayers’ levels of engagement with GPEBs and with two common PSBPs, finding a positive spillover effect from game-targeted simple behaviors to more diverse PSBPs. Based upon goal theory, self-perception theory, and learning theory, the paper then examines the underlying mediating mechanisms of the positive relationship between GPEBs and PSBPs for subsamples of players and nonplayers respectively. The results demonstrate that individual awareness of problem and self-efficacy could be enhanced through engaging in simple GPEBs, which could spill over to more challenging and “costly” PSBPs, including charitable giving and volunteering for pro-environmental causes. The study provides important insights on helping to encourage specific types of more challenging PSBPs not directly targeted by the game.

Transformational Leadership and Sustainable Practices: How Leadership Style Shapes Employee Pro-Environmental Behavior

Organizations committed to sustainability and reducing their environmental footprint depend largely on the pro-environmental performance of their employees. This study investigates how environmentally specific transformational leadership (ESTL) shapes employee pro-environmental performance, as well as the mediating role of employee environmental awareness and the boundary condition of emotional exhaustion at work. Data were collected from 264 participants across three waves. The findings reveal that ESTL exerts a positive influence on employee environmental awareness, which in turn enhances pro-environmental performance. Additionally, the positive indirect effect of ESTL on pro-environmental performance through environmental awareness is moderated by emotional exhaustion, being stronger when the emotional exhaustion level is low. These findings highlight the critical role of leadership in fostering environmental sustainability within organizations and the importance of considering employee psychological well-being in the process. Our research contributes to the understanding of how specific leadership behaviors can drive pro-environmental actions in the workplace, offering practical implications for organizational leaders aiming to enhance environmental performance.

The Role of Muslim Families in Children's Education on Environmental Ethics

This study examines the role of Muslim families in children's education regarding environmental ethics. It aims to understand how Muslim parents' integration of Islamic values such as amanah, caliphate, and tawhid can effectively instill awareness and pro-environmental behavior in children. This research explores various parenting methods, including stories from the Qur'an and Hadith, practical activities like gardening and recycling, and discussions and reflections on environmental issues using the literature review method. The findings reveal that children educated with this approach exhibit high ecological awareness and proactive behavior in ecological conservation. However, challenges such as lack of knowledge and resources and differences in cultural and geographical contexts affect the effectiveness of this education. The study concludes that there is a need for support from formal education institutions and communities to strengthen environmental education at home. With the right approach and adequate support, environmental education based on Islamic values has excellent potential to form a generation that cares about the environment. This research provides important insights for developing holistic environmental education programs rooted in religious values.

Development and validation of the Environmental Health Literacy Index: a new tool to assess the environmental health literacy among university students.

Environmental health literacy (EHL) is a rather recent concept that applies health literacy skills to environmental issues. Research in this field is still at the beginning, and there is currently no existing tool in the literature designed to comprehensively assess individual general EHL among university students. The aim of our study is to fill this gap through the validation of the Environmental Health Literacy Index (EHLI) in such a target group. We adapted a previously administered survey, originally completed by 4778 university students from various Italian universities. Starting from the original questionnaire, our methodology involved a three-round item selection process, followed by a comprehensive evaluation of the instrument's psychometric properties. The EHLI consists of 13 Likert-type items, covering three primary domains of health literacy: functional (six items), interactive (three items), and critical (four items). The Cronbach's alpha coefficient is 0.808 for the global scale, while it stands at 0.888 for the functional, 0.795 for the critical, and 0.471 for the interactive components. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve reached a value of 0.643. Spearman correlation analysis revealed a significant yet slight correlation between EHLI and both functional health literacy score and the extent of pro-environmental behaviors adoption. Our study serves as an important initial step in developing a tool able to evaluate the EHL of university-aged individuals. Further research efforts may improve the questionnaire's validity and completeness, as well as to explore its applicability to different age groups.

