Thesis (M.Com. (Business Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The primary objective of the study was to examine the effect of values (biospheric values, altruistic values, egoistic values and openness to change values) on voluntary pro-environmental behaviour of employees of SMMEs.In addition, the study investigated the moderating effect of demographic variables (gender, age and level of education) in the relationship between values and pro-environmental behaviour. The quantitative approach was utilised and the cross-sectional survey method was used to collect data from the respondents that were conveniently sampled. The Cronbach’s alpha was used to measure reliability and the Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS SEM) was utilised to analyse data. The findings of the study indicated that biospheric values has a negative relationship with employees’ voluntary proenvironmental behaviour. Three values (altruistic, egoistic and openness to change values) have significant positive relationships with voluntary pro-environmental behaviour of employees. The moderating effects of gender, age and level of education are insignificant. Recommendations on how to use values to improve the voluntary pro-environmental behaviour of employees of SMMEs are outlined.

Achieving the carbon emission reductions necessary to address climate change is proving challenging. Voluntary behaviour change by individuals has the potential to make a substantial contribution to decreasing carbon emissions, but generally that potential is not being realised. Group-based interventions, however, may offer an effective method for promoting significant and durable changes in pro-environmental behaviour leading to carbon reductions. This thesis evaluates Footpaths, a group-based programme designed and implemented by Transition Leicester and consisting of seven sessions. The study investigates the effectiveness of the programme, using a longitudinal mixed-methods approach to facilitate understanding of both measurable results and the processes leading to those results. The Reasonable Person Model (RPM) is used as a theoretical framework to aid understanding of the way in which group-based interventions may promote pro-environmental behaviour. Data were collected from participants just before and immediately after involvement with the Footpaths programme, as well as a year after the sessions commenced. Questionnaires were administered at all three times and semi-structured interviews were conducted after the last session. Participants also completed a carbon footprint calculator at all three times and provided data on measured energy use. Findings show that Footpaths participants reduced their carbon footprints by 15 percent over the course of the sessions, and continued to reduce their carbon footprints resulting in a 20 percent reduction over the course of a year. Pro-environmental behaviour increased, including increases in harder to change behaviours, and measured energy use decreased. Increases in pro-environmental behaviour and reductions in carbon footprint were associated with increased understanding, greater feelings of competence, and reduced confusion; all considered to be elements of a supportive informational environment. Participants highlighted the importance of having an opportunity to examine their own behaviour coupled with active engagement with information over a period of time. Neither feedback nor a desire for social contact were related to increases in pro-environmental behaviour. Pro-environmental behaviour was more closely associated with both worldview and attitude after participation in Footpaths possibly indicating a closer alignment between attitude and behaviour after participation. This research suggests that group-based interventions are effective in promoting significant and durable changes in pro-environmental behaviour and it provides interesting insight into the design of successful interventions to encourage such behaviour. Findings highlight the potential value of the RPM as an integrative framework for understanding the characteristics of interventions that successfully promote durable sustainable behaviours.

