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GILDED Scottish Case Study Workshop

The survey and demand reduction initiative in the Scottish Case Study

Tony Craig, Carlos Galan-Diaz, Anke Fischer, Sara Beedie

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Always start with a quote or two…..

“If you want truly to understand something, try to change it”

(Kurt Lewin)

“….it is difficult to curb overeating by trying to persuade people that pastries shouldn’t taste good”

(Van Vugt, 2011)

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Aims of the WP3/4 questionnaire studyLifestyle segmentation (led by PIK)

Examine the impact of values on both environmental behaviour and CO2 footprints.

Estimate household CO2 footprint (home, appliances and travel)

Compare everyday environmental behaviour with CO2 footprint estimates.

The evaluate the effectiveness of a simple intervention based on information provision and a written ‘pledge’

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Sample2010 2011

GenderMale 551 146

Female 508 122

Level of educationSecondary of less 329 71

College (diploma) 218 50

Vocational 89 33

University (degree) 219 57

University (+4 years) 139 41

Household typeSingle household 232 68

Living with partner 466 119

Living with partner and children 259 61

Single parent 35 8

other 57 7

1 year apart

Index of Pro-Environmental Behaviour (based on Kaiser, 2007)

Assumes that there is such a thing as an ‘environmental attitude’ which is observable from everyday behaviours…

Behaviours are selected to realise the individuals level of attitude (overcoming difficulty is at the heart of this idea)

EASY

Switching

off lights

Buying organic foods

HARD

Buying eco-friendly products

Re-us

ing

shop

ping

bags

Wal

k or

cy

cle sh

ort

dist

ance

s

Eat local

and seasonal

veg

Wait until

have full load

before doing

laundry

Behaviour-based environmental attitude…

freq

uenc

y

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Values….. represent our guiding principles: our

broadest motivations, influencing the attitudes we hold and how we act.

…. are not “character types” – everyone is motivated to some degree by all the different values round the circle….

Most information campaigns/policies/communications, etc.. implicitly endorse certain values. Where these values match the value orientations of the target audience, there is a higher likelihood of success….

e.g.

hedonism, tradition, benevolence, power, self-determination, etc..

Stimulation

Self-Direction Unive

rsal

ism

Benevolence

Conformity

Security

Pow

erHedonism

AchievementTradition

…Guiding Principles

In Life

A pie??An umbrella??

Measure of BBEA

Values (reduced set of indicators based on Schwartz, 1992)

CO2 Footprint Questionnaire (based on DEFRA ActOnCO2)

Perception of impact of various policy measures

Measures of scepticism

Beliefs about climate change scales

Coping with climate change scales

Measures….

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Perception of measures for reducing energy consumption

1. … I obtained subsidies for purchasing more energy efficient appliances

2. … energy use became more expensive

3. … high energy consumption was restricted by laws and regulations

4. … I had detailed general information on methods of energy reduction

5. … I received detailed personal advice on the best methods of energy reduction

6. … I had more money available to spend

7. … there was an official Product-Carbon-Label informing about products with low greenhouse gas emissions

Higher predicted impact

Lower predicted impact

With the exception of Product-Carbon-Labelling, ALL MEASURES WERE PREDICTED TO HAVE A CONSIDERABLE IMPACT on household energy consumption.

“I would reduce my household’s current energy consumption if….

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Social influences on energy consumption

“How important do you think the following parts of society are in influencing your energy consumption?”

1. UK and Scottish government

2. Environmental organisations

3. Local authorities (Aberdeen City Council / Aberdeenshire council)

4. Newspapers and TV

5. Public authorities (e.g. the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency SEPA)

6. Your friends

7. Your neighbourhood

8. European Union politics and authorities

Higher perceived importance

Lower perceived importance

However – on average, none of these were perceived as having a strong influence on energy consumption.

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Self-Direction

Universalism

Benevolence

Conformity/Tradition

SecurityPower

Achievements

Hedonism

Stimulation

1.5

2.5

3.5

Carbon Footprint Estimate (Total)

High

Medium

Low

Time 1 (2010)

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Self-Direction

Universalism

Benevolence

Conformity/Tradition

SecurityPower

Achievements

Hedonism

Stimulation

1.5

2.5

3.5

Carbon Footprint Estimate (Home)

High

Medium

Low

Time 1 (2010)

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Self-Direction

Universalism

Benevolence

Conformity/Tradition

SecurityPower

Achievements

Hedonism

Stimulation

1.5

2.5

3.5

Carbon Footprint Estimate (Travel)

High

Medium

Low

Time 1 (2010)

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Self-Direction

Universalism

Benevolence

Conformity/Tradition

SecurityPower

Achievements

Hedonism

Stimulation

1.5

2.5

3.5

Index of Pro-Environmental Behaviour

Low

Medium

High

LOW HIGH

NOTE:Green = more environmental

Time 1 (2010)

Behaviour –> Behaviour relationship

This suggests that everyday environmental behaviour is quite habitual…. (people who behave environmentally one year will probably do so in the following year)

LOW HIGH

Many people improve their pro-environmental behaviour, but a similar number of people go in the other direction…

CO2 past –> CO2 present…

This suggests that Household CO2 footprints do not tend to change much over time….

The people below the dashed line are those who have improved their CO2 footprint between 2010 and 2011

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Total carbon emissions2010 2011

ConditionControl (N=87)

mean 12.74 11.7

sum 1045 959

Pledge (N=91)

Mean 12.59 12.24

Sum 1082 1052

Envi (N=88)

Mean 11.84 11.24

sum 972 921

Total 3524 3389

Total retained sample estimate is 165 Tonnes less in 2011 than in 2010 (a 5% drop overall)

(equivalent to about 13 average households)

This change is mainly due to travel related emissions in the Control and Envi groups….

3 % drop

8 % drop

5 % drop

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Income and CO2…

Home

Appliance

sTrav

elTotal

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

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CO2 emissions at Time one

Tons of CO2

Home

Appliance

sTrav

elTotal

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

CO2 emissions at Time two

Low incomeMedium incomeHigh income

Tons of CO2

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Thank you