From personal convictions to collective action: Predicting employees’ pro-environmental behaviors in public and private spheres

Promoting changes in human behavior is crucial for mitigating and reducing environmental damage. While there is much research focused on private-sphere or generalized pro-environmental behavior, there is a relative dearth of research explicitly examining public-sphere pro-environmental behavior from a collective action perspective. In response to the mixed empirical results from previous applications of the value-belief-norm model in organizational contexts, this study explores the full value-belief-norm model, taking into account public-sphere and private-sphere pro-environmental behaviors. A sample of 504 hospitality industry employees in Kazakhstan and 515 hospitality industry employees in the United States participated in this study. The results indicate a hierarchical relationship between values, beliefs, and behaviors and confirm that values indirectly influence pro-environmental behaviors through belief variables. The findings suggest that these beliefs play vital roles in translating values into actionable behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications are provided.

Pro-environmental voting: What it is, how to measure it, and its determinants among contemporary European voters

Abstract With this research, I introduce the concept of pro-environmental voting, proposing an outcome-oriented rather than motivation-based definition and measurement. By conceptualizing it as an instance of pro-environmental behavior, I define it as voting for a party that takes a pro-environmental stance and for which environmental protection is also relatively salient—regardless of whether that is why the voter supports that party. I suggest measuring it by multiplying, for the party voted, its salience score on environmental protection with the distance between its position on the environment and the average position of all parties in the system on the same issue. Then, I apply this measurement to the recently released ESS10 (2023) data from 26 European countries. Findings primarily reveal that moral obligation and age are key drivers of pro-environmental voting; they also show that younger individuals vote more consistently with their environmental concern than older voters.

Does Mindfulness Mediate the Relationship Between Emotion Regulation and Pro-Environmental Behaviors Differently Based on Gender?

ObjectivesThis study aimed to explore possible gender differences in the relationship between emotion dysregulation, mindfulness, and pro-environmental behaviors. Specifically, it aimed to investigate whether mindfulness mediated the association between emotion dysregulation and pro-environmental behaviors, and if there were any gender differences in this relationship.MethodA sample of 1,406 employees (56.3% males, average age = 44.85) participated in the study. Participants completed the Pro-Environmental Behaviors Scale (PEBS), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale- Short Form (DERS-SF), and Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) to assess pro-environmental behaviors, emotion regulation, and mindfulness, respectively. Data were analyzed using ANOVA, Pearson's correlation analysis, and mediation analysis.ResultsWomen exhibited higher scores on the PEBS total scale (p < 0.001; \U0001d7022 = 0.02), higher scores on the Observe and Describe FFMQ subscales (p < 0.001; \U0001d7022 = 0.01), and lower scores on the Non-react FFMQ subscale (p < 0.001; \U0001d7022 = 0.01), compared to men. No gender differences were found on the DERS-SF total scale (p > 0.05; \U0001d7022 = 0.00). Higher levels of emotion dysregulation were associated with lower pro-environmental behaviors (r = - 0.12; p < 0.05). Mindfulness mediated the relationship between emotion dysregulation and pro-environmental behaviors, specifically through the ability to observe one's own emotions and external stimuli. Gender differences were found based on the Non-react facet of mindfulness, which is negatively associated with pro-environmental behaviors in men (β = - 0.08; p < 0.05) and positively associated with them in women (β = 0.09; p < 0.05).ConclusionsThe findings suggest that emotion dysregulation and mindfulness are associated with pro-environmental behaviors. The ability to observe one's own emotions and external stimuli plays a significant role in promoting sustainable behaviors, while the ability to perceive one's own emotions without feeling overwhelmed or compelled to react to them has different associations with pro-environmental behaviors in men and women. These results provide insights for the development of interventions targeting emotion regulation and mindfulness to encourage pro-environmental behaviors, specifically based on gender.PreregistrationThis study is not preregistered.

The Interplay of Public/Private and Agent/Victim Dualism in Sustainable Living Practice: Indonesia’s Case

An examination of sustainable living practices through the lens of ecofeminism is the subject of this article. In this article, sustainable living practices refers to the actual implementation of environmentalism ideas in everyday situation. The selection of this subject is deemed significant due to the prevailing trend in environmental literature to associate it as pro-environmental behaviour that, unlike environmental activism, exclusively with the uppermiddle class, thereby rendering it feeble, apolitical, and inconsequential. This study aims to evaluate the correlation between pro-environmental behaviour and environmental action and activism by examining sustainable living practices through the lens of gender. Departing from Ecofeminism, it attempts to incorporate insights from relevant literature to enhance the discussion. Availing from exploratory field observations, this study uses Indonesia as a case studies. The study found that, in addition to the availability of social media and spiritualfactors, there are educational orientation that, related to cultural and religious aspects, bridges private/public elements as well as agents/victims division in Ecofeminism discourse. The transformation of the movement’s character from individualist to collectivist is influenced by global political dynamics, as well as showing the moral and spiritual orientation of this movement. Keywords: sustainable living practice, ecofeminism, environmental care, pro-environmental behaviour, environmental activism

