Sufficiency before efficiency: Consumers' profiling and barriers/facilitators of energy efficient behaviours

Gaspar, Rui; Antunes, Dalila; Faria, Ana Cristina de; Meiszner, Andreas

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.07.075

Cited by 23 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…The first step would be a change in behaviour by using less power switching off electric appliances when not needed, turning off lights when leaving the room, etc. (B1) [75]. If it is not enough and power costs are still increasing, consumers might transfer their peak consumption to off-peak hours, when electricity price is lower (B2), which would increase energy system flexibility [76].…”

Section: Reinforcing and Balancing Processes In Energy Transitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of modelling energy transitions pathways with application to energy system flexibility

Bolwig

Bažbauers

Klitkou

et al. 2019

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

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Section: Reinforcing and Balancing Processes In Energy Transitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of modelling energy transitions pathways with application to energy system flexibility

Bolwig

Bažbauers

Klitkou

et al. 2019

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

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“…Also, avoiding the use of some products (e.g., cars) to conserve energy may be perceived as an expense "thrown away" since consumers previously made a financial investment on them (Gifford, 2011). Besides, EC may be regarded as a loss of personal comfort and wellbeing (Gaspar, Antunes, Faria, & Meiszner, 2017) presumably which in turn increases the perceived cost.…”

Section: Psychological Barriersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overcoming the psychological barriers to energy conservation behaviour: The influence of objective and subjective environmental knowledge

Dursun

Kabadayı

Tuğer

2019

Int J Consumer Studies

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Energy conservation is a crucial aspect of responsible consumption which is the reflection of individual efforts for sustainability. However, especially young consumers are reluctant to reduce their energy consumption despite their pro‐environmental attitudes. Resistance to behavioural change can be attributed to various psychological barriers that help consumer to avoid engaging in pro‐environmental actions. In this context, the first aim of the study is to extend the theoretical and empirical evidence regarding impeding effects of psychological barriers on individual energy conservation behaviour. Secondly, the study investigates the alleviating role of environmental knowledge on those barriers that limit energy conservation. Proposed impeding effects of objective and subjective environmental knowledge on various denial mechanisms, which are in turn expected to hinder energy conservation, were tested using the survey data collected from young Turkish consumers. Results suggest that denial mechanisms hinder young consumers’ energy conservation behaviour indirectly through diminishing feelings of moral obligations. Moreover, it was found that objective environmental knowledge's effect can be used to break down the psychological barriers and to facilitate the change towards more sustainable energy consumption patterns. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.

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“…However, sustainable technologies often experience slow adoption rates (Greenland et al , 2019), with penetration of energy efficient appliances far below optimum in many countries (de la Rue du Can et al , 2014). While many consumers perceive themselves as environmentally friendly and socially responsible, this frequently does not to translate into sustainable consumption behaviour such as via energy efficient appliance purchases (Gaspar et al , 2017). The positive impact of sustainable technologies is subsequently not realised (Weiss and Bonvillian, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Demographics of sustainable technology consumption in an emerging market: the significance of education to energy efficient appliance adoption

Nguyen

Greenland

Lobò

et al. 2019

SRJ

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Purpose This paper aims to address gaps in the sustainable technology literature by evaluating the demographics of energy efficient appliance consumption in Vietnam. Sustainable technologies can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address environmental problems such as air quality and climate change. Opportunity is the greatest in emerging markets, where population growth has triggered dramatic rises in electricity consumption. However, their adoption of energy efficient appliances has been slow and understanding why is limited. Design/methodology/approach Following a literature review, a questionnaire was designed to capture sustainable consumption attitudes and behaviours. In total, 682 interviews were conducted among Vietnamese electrical appliance consumers to investigate the influence of demographics on sustainable technology consumption. Findings While many respondents were aware of the sustainable benefits of energy efficient appliances, this did not generally translate into responsible purchase behaviour. Of the demographic variables, education had the strongest relationship with sustainability. Those with higher incomes and more children were also more likely to exhibit sustainable consumption attitudes and behaviours. Gender and age were weaker sustainability predictors. Originality/value This study is relevant to a wide range of sustainable technology contexts. The literature shows contrary findings regarding relationships between demographics and sustainable consumption, and the value of demographics to sustainable consumer segmentation and targeted behaviour change campaigns has been contested by some researchers. This research highlights education as the most significant demographic predictor of sustainable consumption and reveals the consistency of this finding with many other studies. The implications of this for promoting future sustainability are discussed.

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Sufficiency before efficiency: Consumers' profiling and barriers/facilitators of energy efficient behaviours

Cited by 23 publications

References 40 publications

Review of modelling energy transitions pathways with application to energy system flexibility

Review of modelling energy transitions pathways with application to energy system flexibility

Overcoming the psychological barriers to energy conservation behaviour: The influence of objective and subjective environmental knowledge

Demographics of sustainable technology consumption in an emerging market: the significance of education to energy efficient appliance adoption

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