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Changing Behaviour: Successful Environmental Programmes in the Workplace

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Listed:
  • William Young
  • Matthew Davis
  • Ilona M. McNeill
  • Bindu Malhotra
  • Sally Russell
  • Kerrie Unsworth
  • Chris W. Clegg

Abstract

There is an increasing focus on improving the pro‐environmental attitudes, behaviour and habits of individuals, whether at home, in education, travelling, shopping or in the workplace. This article focuses on the workplace by conducting a multi‐disciplinary literature review of research that has examined the influence of organization‐based behaviour change initiatives. The review includes only research evidence that measured actual environmental performance (e.g. energy use) rather than solely using self‐reported methods (e.g. questionnaires). The authors develop an ‘employee pro‐environmental behaviour’ (e‐PEB) framework, which contains individual, group, organizational and contextual factors that have predictive relevance across different behaviours and organizations. The review shows that the strongest predictors are environmental awareness, performance feedback, financial incentives, environmental infrastructure, management support and training. A key finding from this review is that attitude change is not necessarily a pre‐requisite for behaviour change in the workplace. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Suggested Citation

  • William Young & Matthew Davis & Ilona M. McNeill & Bindu Malhotra & Sally Russell & Kerrie Unsworth & Chris W. Clegg, 2015. "Changing Behaviour: Successful Environmental Programmes in the Workplace," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(8), pages 689-703, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:24:y:2015:i:8:p:689-703
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.1836
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    References listed on IDEAS

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