What’s the difference between factors influencing household waste management and energy-saving behavior? A meta-analysis

PurposeThis study aims to identify the key factors that influence household pro-environmental behaviors (HPEBs) and explore the differences caused by the same influencing factors between household waste management behavior (HWM) and household energy-saving behavior (HES).Design/methodology/approachA meta-analysis was conducted on 90 articles about HPEBs published between 2009 and 2023 to find the key factors. HPEBs were further categorized into HWM and HES to investigate the difference influenced by the above factors on two behaviors. The correlation coefficient was used as the unified effect size, and the random-effect model was adopted to conduct both main effect and moderating effect tests.FindingsThe results showed that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control all positively influenced intention and HPEBs, but their effects were stronger on intention than on HPEBs. Intention was found to be the strongest predictor of HPEBs. Subjective norms were found to have a more positive effect on HES compared to HWM, while habits had a more positive effect on HWM. Furthermore, household size was negatively correlated with HWM but positively correlated with HES.Originality/valueThe same variables have different influences on HWM and HES. These results can help develop targeted incentives to increase the adoption of HPEBs, ultimately reducing household energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to the mitigation of global warming.

3D bioprinted meat: the values-beliefs-norms evaluation of perceived future food source among younger generations

PurposeThe acceptance and perception of people regarding 3D bioprinted meat are considered as primary concerns but have not been widely evaluated. This study aimed to determine how biospheric, altruistic, egoistic, ecological worldviews, awareness of consequences, social norms and personal norms affect the consumption intention of 3D bioprinted meat as a future food source.Design/methodology/approachThe values-beliefs-norms theory grounded this study. An online survey was conducted with 600 valid respondents for analysis utilizing the structural equation modeling method.FindingsIt was found that the ecological worldview had the highest significance, and biospheric and egoistic values positively impacted individuals’ ecological worldview. The awareness of consequences and social norms was also seen to directly influence personal norms, leading to consumption intention. However, it was determined that altruistic values toward an ecological worldview had no significant effect, as an individual's moral values are not affected by other people's well-being.Practical implicationsThis study was able to assess and discover the positive consumption intention among Filipinos, highlighting societal norms and pro-environmental behavior. The findings may help manufacturers market 3D bioprinted meat effectively and aid studies on environmentalism, social movements and consumer behavior, leading to acceptance of the development and proliferation of cultured meats.Originality/valueThere have been no studies on cultured meats such as 3D bioprinted meat in the Philippines. The current study was able to fully assess the pro-environmental behavior among Filipinos and intention for 3D bioprinted meat against the generic behavioral assessment among related studies. Comparison was presented based on the findings.

Review of Antecedents of Tourists’ Pro-Environmental Behavior: Based on Core Chinese and English Databases

Existing literature reviews on tourists’ pro-environmental behavior (PEB) mostly rely on English databases, overlooking a significant amount of relevant research in Chinese databases. So, this research conducts a literature search from Web of Science (WOS) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). I follow the PRISMA procedure to get 175 articles for review and category the antecedents of tourists’ PEB into four main groups: inherent factors, rational factors, emotional factors, and situational factors. Lastly, I suggest some possible directions for future research.

