IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v31y2023i3p1593-1605.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Toward sustainable development: Connecting systems thinking competency and carbon footprint knowledge

Author

Listed:
  • Ilkka Ratinen
  • Lassi Linnanen
  • Anna Claudelin
  • Vilma Halonen

Abstract

Previous research on field of sustainable development has shown that individuals' systems thinking competency promotes and predicts their sustainability competency and pro‐environmental behavior well. Systems thinking competency also enables us to focus more on large‐scale climate change mitigation actions. Previous surveys indicated that Finns have changed their behavior for mitigating climate change, but this has been not reflected in decreased consumption‐based calculated carbon footprints because large‐scale mitigation measures have not materialized. The present study assessed Finns' systems thinking competency (n = 2006) and knowledge of how to reduce their household carbon footprint. The survey data collected were analyzed using explorative factor analysis, hierarchical regression analysis, t‐test, and analysis of variance. The results indicate that Finns view their own systems thinking competency related to climate change as not very high, and heir assessments vary widely. Moreover, their knowledge of how to reduce their household carbon footprint is somewhat low and is geared toward small‐scale mitigation actions. The results can be used to inform environmental policy and sustainability education priorities.

Suggested Citation

  • Ilkka Ratinen & Lassi Linnanen & Anna Claudelin & Vilma Halonen, 2023. "Toward sustainable development: Connecting systems thinking competency and carbon footprint knowledge," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 1593-1605, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:31:y:2023:i:3:p:1593-1605
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.2469
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2469
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.2469?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ilkka Ratinen & Lassi Linnanen, 2022. "Exploring Systems Thinking Competence of Finns in Fostering Sustainable Transformation," World, MDPI, vol. 3(2), pages 1-12, April.
    2. John R. Ehrenfeld, 2007. "Would Industrial Ecology Exist without Sustainability in the Background?," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 11(1), pages 73-84, January.
    3. Louise Metcalf & Sue Benn, 2013. "Leadership for Sustainability: An Evolution of Leadership Ability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(3), pages 369-384, February.
    4. Tina Fawcett & Yael Parag, 2010. "An introduction to personal carbon trading," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(4), pages 329-338, July.
    5. Qing Liu & Zhen Yan & Jiehong Zhou, 2017. "Consumer Choices and Motives for Eco-Labeled Products in China: An Empirical Analysis Based on the Choice Experiment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-12, February.
    6. Matthew Cohen & Arnim Wiek & Braden Kay & John Harlow, 2015. "Aligning Public Participation to Stakeholders’ Sustainability Literacy—A Case Study on Sustainable Urban Development in Phoenix, Arizona," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(7), pages 1-20, July.
    7. Diana Ivanova & Konstantin Stadler & Kjartan Steen-Olsen & Richard Wood & Gibran Vita & Arnold Tukker & Edgar G. Hertwich, 2016. "Environmental Impact Assessment of Household Consumption," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 20(3), pages 526-536, June.
    8. Seth Wynes & Jiaying Zhao & Simon D. Donner, 2020. "How well do people understand the climate impact of individual actions?," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 162(3), pages 1521-1534, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ilkka Ratinen & Lassi Linnanen, 2022. "Exploring Systems Thinking Competence of Finns in Fostering Sustainable Transformation," World, MDPI, vol. 3(2), pages 1-12, April.
    2. Irene Chu & Mai Chi Vu, 2022. "The Nature of the Self, Self-regulation and Moral Action: Implications from the Confucian Relational Self and Buddhist Non-self," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(1), pages 245-262, September.
