Cleaner and Responsible Consumption最新文献

The purpose of this study was to determine how social norms and definitions of the self in terms of individualism-collectivism related to engagement in a public-sphere behavior, encouraging others to conserve water. To achieve this, we examined the public sphere behavior of encouraging others to conserve water through the lens of the Theory of Planned behavior. Data were collected from residents in Florida, USA. Cluster analysis was used to assign respondents to individual subgroups according to five variables: horizontal individualism index, vertical individualism index, horizontal collectivism index, vertical collectivism index, and behavioral intent. Then, group membership was used as the independent variable to compare subjective and descriptive norms, personal norms, attitude, perceived behavioral control, demographic characteristics, past and current behavior. Of the resulting two clusters, the Interdependent Conservation Advocates had greater identification with collectivism indices and had stronger intent to encourage others to conserve water, as compared to the Unconnected Bystanders. The former subgroup also reported significantly more positive subjective norms, descriptive norms, personal norms, attitudes, and perceived behavioral control. Perceived behavioral control marked the greatest practical difference between the groups. Interventions targeting this public sphere behavior should foster values of collectivism and increase perceived behavioral control by improving people's ability to encourage others to conserve water.

Modern dietary habits pose large threats to the global vision for a sustainable food system transition, intensifying discussions around the urgency for educational initiatives that can promote more sustainable food consumption practices. However, research has not sufficiently studied food consumers' moral background, despite its strong influence on food choices, while relevant research on school-aged consumers is even scarcer. This study focuses on two individual ethical decision-making processes regarding food sustainability: moral judgments and moral motives. Data was selected using non-probability, opportunity sampling from 587 students attending the last two grades of primary school in the Region of Western Macedonia, Greece. Participants completed a Likert-scale questionnaire, which adopted a holistic approach towards food sustainability, incorporating the following 12 variables associated with all three domains of sustainability (environmental, societal, economic): Biodiversity, Carbon footprint, Soil, water and air conservation, (Food) loss and waste, Water footprint, Nutrition and health, Animal welfare, Workers' rights and safety, Cultural traditions, Food supply, Tax revenues and Profits, Jobs/incomes. In the moral motives scale, additional variables associated with non-moral considerations were also assessed: Sensory Appeal, Mood, Promotion, Social influence, Convenience and Familiarity. For the moral judgments scale, findings revealed low to medium scores for all the domains and among the variables associated with a sustainable food system, the lowest mean scores being recorded in those linked to the social dimension of sustainability. Regarding food consumption motives, results indicate that non-moral considerations prevail remarkably over moral ones and are linked to all three domains of sustainability. Statistical testing identified grade level, gender, place of residence and participation in environmental, health or food education school programs as factors influencing certain aspects of students’ moral thinking at a statistically significant level. Insights gained from this study can contribute to educational and other agendas aiming to promote sustainable food consumption.

This study is driven by the absence of thorough investigations into the behavioral intentions of organizational consumers in the B2B market for paint and coatings, particularly within the industrial and marine coatings sector in Vietnam. Employing the stimulus–organism–response model, we tested the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR), green brand image (GBI), green trust (GT), and behavioral intentions (word-of-mouth intention, willingness to pay, and purchase intention) in the Vietnamese industrial and marine coatings industry. We also examined how GBI and GT mediate the relationship between CSR and behavioral intentions. Structural equation modeling was used to test the structural and measurement models and hypothetical relationships. The sample comprised 332 responses from stakeholders in the Vietnamese coating industry. Evidently, GT and CSR positively influenced word-of-mouth, willingness-to-pay, and green purchase intentions, with trust and commitment to sustainability being important drivers. While GBI positively influences purchase intention and willingness-to-pay, it has a weak effect on word-of-mouth intention, indicating that additional strategies are needed to stimulate word of mouth. Further, GT mediates the relationship between green purchase intentions and GBI, as well as between CSR and green purchase intentions. The outcomes highlight the value of incorporating CSR, GT, and GBI into the business strategies of Vietnamese industrial and marine coating companies. We discuss several theoretical and managerial implications, and the importance of studying the influence of GT, CSR, and GBI on consumers’ behavioral intentions across various cultural contexts.

