The Effect of Information Provision on Pro-Environmental Behaviors

Abstract

To reduce the environmental load of the household sector, it is important to enhance people's proenvironmental behaviors (PEBs). Information provision has been considered as one of the possible methods for fostering PEBs. However, previous studies have seldom discussed what type of information is most appropriate for the target behavior. Effective media through which to provide such information should be also discussed. In order to identify the most effective such information, as well as the effectiveness of free papers as media through which to disseminate it, environmental information regarding two behaviors-"My Cup" and "Carbon Cashbag"-was provided through online questionnaires and free papers. Even though the same information was provided in both sources, it was found that the effectiveness of the content depended on the target behavior and region. As lack of information was one of the barriers to "Carbon Cashbag" behavior, it was found that the provision of very basic information improved the intention and practice of the behavior. Higher scores for intention and practice were observed when information was provided through free papers, which could therefore be considered as effective media through which to deliver information about PEBs.

Information Provision and Economic Approach for Promotion of Plastic Shopping Bag Reduction in Bangkok, Thailand.

“…Declarative knowledge can ideally reduce uncertainty which allows people to take actions (Kaiser and Fuhrer, 2003). Moreover, Lee, Kurisu and Hanaki (2015) found that providing this kind of knowledge of the existing campaign could improve people‖s intention to perform the behavior.…”

“…It is also relevant when behavior is instrumental in optimizing a person‖s cost-benefit ratio (Kaiser and Fuhrer, 2003). For example, Fuel or CO 2 emission can be cut by switching from a gasoline-fueled car to a hybrid car, see Lee, Kurisu and Hanaki (2015) for example. Buying a fuel-efficient automobile has a greater impact on energy conservation than does curtailing driving behavior, see an example in (Stern and Gardner, 1981).…”