WAKE-UP CALL
Welcome to the October 2010 Wake-Up Call, Awake’s monthly
newsletter for research and news about behaviour change for sustainability.
To view this newsletter as a webpage, click here
In this edition of Wake-up Call…
·
Feature Article – The Difference Between Caring And
Prioritising
·
Upcoming Workshop – Cultivating Sustainability in
Adelaide
·
Upcoming Workshop – Cultivating Sustainability in
Sydney with the NPDISE
·
60 seconds with… Laura Scrimgeour, University of
Canterbury
·
Interesting article of the
month - Are Green Actions Still
Seen As Low-Status?
·
Exercise of the Month – The Art Of Prioritise
Feature
Article – The
Difference Between Caring And Prioritising
People care about a lot of things. Family,
friends, health, the environment, having fun. If we were to ask just about
anyone if they place importance on any one of those things, the answer is
likely to be a resounding “yes”. Therefore, when it comes to the environment,
it is easy to say “yes, environmental issues are important to me”. And we
probably mean it. However, the reason that many voluntary environmental
behaviours appear to have such slow uptake, compared to the concern expressed
by the public, is that they often require sustainability to be prioritised
over some other consideration.
Every decision requires, by definition, some
kind of prioritisation process. Do we stay home and study, or go out and party?
Do we choose the quick route or the scenic one? Decisions concerning the environment
are no different. Do we buy the cheap one or the local one? Do we choose the
speed of a car or the eco benefits of the train? The benefits represented by
the various choices are all valid to us at some level. Nobody likes to waste
time or money. Hence, the futility of gauging the importance of environmental
issues by asking people to “rate how concerned you are about the environment”.
Several studies have done just that, and
by and large the results show that people do care about the environment. A 2008
McKinsey survey found that “87 percent of consumers worry about the
environmental and social impact of the products they buy”. In 2010, the Australian Food
& Grocery Council (AFGC) found “80% report that they are actually
thinking about environmental issues when shopping”. Taken on their own, these
numbers suggest that people are overwhelmingly in support of environmental
initiatives. However, when it comes to actually doing something about it,
people are reluctant to go out of their way. The McKinsey study found that no
more than 33% of the consumers in the survey say they are ready to buy green
products or have already done so. In the AFGC research, 13% of shoppers
reported that they had purchased a product “just now” because of its
environmental features.
So, what goes wrong? What explains the
gap between 80%-plus concern and action as low as 13%. The answer could well
lie in the realm of priorities and values. Although the AGFC survey found that
80% of people were thinking of green issues, we would probably find at least as
many were thinking of price, quality, convenience etc. In other words, thinking
about an issue is different to making a decision based on that issue above all
others.
The gap between overall concern and
priority is demonstrated by the findings of research into Americans views of
the top priorities for the federal government. Almost half (44%) of those
surveyed believed that environmental protection should be a “top priority” for
2010. However, this ranks the issue as 16th out of 21 issues
surveyed, well below the economy, military and terrorism. The issue of global
warming came dead last.
So, what do people value? Analysis of 500
responses to the MVQ, a values
questionnaire created by Awake, shows that on average people allocate 66 points
to the environmental value, out of a potential total of 100 points. This places
environment as 19th out of 22 values measured. The top 5 values people
report are insight, integrity, independence, family and fairness. So, while
people would probably say the environment is important to them, there are 18
other more important things competing for their attention.
Back to the AGFC survey mentioned above. When
it comes to prioritising environmental factors, only 14% of respondents said
they are willing to compromise on cost, while a mere 6% will compromise on
convenience. However you look at it, that makes it a tall order to convince
people to pay a bit more for locally sourced, less processed products.
It is for this reason that our job as sustainability
promoters is not to get people to care more, it is to get them to act more. It is
unlikely that we will have much impact if we set out to change peoples values,
by moving environment up the values ranking. For a start, we would have to
consider the question of which values would we like to see moved down the
priority list. Family? Integrity? It seems more promising to demonstrate how
the eco-friendly option can meet the values people do hold strongly, so they
are not forced to compromise on things dear to their heart. So it is worth
considering, for instance, how can the green option meet the Family value (a
cleaner, greener future?), or the Integrity value (match my actions to my environmental
concerns?).
The more we can demonstrate to people
that green choice will benefit them, not just the environment, the more likely
it is that they will be prepared to make it a priority.
WANT TO USE THIS
ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?
You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with
it:
Awake provides psychology-based
services to support the development of sustainable behaviour in individuals,
groups and organisations. Visit www.awake.com.au
for more info
Upcoming
Workshop – Cultivating Sustainability in Adelaide
A Cultivating Sustainability workshop has
been confirmed for Adelaide on Tuesday, November 30th.
