Environmental knowledge, pro-environmental behaviour and energy savings in households: An empirical study

Pothitou, Mary, Hanna, Richard F. and Chalvatzis, Konstantinos J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9829-7030 (2016) Environmental knowledge, pro-environmental behaviour and energy savings in households: An empirical study. Applied Energy, 184. 1217–1229. ISSN 0306-2619

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Abstract

In this paper we evaluate the impact of knowledge about environmental and energy issues on potential pro-environmental behaviour in households, specifically relating to behaviours, attitudes and habits towards energy use. Our results are based on an empirical survey and we find significant correlations which indicate that residents with positive environmental values and greater environmental knowledge are more likely to demonstrate energy behaviours, attitudes and habits which lead to energy saving activities in households. This is further supported through a Principal Component Analysis (PCA), which suggests that energy saving behaviour may also vary according to gender and employment status. Conversely, we find only limited evidence of statistical associations between environmental predisposition and knowledge, and ownership and frequency of use of household appliances. We argue that our results contribute to the significant body of literature supporting the role of knowledge in active engagement with energy issues. This study is timely following closely policy developments in active consumer engagement by the European Commission.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	pro-environmental behaviour,energy behaviour,attitudes,habits,environmental predisposition,environmental knowledge
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Norwich Business School University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	14 Jun 2016 15:00
Last Modified:	22 Oct 2022 01:15
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/59335
DOI:	10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.06.017

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