University students are among those associated with high energy consumption but with low conservational practices. Such behavior has serious implications on energy sustainability and emission of greenhouse gases. For developing countries, low electricity conservation increases the burden on utility companies and the government as a whole. Efforts to promote electricity conservation have led to an increased number of studies. However, such research have not given much consideration to the role of emotions as well as religion in energy conservation. Evidence from Ghana is also limited. This study examines the factors of electricity conservation intention among University students in Ghana. With the lens of the theory of planned behavior, electricity conservation intention associated with the usage of laptops, refrigerators, light and electric fans was assessed. Emotions and religion were included in the model to assess their effect. Data was collected through the administration of questionnaires to 204 university students. The findings from ordered probit regression indicate that subjective norms, perceived behaviourial control, attitude, emotions and religion influence the extent that students intend to conserve electricity. However, their effects were somehow found to be appliance-specific. The results suggest that continuous teaching of the need for electricity conservation at religious centers or among religious groups could generate some guaranteed levels of electricity conservation among students and may be, even among the larger population. Individuals that assume considerable importance in society should act as conservation leaders to promote such behavior among students and the general public.

As a consequence of energy issues and societal dilemmas, building insulation like the eco-block technology has proven its usefulness to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve energy security and enhance the living conditions of building occupants. In Mauritius, the eco-block building material was introduced to improve the energy efficiency of conventional buildings. As observed, limited people's knowledge, poor communication with developers and lack of support from policymakers slow the adoption of the building technology. Mauritian residents are the important stakeholders as they are the final decision-makers of the building insulation. Given recent studies reported that green building adoption is rather psychological than technical, the research makes an original contribution to the literature by extending two consistent psychological frameworks (technology of acceptance model and theory of planned behaviour) and proposing a new framework for assessing the unexplored predictors on eco-block building adoption. A survey questionnaire was forwarded to Mauritian residents through the purposive sampling method to collect data, where 283 responses were useful to undergo structural equation modelling. The results disclosed that attitudes, perceived usefulness, social norm, perceived behavioural control, personal innovativeness, energy concern and price sensitivity have an impact on the acceptance of the eco-block building. Contrarily, subjective knowledge and organisational trust have no influence on the adoption intention. Instead, organisational trust affects behavioural intention indirectly through perceived usefulness. The outcome of this research can serve as a roadmap for relevant stakeholders to promote eco-block building usage in Mauritius.

Dhaka, the only megacity of Bangladesh is facing water stress due to unplanned urbanization and lack of sustainable water management practices. The two important components of Integrated Urban Water Management, i.e., rainwater harvesting (RWH) and wastewater reuse are hardly practiced in Dhaka. A new township is growing in Dhaka to meet the dwelling needs of middle-income groups with the opportunities to integrate both the systems. However, the integration is either missing or lacks considerations of sustainability. This study explores the perceptions of 256 respondents (beneficiary and functionary) to ascertain the opportunities and challenges of integration of RWH and wastewater of the growing township using structured questionnaires. The awareness, level of knowledge, willingness and key necessities have been explored through the questions. The general awareness level on RWH and wastewater reuse ranges between 30% - 62% and 34%- 42% respectively for different age groups. Around 70% of the respondents lack knowledge on regulatory aspects of its implementation. Apart from economic insights, the perception reveals around 64% willingness towards its integration for urban water demand management. Complete awareness generation, enforcement of compliance and streamlining the process of integration are the key imperatives to offset the non-adoption of both components.

This paper studies niche-regime dynamics in sustainability transitions in the disposable nappy industry in Australia. Disposable nappies generate a disproportionate amount of plastic waste relative to the per capita usage of the product. In the 60 years since disposable nappies were introduced into the market, niche innovators attempting to offer more sustainable solutions have been unable to challenge the dominant market position of disposable nappies. Little attention has been paid to the dynamics of this industry despite the growing plastic waste crisis and the emergence of new niche innovations.