This thesis explores the relationship between place attachment and pro-environmental behaviour expressed by visitors to Point Pelee National Park. Place attachment, the functional, cognitive and emotional bond with a place, may play a role in promoting environmentally responsible behaviours. This may be especially true of place-specific pro-environmental behaviours; however place attachment may also have a "carry-over" effect in that its impact on individuals' self identity may also foster pro-environmental behaviour in individuals' every day lives. <br /><br /> An exploration of these relationships was achieved, first by measuring the intensity of place attachment and pro-environment behavioural intentions expressed by visitors to Point Pelee National Park. This was followed by an examination of the relationship between these two constructs using correlation analysis and structural equation modeling. Data was collected with a mail-based self-completed questionnaire. A quota sample of visitors to Point Pelee National Park was utilized. A response rate of 32% (<em>n</em> = 355) was achieved. <br /><br /> The relationship between place attachment and pro-environmental intentions was explored further through the measurement of several related variables. These factors include place satisfaction (based on an appraisal of nature, social and activity-based environments), motivation for visiting the park (related to social interaction and nature observation, as well as activity-based and learning opportunities), distance between the park and visitors' residences, membership in environmental organizations, and visitation patterns including visitation to the park during childhood, length of affiliation with the park, length of visit to the park, and frequency of visitation to the park. Theoretical and empirical research suggests that these factors may affect place attachment, pro-environment behavioural intentions, and/or the relationship between these two constructs. <br /><br /> Study results found positive associations between place attachment and all of these variables with the exception of visitation motives associated with learning and engaging in a favourite activity. The strongest predictive relationships were observed with anti-substitution (the inability of an individual to substitute the park for another destination because of a lack of resources such as time or money or a lack of awareness of comparable sites) followed by frequency of visits to the park; park commitment (based on Friends group membership and donations of time and money to the Friends group); Friends of Point Pelee (FoPP) membership; and park relationship (which was based on visitation to the park as a child and length of affiliation); and, satisfaction with the park. <br /><br /> Results support the proposition that place attachment has a strong positive association with both park-specific pro-environment behavioural intentions (e. g. , Write letters in support of Point Pelee N. P. and similar protected areas) as well as general pro-environment behavioural intentions (e. g. , Pay extra for transportation if it is environmentally-friendly). Place attachment strongly predicted park-specific, and moderately predicted general pro-environmental intentions. A number of other variables had an indirect effect on park-specific intentions; notable effects were demonstrated by frequency of visits; park relationship; visitation to the park as a child; place satisfaction; social satisfaction; FoPP membership; and, park commitment; anti-substitution. These affects were mediated by place attachment. After place attachment the strongest predictors of park-specific intentions were anti-substitution; frequency of visits; park commitment; and, general environmental commitment (which was based on membership in an environmental organization and donations of time and money to that organization). <br /><br /> Place attachment was not the only direct predicator of general pro-environmental intentions; general environmental commitment and membership in an environmental organization also directly predicted general pro-environmental intentions. Notable indirect effects, mediated by place attachment were produced by frequency of visits; park relationship; FoPP membership; park commitment; and anti-substitution. The strongest predictors of general pro-environmental intentions were general environmental commitment, followed by place attachment, membership in an environmental organization, and frequency of park visitation. <br /><br /> These findings correspond with much of the literature published on place attachment formation and the development of pro-environmental behaviours. The most notable contribution of this study is its comparison of place attachment's impact on general versus place-specific behaviours, and the role that several related variables play in this relationship.

Communicating climate change and other long-term environmental issues to the wider public is a challenging process involving many barriers to action. Visualisations have the ability to overcome these barriers. Furthermore, the benefits of visual images over verbal information have been supported. However, there is a lack of research on how visual images can motivate behaviour. Based on Elaborated Intrusion theory, it is proposed that visual images can be internalised as mental images which can act as a ‘motivational bridge’ for pro-environmental behaviour. Six studies exposed participants to visual pro-environmental messages. Throughout all studies images were internalised as mental images, associated with intrusive thoughts. Consistently, mental images were strongly associated with pro-environmental goals and behaviour change (self-report and actual). Also, interfering with visual mental imagery, using cognitive tasks, reduced self-reported behaviour change (Study 6). Overall, two motivational roles of mental imagery emerged: mental images can trigger pro-environmental goals and can strengthen the relationship between pro-environmental goals and behaviour. The development, strength, and vividness of mental imagery depended on interacting individual and message characteristics. A vivid message was more effective when the message topic was relevant to the target individual (Study 2). Also, a message in line with existing values evoked more vivid mental imagery (Studies 2 to 6). A message could activate specific values as well if mental imagery was not interfered with (Study 5 and 6). And finally, positive and negative images were associated with different feelings, but could both be internalised and motivate behaviour (Study 3 and 6). A combined message could overcome the negative feelings associated with a fear appeal (Study 6). This thesis developed a theoretical framework, integrating approaches from social and cognitive psychology, which can help explain and predict responses to visual environmental messages. Six studies showed that the effect of a visual image on behaviour depends, among other factors, on its ability to trigger recurring mental imagery. Insights provide opportunities for designing evidence based visual pro-environmental messages. In turn this can maximise the impact visual messages have on changing people’s pro-environmental behaviour.