    3. Pottier, Antonin, 2022. "Expenditure elasticity and income elasticity of GHG emissions: A survey of literature on household carbon footprint," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    4. Golinucci, Nicolò & Tonini, Francesco & Rocco, Matteo Vincenzo & Colombo, Emanuela, 2023. "Towards BitCO2, an individual consumption-based carbon emission reduction mechanism," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    5. Nicos A. Scordis & Yoshihiko Suzawa & Astrid Zwick & Lucia Ruckner, 2014. "Principles for Sustainable Insurance: Risk Management and Value," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 17(2), pages 265-276, September.
    6. Eivind Lekve Bjelle & Johannes Többen & Konstantin Stadler & Thomas Kastner & Michaela C. Theurl & Karl-Heinz Erb & Kjartan-Steen Olsen & Kirsten S. Wiebe & Richard Wood, 2020. "Adding country resolution to EXIOBASE: impacts on land use embodied in trade," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 9(1), pages 1-25, December.
    7. Ghodeswar, Archana & Oliver, Matthew E., 2022. "Trading one waste for another? Unintended consequences of fly ash reuse in the Indian electric power sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    8. Bauer, Jan M. & Aarestrup, Simon C. & Hansen, Pelle G. & Reisch, Lucia A., 2022. "Nudging more sustainable grocery purchases: Behavioural innovations in a supermarket setting," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    9. Stefan Gold & Thomas Chesney & Tim Gruchmann & Alexander Trautrims, 2020. "Diffusion of labor standards through supplier–subcontractor networks: An agent‐based model," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 24(6), pages 1274-1286, December.
    10. Landon Yoder & Alora Cain & Ananya Rao & Nathaniel Geiger & Ben Kravitz & Mack Mercer & Deidra Miniard & Sangeet Nepal & Thomas Nunn & Mary Sluder & Grace Weiler & Shahzeen Z. Attari, 2024. "Muddling through Climate Change: A Qualitative Exploration of India and U.S. Climate Experts’ Perspectives on Solutions, Pathways, and Barriers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-20, June.
    11. Hong, Paul & Jagani, Sandeep & Kim, Jinhwan & Youn, Sun Hee, 2019. "Managing sustainability orientation: An empirical investigation of manufacturing firms," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 71-81.
    12. Turgut Karakose & Ibrahim Kocabas & Ramazan Yirci & Stamatios Papadakis & Tuncay Yavuz Ozdemir & Murat Demirkol, 2022. "The Development and Evolution of Digital Leadership: A Bibliometric Mapping Approach-Based Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-26, December.
    13. Franco-Solís, Alberto & Montanía, Claudia V., 2021. "Dynamics of deforestation worldwide: A structural decomposition analysis of agricultural land use in South America," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    14. Vita, Gibran & Lundström, Johan R. & Hertwich, Edgar G. & Quist, Jaco & Ivanova, Diana & Stadler, Konstantin & Wood, Richard, 2019. "The Environmental Impact of Green Consumption and Sufficiency Lifestyles Scenarios in Europe: Connecting Local Sustainability Visions to Global Consequences," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 1-1.
    15. Angela Neves & Radu Godina & Susana G. Azevedo & João C. O. Matias, 2019. "Current Status, Emerging Challenges, and Future Prospects of Industrial Symbiosis in Portugal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-23, October.
    16. Zhu, Zhanguo & Zhang, Tong & Hu, Wuyang, 2023. "The accumulation and substitution effects of multi-nation certified organic and protected eco-origin food labels in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    17. Ludger Niemann & Thomas Hoppe, 2021. "How to Sustain Sustainability Monitoring in Cities: Lessons from 49 Community Indicator Initiatives across 10 Latin American Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-16, May.
    18. Oliver Meixner & Petra Riefler & Karin Schanes, 2021. "Sustainable Consumer Behavior and Food Marketing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-4, November.
    19. Yanping Gong & Jian Li & Julan Xie & Long Zhang & Qiuyin Lou, 2022. "Will “Green” Parents Have “Green” Children? The Relationship Between Parents’ and Early Adolescents’ Green Consumption Values," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(2), pages 369-385, August.
    20. Radha Yadav & Dharmendra Kumar & Anil Kumar & Sunil Luthra, 2023. "How does anticipatory trauma reaction and climate‐friendly behaviour make an affect at the individual level? The role of social norms and self‐efficacy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 4028-4045, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:31:y:2023:i:3:p:1593-1605. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.