Analyzing Barriers to Energy Conservation in Residences and Offices: The Rewire Program at the University of Toronto

Stokes, Leah C.; Mildenberger, Matto; Savan, Beth; Kolenda, Brian

doi:10.1080/1533015x.2012.751282

Cited by 17 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Affective factors also include subjective norms (courtesy-wanting to be kind to others) and diffusion of responsibility (knowing whose responsibility it is to do a given task). Individuals who exhibit a great sense of courtesy and personal responsibility are likely to engage in PEB [26]. For individuals to engage in PEB, they need to be aware that 'their actions might have consequences for the welfare of others' (awareness of consequences) and that they 'must feel a personal responsibility to undertake that action' (ascription of responsibility) [42].…”

Section: Conceptualising Pro-environmental Behaviour and Factors Inflmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These include personal attitudes or disposition towards PEB such as the willingness or intention to devote individual, physical, economic and time resources to such actions. Attitudes define individual beliefs about the consequences of their behaviour or acts [26]. While some evidence shows that strong environmental attitudes are positively linked with PEB [43], this relationship is characterised by heterogeneity and is questioned [44].…”

Section: Conceptualising Pro-environmental Behaviour and Factors Inflmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This study is among the first to explore PEB in a university residence setting from a South African higher education context. Such an analysis can be useful for university managers in understanding which specific factors are salient in different areas of the university [26] and identifying which behaviours and groups can be mainly targeted [3,4,27] to promote sustainability. Furthermore, intervention programmes informed by a better understanding of the various barriers to PEB are likely to be cost-effective due to their tailor-made precision and the content of the messages [27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, intervention programmes informed by a better understanding of the various barriers to PEB are likely to be cost-effective due to their tailor-made precision and the content of the messages [27]. Stokes et al [26] define barriers as "the varied factors preventing people from engaging in the given pro-environmental behaviour" (p. 89). Within the context of the above, the main aim of this research was to explore PEB in the residence system at Rhodes University, South Africa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pro-Environmental Behaviour in Student Residences at Rhodes University, South Africa

Thondhlana

Hlatshwayo

2018

Sustainability

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Abstract:Human behaviour is at the centre of most environmental problems; hence, the promotion of pro-environmental behaviour is considered to be a pathway towards sustainability. Despite the availability of insights gained from pro-environmental behaviour studies, mainly from household and workplace settings, a key question remains-can these insights be applied in university residence settings? Within university campuses, student residences are a major entity in sustainability debates because they are major consumers of resources including paper, water and energy with severe repercussions for university budgets and the environment. Using a questionnaire survey, this study explores reported pro-environmental behaviour and its determinants at Rhodes University, South Africa. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics where relevant. The findings show a high level of heterogeneity in reported pro-environmental behaviour, attributed to a suite of internal and external factors. Internal dispositional factors seemed to constrain students from acting pro-environmentally. This study highlights the need to encourage environmental behaviour in university residence settings by supporting the antecedents of and getting rid of barriers to pro-environmental actions.

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Section: Conceptualising Pro-environmental Behaviour and Factors Inflmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Conceptualising Pro-environmental Behaviour and Factors Inflmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pro-Environmental Behaviour in Student Residences at Rhodes University, South Africa

Thondhlana

Hlatshwayo

2018

Sustainability

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“…It is an off-campus version of the "REWIRE" program, which utilizes Community Based Social Marketing [12,20], and other types of CBR techniques [30] to encourage increased energy conservation in campus student residences [37]. REWIRE is a modular intervention program developed by a team at the University of Toronto Sustainability Office and has been successfully implemented at campus student residences at the University of Toronto [37,38].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Post-Intervention Persistence of Energy Conservation Behaviors: An Evaluation of the ‘Start Green’ Program

Burns

Savan

2018

Sustainability

Self Cite

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For more than four decades, behavioral intervention programs informed by psychology have been employed to increase pro-environmental behaviors. However, there has been little evidence for the post-intervention durability of target behaviors. The few studies that have conducted such evaluations have found that improvements often return to baseline levels post-intervention. This study evaluated the durability of home energy conservation behaviors before, during, and after a community based multi-technique intervention program, and examined the relationship between behavioral durability and the perceived importance, convenience and family norms of each behavior, as well as generalized pro-conservation decision making. The results show increased frequency in target behaviors that remain elevated seven months post-intervention. While the reported generalization of pro-conservation decision-making consistently increased during the study, perceived importance, convenience, and family norms of target conservation behaviors were largely unaffected. In addition, the few significant alterations in these perceptions were found to be due to increases during the post-intervention period only, indicating that they are not necessary pre-requisites for durable behavior change. These results show that a well designed community based intervention can have direct impacts on target behaviors that persist beyond its termination.

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BrightDark: A Smartphone App Utilizing e-fotonovela and Text Messages to Increase Energy Conservation Awareness

Alharbi

Chatterjee

2015

Persuasive Technology

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Analyzing Barriers to Energy Conservation in Residences and Offices: The Rewire Program at the University of Toronto

Cited by 17 publications

References 31 publications

Pro-Environmental Behaviour in Student Residences at Rhodes University, South Africa

Pro-Environmental Behaviour in Student Residences at Rhodes University, South Africa

The Post-Intervention Persistence of Energy Conservation Behaviors: An Evaluation of the ‘Start Green’ Program

BrightDark: A Smartphone App Utilizing e-fotonovela and Text Messages to Increase Energy Conservation Awareness

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