This programme of research was focused on developing a better understanding of pro-environmental behaviours and pro-environmental behaviour change, with consideration of the powerful effect of habits in thinking, affect and behaviour. Habit networks are discussed with reference to HOT topics (Habits, Opportunities and Thoughts), and explored empirically within the context of the FIT Framework (Fletcher & Stead, 2000). This programme of research started with a literature review on established models of pro-environmental behaviour. It found a large degree of similarity in the approaches used to conceptualise pro-environmental behaviour, and suggested the need to explore pro-environmental activity from different perspectives. The FIT Framework was then presented as an alternative approach. FIT variables measure the strength of an individual's cognitive characteristics and their degree of behavioural flexibility using the FIT Profiler (Fletcher, 1999). The empirical studies presented in this programme of research suggest that levels of personal FITness are related to engagement with pro-environmental activity and the extent to which lifestyles are environmentally sustainable. Study 1 (N = 325) explored the relationships between FITness and measures of pro-environmental activity, and Study 2 (N = 134) sought to confirm these relationships in a different sample. Both studies found positive relationships between levels of personal FITness and pro-environmental activity. Based on these results, it was suggested that FIT offers a useful alternative framework to study pro-environmental activity. Studies 3 (N = 75) and 4 (N = 100) considered the performance of pro-environmental behaviours in different sites of practice, as follow-up to the differences that emerged in Studies 1 and 2. They also explored the perceived influence of intrinsic and extrinsic variables on energy saving in home and work settings. The results suggested that the pro-environmental behaviours that are performed at home are often not transferred to the workplace and this might be because extrinsic factors in an organisational setting constrain action. Higher levels of personal FITness helped to align behaviours with intrinsic beliefs; individuals with higher levels of FITness behaved as they felt they ought to, whereas individuals with lower levels of FITness behaved as they were told to. It was suggested, therefore, that higher levels of FITness might support behavioural consistency across contexts. Study 5 (N = 95) explored the extent to which pro-environmental behaviours are characterised by habit and how the strength of habit changes according to level of personal FITness. The results suggested that people act pro-environmentally within distinct behaviour categories and this has little or no bearing on their propensity to behave in an environmentally friendly way in other areas. Habits can have a positive influence on the performance of pro-environmental behaviour but a negative influence on behaviour change. The empirical results suggest that a higher level of FITness might help people to engage more readily with pro-environmental behaviours that are performed less frequently. It was, therefore, suggested that developing levels of personal FITness might help individuals to extend their behavioural repertoire and be sufficiently flexible to include more pro-environmental behaviours, including those that are, at present, characterised less by habit. A second literature review on interventions for pro-environmental behaviour change found that many techniques have been developed from the perspective of bounded rationality and have assumed that the provision of information will initiate behaviour change. These approaches are often ineffective because of the resistive effects of habit. In light of this and the findings of the empirical studies, a FIT-based behaviour change intervention, named here as Do Something Greener, was developed as an alternative approach to address directly the problem of habit. Overall, this programme of research suggests that the influence of habits, opportunities, and thoughts should be considered in the study of pro-environmental activity. Further research exploring the effectiveness of Do Something Greener for pro-environmental behaviour change is necessary and planned as the next step in this programme of research. By exploring pro-environmental behaviour from a different perspective, it is hoped that this programme of research has also challenged some of the habitual tendencies that researchers are themselves starting to develop in relation to the study of pro-environmental behaviour, and that it has added a degree of eclecticism and pragmatism to psychological approaches to pro-environmental behaviour change. It is hoped that this will help to set a more practically oriented agenda for future research.