In this study, we apply the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) to the disposable nappy category for the first time. We adopt the “windows of opportunity” framework that sits within MLP to understand niche-regime dynamics in the nappy industry. The findings of this study revealed several significant barriers that niche nappy innovators need to overcome to destabilise regime-level actors and become mainstream. Achieving price parity and matching performance and convenience are the most significant factors. A new policy intervention in the Australian state of New South Wales banning the inclusion of compostable biofilms in household Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) waste collections also poses an immediate regulatory barrier.

The increasing demand for potable water resources worldwide due to population growth, drought, and unpredictable weather patterns resulting from climate change has led to a significant water crisis. To address this issue, it is essential to analyze domestic water consumption patterns and implement practical guidelines for water conservation programs in sustainable development.

This study investigated the technical and social behavioral saving strategies affecting domestic water consumption patterns in a random survey of 100 householders in Shiraz City, Iran. The aim was to determine the public viewpoint and hindrances of water conservation methods. Technical questions in the questionnaire were related to water usage facilities and equipment, while social questions were related to people's attitudes, awareness, and hindrances toward water conservation. Three categories are used to cluster water-saving behavioral patterns i.e., curtailment, economic, and efficiency characteristics. Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) techniques, including Simple Additive Weighted (SAW) and Analytic Hierarchy Processes (AHP), were used for the analysis of the comprehensive questionnaire data.

Based on the results, people seem to prioritize Social-Curtailment characteristics that align with their habits and culture, as well as Technical-Curtailment characteristics that involve high water consumption, low cost, and easy implementation. To effectively communicate the proposed technical-economic factors of low cost, low consumption, and medium implementation, they can be conveyed to the public through carefully chosen socio-curtailment indicators.

Burgeoning ecological crises of food production sector has made the environmental impact evaluation of various food products a sustainability imperative. Specifically, in pursuit of identifying a sustainable production model of high-demand food items, implementing a comparative life cycle assessment of various production approaches is of paramount importance. The energy consumption and environmental impacts of manufacturing two popular sesame products, Tahini (milled sesame paste) and Halva (sweetened sesame paste) in Iran was realized by using life cycle assessment methodology. In this regard, two production systems of traditional and modern, based on sesame cultivation and processing seeds were modeled. Moreover, production of milling stone, as the main instrument in Tahini and Halva production, was evaluated within the boundary of each product system. The highest energy used pattern and carbon footprint were attributed to the traditionally produced Tahini with 89.3 MJ/kg and 12.4 kg CO₂eq/kg respectively; while, the lowest results were associated with modern-based Halva production with 47.8 MJ/kg and 5.4 kg CO₂eq/kg. Compared to the traditional method, modern production of tahini was found to increase acidification potential and ozone layer depletion potential the most, with 73.1 g SO₂eq and 0.735 mg R11eq respectively. Production of milling stone was the predominant hotspot for all products in traditional and modern systems, with average of 56% and 45% contribution to the total energy used, and 75% and 71% contribution to the carbon footprint of products in the former and latter systems respectively. Moreover, implementation of agrivoltaics system and circular economy-based milling stone as the alternative scenarios were evaluated from LCA perspective, which demonstrated that adoption of alternative milling stone could reduce the impact results significantly. It is believed that the novel evaluation framework of this study could serve as an example for future LCA studies to expand the common routine of evaluation and include production of instrument within the product's system boundary.

The environmental pollution and climate change caused by rapid industrialization and economic growth have become worldwide concerns. In order to alleviate environmental pressures and seek sustainable development pathways, green consumption has become a focal point of attention. However, the practice of green consumption often constrained by individuals' levels of environmental literacy. Therefore, this study focuses on Shandong Province, comprehensively assessing residents' environmental literacy through four dimensions: environmental values, environmental responsibility, environmental problem perception, and environmental behavioral skills. Similarly, residents' green consumption is evaluated through four dimensions: green products, material recycling, biodiversity conservation, and efficient use of energy. The study investigates the connection between these two aspects to provide robust support for regional sustainable development. Data from 210 valid surveys collected through online questionnaires in Shandong Province revealed a generally high level of environmental literacy and green consumption, but relatively lower performance in dimensions like environmental behavioral skills, green products and material recycling. Further analysis demonstrates significant positive correlations between the four dimensions of environmental literacy and green consumption. Notably, environmental behavior skills and environmental responsibility played pivotal roles in influencing green consumption.