Towards a Campus Culture of Environmental Sustainability: Recommendations for a Large University

Purpose: The authors led an interdisciplinary team that developed recommendations for building a "culture of environmental sustainability" at the University of Michigan (UM), and the purpose of this paper is to provide guidance on how other institutions might promote pro-environmental beha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of sustainability in higher education 2012-01, Vol.13 (4), p.365-377
Main Authors: Levy, Brett L. M, Marans, Robert W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Energy
Energy Conservation
Environmental Education
Guidance
Higher Education
Incentives
Michigan
Sustainability
Sustainable Development
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Summary:Purpose: The authors led an interdisciplinary team that developed recommendations for building a "culture of environmental sustainability" at the University of Michigan (UM), and the purpose of this paper is to provide guidance on how other institutions might promote pro-environmental behaviors on their campuses. Design/methodology/approach: The authors synthesize research on fostering environmental behavior, analyze how current campus sustainability efforts align with that research, and describe how they developed research-based recommendations to increase environmental sustainability on the UM campus. Findings: Analyses of prior research suggest that there are five factors that influence individuals' pro-environment behaviors: knowledge of issues; knowledge of procedures; social incentives; material incentives; and prompts/reminders. Given these factors, UM should pursue three types of activities to support the development of pro-environment behaviors: education, engagement, and assessment. Practical implications: The specific recommendations in this report are for the University of Michigan. However, other institutions interested in fostering a culture of environmental sustainability might benefit from undertaking similar comprehensive assessments of how they could support community members' development of pro-environment behavior and knowledge. Originality/value: The paper builds on prior research to offer a new vision for how to develop a culture of environmental sustainability on a large university campus. (Contains 1 table.)
ISSN:1467-6370
DOI:10.1108/14676371211262317