Energy is largely invisible to users. It has been argued that employing technologies to visualise energy will assist people in conserving energy. Energy visibility interventions have largely focussed on appliance use and electricity consumption. This thesis aims to firstly explore whether making heat visible, using thermal images, promotes heat (and thereby energy) conservation. Secondly using a multiple method approach, it explores how. Five studies were employed. Study One and Three investigated whether using thermal images as a tailored antecedent intervention would promote energy conservation behaviours. The results confirmed that the images led to a reduction in Kg CO2 emissions attributed to domestic energy use. Study One and Three indicated that householders undertook more energy saving behaviours in relation to those aspects that were visible in the images. These actions were attributed to simple, energy saving behaviours such as proofing draughts. Study Two investigated how people make sense of the images and how behaviours are promoted by the images. Study two suggested that the images provide a unique medium through which factors which contribute to energy saving can be combined and reasoned by the viewer. It suggests the psychological factors in a pathway from prompt to behaviour. Study Four established that showing the images in an information presentation was not as effective when influencing participants’ ideas about energy conservation. Finally, Study Five explored participants gaze and demonstrated how features of the images, can attract the viewer. The novel contribution of this thesis is in establishing that ‘making heat visible’ through a tailored thermal imaging prompt can increase the likelihood of a householder taking simple energy saving actions, by providing a novel medium through which householders attend to heat and energy use.

As community gardens (CGs) become increasingly popular, it is timely to investigate whether they further sustainability goals. Underpinning my research were questions like why people get involved in CGs, what benefits they derive, what they learn from gardening, and how governance facilitates that learning. Through interviews with gardeners, my data show that key benefits of gardening included building community, environmental protection, improved health, and resisting the industrialization of food. CG membership also facilitated learning in all three domains of Transformative Learning: communicative, instrumental, and transformation. Learning outcomes included gardening skills, improved insight into self and others, and increased prevalence of pro-environmental perspectives. The primary source of learning was interaction with other gardeners. CG involvement may contribute to sustainability by providing an environment which allows people to connect with nature, learn from others (if governance, garden organization, and social capital are strong), and choose more pro-environmental behaviours. / May 2016

Green bonds are a type of bonds that are designated for investment projects that have a positive effect on the environment. Such projects could be preventing climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, increasing energy-efficiency, or improving waste management. Green bonds have risen considerably in issued volume in recent years. Sweden has been one of the forerunners in this development and the interest towards these products seems to be high among individual Swedish investors. Initially, investors in green bonds have been mainly financial institutions, but there are an increasing number of mutual funds, which are aimed for retail banking customers as well. Previous research in socially responsible investing has not paid attention to green bonds from the perspective of the private, individual investor. This study is aimed to study potential individual green bond investors in Sweden. The purpose of this study was to answer the research question of who the typical Swedish green bond investors are, based on demographic characters. As research sub-questions, the thesis also answered questions regarding perceived risk and return on green bonds, and the effect of environmental attitude and behaviour on potential green bond investments. The study was carried out as an Internet survey by means of a questionnaire directed to Swedish investors. In total, 66 respondents answered the survey, which was analysed by bivariate and multivariate methods. Among the demographic factors, two were found statistically significant, age, and parenthood. In this sample younger investors (age less than 39), were found to prefer investing in green bonds, compared to older investors. Secondly, the fact of being a non-parent turned out to be a distinctive feature of current and potential investors in green bonds. The results regarding the first research sub-question, showed that the individual investors do not perceive green bonds to be more or less risky or give more or less return than comparable conventional bonds. The second research sub-question regarding environmental attitude and behaviour, showed a significant difference between those who showed a strong pro-environmental behaviour, as opposed to those who showed a weaker pro-environmental behaviour. The conclusion about the influence of environmental attitudes was that it did not have an effect on potential green bond investments.