Urban Renewal and Transformation of Residents’ Pro-Environmental Behaviors: Evidence from the Renovation of Old Residential Areas in Chengdu, China

Based on research data from the renovation of old residential areas in Chengdu, China, this study provides empirical evidence regarding the causal relationship between urban renewal and the transformation of residents’ pro-environmental behaviors. The research results show a significant enhancement in residents’ engagement in pro-environmental behaviors due to the renovation of old residential areas. Robustness tests based on replacement samples and two-stage difference–difference model also confirm the reliability of the conclusions. The preliminary mechanism test indicates that the mechanism of the impact of renovation of old residential areas on the transformation of residents’ pro-environmental behaviors can be attributed to two main factors. Firstly, improving environmental infrastructure, such as upgrading waste segregation facilities and installing intelligent resource recycling devices, provides residents with better conditions for engaging in pro-environmental behaviors. Secondly, an increase in residents’ environmental awareness has led to more voluntary participation in pro-environmental behaviors. This study proposes that decision makers acknowledge that urban renewal serves as both a means of improving urban infrastructure and as a hands-on environmental education for the entire population. Taking urban renewal as an opportunity to enhance citizens’ awareness of environmental protection will effectively promote the transformation of pro-environmental behaviors and support sustainable social development.

Environmental Concerns of Agri-Food Product Consumers: Key Factors

Growing consumer interest in caring for the environment has motivated the development of multiple studies focused on discovering this variable’s impact on purchasing behaviour. However, a major gap still exists between attitude and pro-environmental behaviour caused by the need for greater environmental awareness, among other things. Therefore, knowing the environmental issues that worry consumers of agrifood products is important. This work digs deeper into this issue by analysing these environmental concerns and examining differences between countries with different levels of environmental sensitivity. CAWI methodology has been used to conduct an online survey in four countries (Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Denmark), with 3200 valid responses analysed using qualitative and quantitative techniques. The obtained results highlight the existence of 11 major environmental dimensions or issues for consumers of agri-food products. In addition, a correspondence analysis identifies two key factors, the first focused on a range of environmental problems of a more general nature and the second with greater interest focused on concern for biodiversity conservation. This study has implications for both the agri-food sector and European agricultural policy.

Technopreneurship in Pro-Environmental Behavior for Sustainable Carbon Emission Reduction in Central Kalimantan

Technopreneurship in Pro-Environmental Behavior for Sustainable Carbon Emission Reduction in Central Kalimantan

Immersive storytelling for pro-environmental behaviour change: The Green Planet augmented reality experience

Immersive media is becoming more mainstream but its role in challenging social norms and individuals’ behaviours is less understood. We implemented a survey at The Green Planet Augmented Reality Experience, one of the largest immersive experiences in the United Kingdom, investigating the potential of nature-themed augmented reality (AR) experiences to encourage sustainability beliefs and pro-environmental behaviours, with a one-month follow-up. A video condition group was also recruited to watch a 2D screen-capture video of the AR experience. Results suggest that the AR group had increased in sustainability attitudes and pro-environmental behaviours after (vs. before) the experience, and this persisted at follow-up one month later. When compared to the video group, the AR group scored higher in sustainability beliefs immediately after engaging with the media (but did not differ in pro-environmental behavioural intentions). At a one-month follow-up, both groups appeared to have declined in sustainability beliefs and behaviours in comparison to immediately after media exposure (but were still greater when compared to before exposure). While the two groups did not differ in sustainability beliefs, AR visitors reported to have performed more pro-environmental behaviours in the month following the experience and even increased significantly more since before attending the experience when compared to those in the video condition. Finally, we built a model of cognitive mechanisms of longitudinal pro-environmental behaviour change by media, identifying the sense of presence and connection with nature as mechanisms through which immersive media can promote greater behaviour change when compared to traditional video media. Limitations and industry implications are discussed.

Downward social comparison in explaining pro-environmental attitude-sustainable consumption behavior gap

Downward social comparison in explaining pro-environmental attitude-sustainable consumption behavior gap

A social identity approach to understanding sustainability and environmental behaviours in South Africa

ABSTRACT In recent years, change in behaviour towards the environment has gained prominence as a policy tool to influence positive environmental value. Simultaneously, the role played by social identity in promoting pro-environmental action is gaining recognition. Within this work, the intersection between collective group identity and environmental behaviour has received very little attention. Group norms are considered a strong predictor of pro-environmental behaviour, yet the influence of social identity and collective action on environmental action has not been adequately investigated in a multi-ethnic setting. Within this context, this study examines the affective component of social identity influence on pro-environmental action. More succinctly, this study demonstrates how outgroups and in-groups’ relations and broader sociocultural structures, values, interest, and norms impact environmental and sustainability transitions behaviours. Through interviews with participants across the four dominant social groups in South Africa, this study provides compelling evidence that country-wide expressions of social identity and ingroup dynamics shapes the individual behaviour regarding environmental and sustainability concerns and further strengthen the individual’s perspective for social environmental transformation. This study advances the need for a social-identity centred approach to foster pro-environmental and sustainability outcomes. Highlights The influence that social contexts and social group memberships have on individual perception and behaviour provide important insights to build an empirical base for an inclusive environmental and sustainable action. We applied the theory of social identity to explore these processes and how normative group values and group interest shape environmental behaviour.

