CHANGING LIVES TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE: Why do people adopt and maintain sustainable lifestyles? more

Research Summary Dr Sarah Hards February 2012 CHANGING LIVES TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE: Why do people adopt and maintain sustainable lifestyles? Climate change and the transition to a “green economy” are major concerns for policy and research. Individual behaviour change has played an important part in UK environmental policy over the last decade, with attention recently focussing on controversial “nudge” approaches. However, we do not fully understand why people adopt and maintain sustainable lifestyles. This summary report presents findings from recently completed postgraduate research that addresses this issue. 1. Introducing the research In the last decade, UK governments have introduced a range of policies to engage the public with issues such as climate change, and promote sustainable living1. It has been shown that a range of factors affect this behaviour, including information, values, emotions, norms and context2. However, conventional models of behaviour struggle to explain the fact that people’s actions often do not match their attitudes; the “valueaction gap”. Another problem concerns the durability of change; we do not yet know what makes new behaviours “stick” over time. The study began with a review of literature from Psychology, Sociology, Marketing, Politics and Geography. This review suggested that a useful new approach would meet four criteria, being:  Holistic - including all the forms of action people take to address climate change, and all the factors that might affect this  Contextual - considering the constraints and opportunities provided by the social and physical environment Dynamic - seeing action as a continuous process, developing over time Experience-based - drawing on the perceptions of the people involved in these practices.   Four specific research questions were identified: 1 2 3 4 How is “action on climate change” understood by the people engaged in it? How does it develop throughout an individual’s life? What are the key processes that influence this development? What lessons can we learn for the promotion of sustainable lifestyles? The study was conducted between 2007 and 2011 by Sarah Hards of the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of York. 2. Methods Aiming to meet the four criteria above, the study adopted an in-depth qualitative approach. It used interviews with sixteen people (eight men and eight women), aged from 24 to 73, living in a city in Northern England. People were only recruited if they described themselves as doing something to address climate change. They were found using environmental groups, websites, email lists and street stalls and by asking interviewees to suggest other contacts. Each participant gave a face-to-face interview, lasting 1-3 hours. During the interview they described how they first became involved in action on climate change, and how and why this action had developed over time. This took the form of a “life-history”. Visual biographical methods were also used. Each participant completed a “life grid”; a form of timeline showing key events and experiences in their life. They also drew a “life graph” representing changes in their level of action on climate change over time (Figure 1). Figure 1: Example life graph - a composite of several participants’ graphs to preserve anonymity broader “project” of sustainable or ethical living. This involved many different aspects of their lifestyle. For many, saving money also formed part of their motivation. 3.2 How action on climate change develops over time Most participants said that their action on climate change had increased throughout their life, either as a continuous upward trend or in a series of steps. Often this was a learning process, as they gradually found out about new issues or new ways to live sustainably. Downward trends in action on climate change were rare3. An exception was transport; people’s use of cars and other forms of transport generally went up and down over their lives, influenced by their location, family and work. Regarding lifestyle change, most people started with easy actions such as avoiding waste and saving energy at home, and then gradually began to do more. Some eventually went on to take much more challenging actions such as giving up flying, or generating energy at home. 3. Findings It is important to note that this is a small-scale study; the generalisability of these findings could be confirmed by studies on larger populations. Regarding campaigning, most people had started by signing petitions or donating to charities. Some went on to become committed activists, for example, attending international demonstrations. The term “career” can be used to describe the way a person’s action on climate change changes over time. Many careers involved one or more key “moments of change” when people made changes in several areas of behaviour. These were often linked with broader changes in their lives, such as a new house, job, relationship status or baby. 3.1 How people understand action on climate change All participants were making some lifestyle changes to reduce their carbon footprint, most commonly saving energy, reducing waste and trying to travel more sustainably. Most were also campaigning for policy change, or raising awareness about the issue. Most participants were not motivated solely by concern for climate change, but also by other environmental concerns, or beliefs about development, justice and animal rights. Participants often saw their action on climate change as part of a 3.3 Why practices change The study identified a range of inter-related factors shaping participants’ careers of action, including: Upbringing: Parents/mentors have long-lasting effects on children. Many participants were taught to respect nature and avoid waste when they were young, or were encouraged to challenge the status quo. Social networks: Having like-minded friends or participating in local groups can promote environmental action, because people share ideas and advice and encourage each other to do more. However, a bad experience in a group can cause a person to take less action. Family, work and life-stage: Having children or a time-consuming job can limit the hours available for environmental activities, and create demands such as an increased need for car travel. These demands change as people grow older. Priorities and abilities also change, for example, children may have limited knowledge, teenagers may have other priorities, and older people may find some active tasks harder. Experiences: Many kinds of experience affect environmental action. People can “learn by doing” and develop skills that help them take more action, or they can become tired and need a break. Sometimes there are “feedback loops”, for example, if someone becomes interested in environmental issues they may seek like-minded people as friends, and then become more active under their influence. Location: Where people live and work shapes their actions, especially transport choices, which are strongly affected by the distances they need to travel and the options available (such as public transport). Local facilities such as recycling services, ethical shops and community centres affect what people can do. Another important factor is the social networks and groups that exist in a place. History: People are shaped by the society they live in. Environmental problems have changed, as has media coverage of them. People’s expectations about lifestyles have evolved, with consumption and disposable income higher now than for most previous generations. However, there are also new technologies available, such as micro-scale renewable energy. These all create new opportunities and barriers to action. people to try out new behaviours, such as free trials of “veg boxes” or bikes for commuters. Use existing social networks to communicate messages. Support organisations that build people’s skills in sustainable living and encourage skilled and knowledgeable people to teach others. Use “moments of change”; target people when they are going to university, moving house, getting married, retiring and so on. Consider the priorities and constraints of the specific audience in question; use appropriate language, motivations and suggested actions. Recognise that climate change is not just about the climate; for many people it is linked to wider concerns such as development, community, animal rights or justice. Ensure that the facilities are in place to support sustainable lifestyles, such as public transport, recycling and local shops. In summary, an individual’s actions do not occur in a vacuum, but are shaped by past experience, social relationships, time and place. These and other factors interact to create a personal “career of action” on climate change. A deeper understanding of these careers could help support the development of effective policy for sustainability. Further information Details of the work can be found in: - Hards, S. (2011) “Social Practice and the Evolution of Personal Environmental Values”, Environmental Values 20, 23-42. - Hards, S. (2012) “Tales of Transformation: The potential of a narrative approach to pro-environmental practices”, Geoforum, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2012.01.004 The full thesis can be downloaded at: http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/1951 For more information please contact Sarah Hards on s.hards@iss.keele.ac.uk 3. Implications for policy and practice The findings suggest several lessons for engaging people with action to tackle climate change, and with sustainable lifestyles more generally. Childhood is a crucial time; instil values of sustainability through improved environmental education, with hands-on experience of nature, “make-do-and-mend” and other relevant skills. People learn by doing, and repeating a behaviour can help to create a new habit. Create opportunities for Endnotes 1 For more details see POSTnote 347 at www.parliament.uk/documents/post/postpn347.pdf 2. Jackson, T. (2005) “Motivating Sustainable Consumption: a review of evidence on consumer behaviour and behavioural change”, Report to the Sustainable Development Research Network 3. This may reflect methodological limitations; see the thesis for a discussion of these. Acknowledgements This PhD research was funded by the ESRC and supervised by Dr Carolyn Snell at the University of York.