This thesis explores the relationship between place attachment and pro-environmental behaviour expressed by visitors to Point Pelee National Park. Place attachment, the functional, cognitive and emotional bond with a place, may play a role in promoting environmentally responsible behaviours. This may be especially true of place-specific pro-environmental behaviours; however place attachment may also have a "carry-over" effect in that its impact on individuals' self identity may also foster pro-environmental behaviour in individuals' every day lives. <br /><br /> An exploration of these relationships was achieved, first by measuring the intensity of place attachment and pro-environment behavioural intentions expressed by visitors to Point Pelee National Park. This was followed by an examination of the relationship between these two constructs using correlation analysis and structural equation modeling. Data was collected with a mail-based self-completed questionnaire. A quota sample of visitors to Point Pelee National Park was utilized. A response rate of 32% (<em>n</em> = 355) was achieved. <br /><br /> The relationship between place attachment and pro-environmental intentions was explored further through the measurement of several related variables. These factors include place satisfaction (based on an appraisal of nature, social and activity-based environments), motivation for visiting the park (related to social interaction and nature observation, as well as activity-based and learning opportunities), distance between the park and visitors' residences, membership in environmental organizations, and visitation patterns including visitation to the park during childhood, length of affiliation with the park, length of visit to the park, and frequency of visitation to the park. Theoretical and empirical research suggests that these factors may affect place attachment, pro-environment behavioural intentions, and/or the relationship between these two constructs. <br /><br /> Study results found positive associations between place attachment and all of these variables with the exception of visitation motives associated with learning and engaging in a favourite activity. The strongest predictive relationships were observed with anti-substitution (the inability of an individual to substitute the park for another destination because of a lack of resources such as time or money or a lack of awareness of comparable sites) followed by frequency of visits to the park; park commitment (based on Friends group membership and donations of time and money to the Friends group); Friends of Point Pelee (FoPP) membership; and park relationship (which was based on visitation to the park as a child and length of affiliation); and, satisfaction with the park. <br /><br /> Results support the proposition that place attachment has a strong positive association with both park-specific pro-environment behavioural intentions (e. g. , Write letters in support of Point Pelee N. P. and similar protected areas) as well as general pro-environment behavioural intentions (e. g. , Pay extra for transportation if it is environmentally-friendly). Place attachment strongly predicted park-specific, and moderately predicted general pro-environmental intentions. A number of other variables had an indirect effect on park-specific intentions; notable effects were demonstrated by frequency of visits; park relationship; visitation to the park as a child; place satisfaction; social satisfaction; FoPP membership; and, park commitment; anti-substitution. These affects were mediated by place attachment. After place attachment the strongest predictors of park-specific intentions were anti-substitution; frequency of visits; park commitment; and, general environmental commitment (which was based on membership in an environmental organization and donations of time and money to that organization). <br /><br /> Place attachment was not the only direct predicator of general pro-environmental intentions; general environmental commitment and membership in an environmental organization also directly predicted general pro-environmental intentions. Notable indirect effects, mediated by place attachment were produced by frequency of visits; park relationship; FoPP membership; park commitment; and anti-substitution. The strongest predictors of general pro-environmental intentions were general environmental commitment, followed by place attachment, membership in an environmental organization, and frequency of park visitation. <br /><br /> These findings correspond with much of the literature published on place attachment formation and the development of pro-environmental behaviours. The most notable contribution of this study is its comparison of place attachment's impact on general versus place-specific behaviours, and the role that several related variables play in this relationship.

This study examined the perception of barriers to pro-environmental behaviour for different population segments in British Columbia. Cultural cognition scales were used to assign cultural values to participants (i.e., hierarchy-egalitarianism scale and individualism-communitarianism scale). Psychological and socio-cultural barriers were assessed using the list of dragons of inaction. Data on cultural values, perception of climate change risk, perception of barriers, frequency of pro-environmental behaviour, climate change knowledge and socio-demographic variables were collected using online surveys. Egalitarian values were correlated with greater climate change risk perception and with weaker perception of barriers to pro-environmental behaviour. Greater climate change risk perception was also associated with more pro-environmental behaviour. The effect of cultural values on barrier perception was partly mediated by climate change risk perception. These findings suggest that future research should focus on lessening the discrepancy between scientific climate change risk perception and public climate change risk perception, which can, in turn, increase the frequency of pro-environmental behaviour. / Graduate / 0768 / 0451 / lacroixk@uvic.ca