Factors That Influence Clothing Upcycling Behavior in Japan: Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior

In recent times, clothing upcycling has emerged as a sustainable solution to tackling textile waste. Despite its popularity, there remains a limited understanding of the factors driving individuals’ upcycling behavior. This study delves into the determinants of clothing upcycling behavior within the Japanese population. Administered via an online survey involving 433 participants in Japan, this research utilized structural equation modeling to assess a theoretical model that integrates personal norms, attitudes, social norms, perceived behavioral control, and intention within the theory of planned behavior. The outcomes reveal that both personal norms and perceived behavioral control exert a substantial influence on individuals’ intentions to participate in upcycling activities. Interestingly, the impact of attitude on upcycling intentions is moderate, while subjective norms surprisingly showed no significant influence. These findings contribute to the pro-environmental behavior literature and can guide the development of focused interventions that promote sustainable fashion consumption through upcycling.

Harmonious environmental passion and voluntary pro-environmental behavior at home and at work: a moderated mediation model to examine the role of cultural femininity

AbstractEmployees’ pro-environmental behavior can contribute to reduce organizations environmental impact, improving organizational sustainability. The primary objective of this work is to highlight the mechanisms that stimulate employees’ voluntary pro-environmental behavior at work (Wpeb), paying attention to the role of harmonious environmental passion, private life voluntary pro-environmental behavior (PLpeb) and contextual factors as national culture. The model was analysed empirically by collecting data from 331 Kazakhstani and Ecuadorian bank employees. Covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB_SEM) is used to test the proposed relationships. Our findings demonstrate that harmonious environmental passion is positively related to Wpeb, and this relationship is mediated by PLpeb. In addition, the results show that cultural femininity strengthens the direct effects of harmonious environmental passion on PLpeb and Wpeb. These findings will help managers to promote such pro-environmental behaviors at work in different cultural contexts through the implementation of various practices inducing the atmosphere that stimulates the development of environmental passion.

Climate change beliefs and behaviours: Data collected from 30-year-old offspring and their parents in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC)

Climate change is causing a suite of environmental and social issues. Understanding patterns of climate change beliefs and behaviours, and the factors which shape these attitudes and actions, is therefore essential. This data note describes the novel data collection of climate belief and behaviour questions embedded within the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a longitudinal population-based birth cohort in southwest England. Two generations of ALSPAC participants completed the questionnaires containing these climate questions: the Generation-1 (G1) offspring (n=4,341), Generation-0 (G0) mothers (n=4,793), and the G0 mother’s partners (n=2,111). The questions asked about: belief in climate change; concern over climate change; whether climate change is caused by human activity; whether individual behaviours can impact climate change; the impacts of climate change in the participants’ local area; and whether participants were engaging in any of 17 pro-environmental behaviours (e.g., recycling more, reducing meat/dairy consumption) for climate change and/or other reasons. The majority of participants believed the climate was definitely changing (~80%), were somewhat or very concerned about climate change (~90%) and attributed most or all of climate change to human activity (~75%), with only small differences between the generations. On average, participants reported engaging in between 5 and 6 actions because of concerns regarding climate change (5.8 in G0 mothers; 5.2 in G1 offspring and G0 partners). Associations with sociodemographic factors (e.g., age, sex, ethnicity and socioeconomic background) were relatively weak, but positive relationships between highest level of education and greater climate change belief, concern and behaviours were evident. Increased climate belief and concern also predicted engaging in more pro-environmental actions. Responses to these climate questions were more similar within-families. This data note provides important information for future users of these data, as well as discussing some of the key strengths, limitations and considerations for data users.