The influence of consumer behavior on energy, greenhouse gas, and water footprints of showering

Abstract

Understanding variability in consumer behavior can provide further insights into how to effectively reduce environmental footprints related to household activities. Here, we developed a stochastic model to quantify the energy, greenhouse gas (GHG), and water consumption footprints of showering in four different countries (Australia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America). We assessed the influence of two broadly distinct categories of behavior on the footprints of showering: habitual behaviors and one‐off reasoned actions. We also investigated whether changing showering behavior has a substantial impact on the associated energy, GHG, and water footprints. Our results show that the variation in environmental footprints within the countries due to differences in consumer behavior is a factor of 6–17 (95th percentile/5th percentile) depending on the country and the indicator selected. Both consumers’ reasoned actions (especially the choice of a specific heater and shower type) and habitual behaviors (length of showering in particular, are the dominant sources of footprint variability. Significant savings are achievable by making better one‐off decisions such as buying an efficient water heater and by taking shorter showers.

Comparative Greenhouse Gas Footprinting of Online versus Traditional Shopping for Fast-Moving Consumer Goods: A Stochastic Approach

“…To quantify the relative influence of the input parameters on the variability in the GHG footprints, we calculated the contribution to variance for all of the variables of the model following the procedure described by Shahmohammadi et al 64 For the categorical variables (e.g., mode of transport, truck type, and the use of ships), we first performed a multifactor analysis of variance (ANOVA). Then, we calculated the contribution to variance for each categorical variable by dividing the sum of squares of each variable by the total sum of squares.…”

A comparative life cycle assessment of a cascade heat pump and a natural gas furnace for residential heating purposes

“…Considering natural gas, which on average releases 0.525 kg eq CO 2 per kWh of heat, an approximate 56 × 10 4 kg eq CO 2 is released into the atmosphere every year. Limiting CO 2 −producing activities is important in limiting the GHG effect, which is important in combating climate change (Shahmohammadi et al, 2019). Natural gas furnaces always operate at efficiencies under 100% (Shahmohammadi et al, 2019).…”

“…Limiting CO 2 −producing activities is important in limiting the GHG effect, which is important in combating climate change (Shahmohammadi et al, 2019). Natural gas furnaces always operate at efficiencies under 100% (Shahmohammadi et al, 2019). Currently, Natural Resources Canada sets guidelines for furnace efficiencies, with the minimum range that has to be met being 78%-90%.…”

“…Refrigerants used in cascade heat pump systems should have a very low or near zero ozone depletion potential, low global warming potential, and a short atmospheric life. The heat pump offers alternative ways of providing heating, cooling, and hot water generation in an efficient environmentally friendly, and cost-effective manner (Shahmohammadi et al, 2019).…”

Winners of the 2019 Graedel Prizes: The Journal of Industrial Ecology Best Paper Prizes

“…The three papers nominated for the junior first author prize were: a global input–output analysis of dietary change (Cazcarro, López‐Morales, & Duchin, 2019); a consumer‐based study of water, energy, and greenhouse gas footprints from showering (Shahmohammadi, Steinmann, King, Hendrickx, & Huijbregts, 2019); and case studies incorporating commodity flow and truck activity data into material flow analysis (Yeow & Cheah, 2019).…”