Consumer Panel on the Readiness of Finns to Behave in a More Pro-Environmental Manner

Abstract

Due to climate change, there is an urgent need to take measures toward reducing greenhouse gases and energy consumption. It is therefore vital to examine peoples' attitudes and the potential for a more pro-environmental readiness. Consumer panels were used in the gathering of data, even with such small subsamples, statistical significance of difference cannot be assessed. The research subjects participating were randomly selected from two different residential areas and three different age groups. The consumer panels examined the environmental attitudes of the research subjects as well as their readiness to adopt a more pro-environmental lifestyle under four theme headings: Urban structure, household energy consumption, mobility and lifestyle. The results suggest that all the research subjects are very much ready to reduce their consumption, but not quite ready to invest in expensive, but environmentally-friendly equipment. Young and elderly research subjects seemed more prepared to make pro-environmental changes than middle-aged subjects. Place of residence also seemed to have an impact on the adoption threshold: Research subjects living in more densely populated suburbs seemed to be more willing to give up driving, whereas those living in sparsely populated areas seemed to be more willing to invest in expensive, but environmentally-friendly equipment and give up flying for vacations.

Development and Validation of the Readiness to Change Scale (RtC) for Sustainability

“…As a reminder, recall that the guidelines that were used in this research to assess correlations are those described by Gignac and Szodorai [114], which define thresholds for small, typical, and large associations as 0.10, 0.20, and 0.30, respectively. This finding is echoed by the scientific literature, where attitudes toward sustainability considerations are considered an integral part of an individual's life [83][84][85][86][87], in that even ignorance of problems affecting the environment is itself a well-defined attitude, leading to taking (or not taking) certain actions toward (or against) environmental protection, for example [87]. The second hypothesis (i.e., H2) concerning the relationship between RtC and green identity appears to be supported-higher levels of RtC appear to be positively correlated with pro-environmental identity components.…”

“…In the study undertaken by Haqq and Natsir [83] it is described that, in general, individual readiness to change is an attitude of willingness to accept and support a change plan, whereupon the definition of readiness to change as "the beliefs, feelings, and intentions of individuals regarding the extent to which change is needed and the capacity to successfully implement change" is considered to be more suitable than the multidimensional concept comprehended in this study [83][84][85][86]. Regarding the sustainability perspectives of attitude and their relationship with the readiness to change construct, Valkila and Saari [87] express how today these environmental considerations are a ubiquitous part of all people's attitudes, as even ignorance regarding environmental issues is the expression of an attitude.…”

Moving Beyond Profit: Expanding Research to Better Understand Business Environmental Management

“…Other authors argue that agencies should support socially responsible consumerism by providing information and education, sponsoring efficiency incentives, and modifying infrastructure. Findings show that individuals are more likely to find information campaigns to be relevant and meaningful if they are sponsored by local authorities than for-profit businesses [77,78].…”

The Role of Consumers in the Transition toward Low-Carbon Living

“…Our results are also similar to those of Ek and Soderholm [8], as their findings indicate that important factors of energy saving include those of cost and environmental attitude. Valkila and Saari's [9] research subjects were willing to reduce their consumption, but were not ready to invest in more expensive equipment. However, based on our findings, people are willing to invest in technologies when they have a sufficient level of information and amount of money.…”