An examination of the drivers for the performance of environmentally preferred behaviour

The current research project examined drivers for the performance of Environmentally Preferred Behaviours (EPB), and a rigorous and accessible theoretical framework for drivers of this category of behaviours was created. Factors that influence the performance of EPBs, as well as some initial models of drivers for these types of behaviours, were identified from the literature. Three studies were subsequently conducted. Study 1 involved gathering the previously unexplored knowledge regarding drivers for EPB performance held by practitioners in the field using qualitative interviews with 19 participants. This information was then combined with that from the literature to create an original proposed model of the predictors for EPB performance. Study 2 involved creating a questionnaire to test the proposed model, and Study 3 used this questionnaire to test the proposed model with 503 office-based employees from Melbourne, Australia, focusing on two paper saving behaviours. Results from Study 3 were used to refine the proposed model to create the B-ECO Model. This model forms the basis for the B-ECO Theory which states that habit, convenience, procedural information, social norms, leadership, nature experience and self-efficacy are direct influences on EPB performance, and that they work in conjunction with environmental knowledge, connection to the environment and self-transcendence which affect behaviour indirectly through attitudes. Further, the B-ECO Theory states that these factors interact to produce an EPB, and that some factors are more influential than others. This theory differs from previously used psychological theories by including a range of contextual factors that have been identified individually. Further, it specifies the factors that may be influential predictors for the particular type of behaviours classified as EPBs.