To register interest, please email timc@awake.com.au.
Online registration details and further
information is available at www.awake.com.au/cultivating.html
About the Workshop
Cultivating Sustainability is a 1-day workshop which provides
sustainability advocates with insights, models and practical tools to support
their behaviour change efforts. Anybody
who has taken on the challenge of influencing others to live and work more
sustainably will find this workshop a valuable addition to their skills.
Cost: For-profits $250pp
Not-for-profit/Government
$200pp
Individuals/Community
Groups $120pp
Feedback from attendees of recent Cultivating
Sustainability workshops included…
“Great framework for encouraging behavioural change within
organisations”
“Provided me with tools and insights to challenge me to review
how I am approaching my sustainability project”
”This workshop has given me good insight into the motivating
factors in people’s behaviour and ways to get lasting change”
“I found the workshop useful to help me learn practical and
positive/inspirational ways to change peoples attitudes and behaviours towards
sustainability”
For more
information about the Cultivating Sustainability workshop, see www.awake.com.au/cultivating.html
Upcoming Workshop – Cultivating Sustainability in Sydney with the NPDISE
Awake is proud to
have been selected as a provider of one of 14 modules for the National
Professional Development Initiative for Sustainability Educators. The
NPDISE is supported and endorsed by
Australia’s peak environmental education organisations. It identifies,
recognises and facilitates delivery of endorsed professional development for
sustainability / environmental education practitioners.
As part of the NPDISE initiative, a
Cultivating Sustainability workshop will be held in Sydney on November 24th.
The workshop is open to anyone who is interested.
All information
and registration details can be found at http://www.npdise.com.au
60 Seconds with….. Laura Scrimgeour, University
of Canterbury
What first got you focused on
sustainability?
I've been
concerned about the environment for as long as I can remember, but the thing
that really got me hooked on sustainability was having a friend invite me to
one of the University of Canterbury environment club parties. Just one more
example of the power of social norms!
What is the sustainable choice you have
recently made of which you are most proud?
I'm pretty
proud of recently cutting my meat consumption by about 75%. I reduced the meat
portions in my meaty meals and started making a lot more vegetarian and vegan
meals with lots of pulses and olive oil to make up the fat and protein. It took
a bit of getting used to, but now I don't need meat in my dinner for my stomach
to admit that it's full.
What is a less sustainable choice that
you are not so proud of?
I fly far too much. I live in New
Zealand and my family lives in Canada. Skype is great, but every couple years I
just feel the need to go home and see them in the flesh. Plus I miss the snow.
Interesting Article of the
Month – Are Green Actions Still Seen As
Low-Status
Where?
To Conserve or
Not to Conserve: Is Status the Question?
By Teresa H. L. Welte
and Phyllis A. Anastasio
Environment
and Behavior, 2009, Online First
What is it about?
The authors refer to earlier research
which showed that many conservation behaviours were perceived as “low-status”,
thus presenting a barrier for status-conscious people to engage in them. This
study sets out to investigate whether anything has changed.
What did they find?
The study found that fictitious characters
who incorporated recycling and composting into their daily routine were seen as
no different in status than those who did not. This contrasts with 1995
research which found that these behaviours conveyed lower status.
What can we take from this?
The authors
conclude that these findings point to a change in perceptions of conservation
behaviours. Such behaviours are now seen as more mainstream and unrelated to
status. Given the increasing reliance of sustainability advocates on conveying social
norms and stating that “green is the new black”, this is an important step in
normalising green behaviours.
Exercise of the Month –
The Art Of Prioritise
We often talk
about our intention to make something our priority in the future. Unless we are
able to increase the overall time and resources we have available to us, any
increase in priority in one area of our lives needs to be accompanied by a
reduction in the priority given to another area.
1. List
3 things that you are planning to make a priority in the next 12 month (e.g.,
getting fit, saving money, getting into nature more)
2. For
each of those priorities, what do you need to place a lower priority on? (e.g. Partying,
watching TV, working extra hours at the office)
Deciding what we
are going to make a priority is only half the job – we also need to be explicit
about what we are going to invest less of our personal resources in. Next time
you hear someone (especially a politician) talk about making something a
priority, try asking them what they are going to de-prioritise!
The exercise of the month provides
a tool to help you get engaged, inspired, aware and in action around
sustainability. Feel free to use it on your own, with a friend, or in
your work. If you do use it with others, please tell them where you got
it!
About Awake
Awake provides
psychology-based services to support the development of sustainable behaviour
in individuals, groups and organisations. Visit www.awake.com.au for more info
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