Understanding the normalisation of recycling behaviour and its implications for other pro-environmental behaviours: A review of social norms and recycling

This paper examines our understanding of recycling behaviour in the context of its increasing normalisation in the UK. It reflects on the recent history of dry recycling (i.e. recycling of ‘dry’ materials such as paper, glass, plastics and cans) and asks the question as to what influence policy drivers and the increased provision of facilities for recycling have had on people's behaviour. In reviewing the evidence for recycling being considered a norm, this paper explores what influence norms, habit and identities have on recycling behaviour.It then considers what lessons the evidence offers for using the normalisation of recycling behaviour in influencing more people to recycle and to adopt other sustainable behaviours. The somewhat contentious issue of whether engaging in recycling behaviours has a positive or negative effect on people engaging with other pro-environmental behaviours is discussed. The evidence shows that both positive and negative spillover occurs and understanding where the balance lies, as well as what effect recycling being a norm plays in this, is important in determining appropriate interventions to influence pro-environmental behaviours. The paper concludes with some observations on implications of the evidence on intervention approaches to influence pro-environmental behaviours.     

Managing invasive plants in a rural-amenity landscape: the role of social capital and Landcare

Rural-amenity migration is changing the social and ecological compositions of landscapes globally. The in-migration of new landholders is contributing to significant biophysical changes to rural landscapes, as well as the weakening of collective awareness, knowledge and skills needed to manage natural resources. This is leading to the proliferation of environmental harm. This paper focuses on invasive plants as one such harm, detailing how collective action is developed and challenged in a rural landscape undergoing increasing property turnover and diversifying management priorities. Focusing on the role of a Landcare group, located in southern New South Wales, Australia, I explore how social capital – with a particular focus on trust and social norms – is mobilised to recruit newly arrived residents and maintain commitment among landholders to manage invasive plants. This research provides insights into how policy can better steer management interventions, particularly how to develop and maintain collective action in diversifying rural landscapes.     

The central role of centralisation in environmental policy initialisation

While economic research on environmental policy is mainly concerned with instruments, political science concentrates on actors. The issue of centralisation needs to be analysed using a multidisciplinary approach because it is connected with both actors and instruments. Linking the Advocacy Coalition Framework with an economic approach, the paper first develops an innovative model in order to understand the mechanisms of centralisation and decentralisation in the different phases of policy processes. Focusing on environmental policy, the idea is developed that environmental policy needs the push of centralisation in order to institutionalise the prevailing social norm, but then should be organised decentrally to account for regional differences. The examples of air pollution, climate change and urban sprawl are used to test the explanatory power of the theoretical approach.     

Making space for social inclusion in conceptualising climate change vulnerability

Impacts from climate change pose a raft of challenges for societies, governments and policy-makers internationally. The anticipated changes are well documented, including rising sea levels, increased floods and other extreme weather conditions. Much research and policy emphasis has focused on technical and economic aspects. Less debated are questions about different communities' vulnerabilities, inequitable distributional impacts, social justice issues and how vulnerability links to social inclusion/exclusion. This paper explores a case study mapping social exclusion and vulnerability in Brisbane, Queensland, which found that while communities can be vulnerable through physical aspects of an area when social dimensions are added to the equation it amplifies or exacerbates the scale of vulnerability. The findings also suggest that in developing research agendas and policy debates around climate change, there could be benefits from interlinking the currently separate areas of work on social vulnerability to extreme weather events, to forms and processes of social inclusion/exclusion.     

Connecting resourcefulness and social innovation: exploring conditions and processes in community gardens in the Netherlands

ABSTRACT

Resourcefulness, a community’s capacity to engage with their local resource base, is essential in contributing to resilience, the potential to adapt to external challenges and shocks. Resourcefulness and social innovation have some overlapping qualities, however, the academic connection between the two concepts is yet to be explored. Social innovations include new practices, ideas, and initiatives that meet societal needs and contribute to social change and empowerment. Through in-depth interviews and participant observation, this study researches conditions and processes of resourcefulness in facilitating social innovation in rural, peri-urban, and urban community gardens in the North of the Netherlands. Comparing differing contexts, five main enablers for altering social relations and community empowerment have been identified: (1) clear goals and motivations; (2) diversity in garden resources; (3) experimental knowledge processes; (4) strong internal support and recognition; and (5) place-based practices. Above all, this research stresses the importance of defining resourcefulness as a process and foregrounding the place-based contextual nature of innovative collective food system practices.     

Toward an Understanding of Norm Prevalence: A Comparative Analysis of 20 Years of Research

/ Norms are defined as evaluative standards regarding individual behavior or conditions in a given context. They define what behavior should be, rather than actual behavior. Norm prevalence refers to the proportion of individuals in a population who can articulate a norm in a given evaluation context. This paper empirically examines the prevalence of encounter norms in 56 evaluation contexts. Data for this comparative analysis were obtained from 30 studies that used a single-item question asking recreationists to indicate the highest number of encounters they would tolerate before the experience changed. Four predictor variables were examined: (1) type of resource, (2) type of activity, (3) type of encounter, and (4) question response format. As anticipated, norm prevalence varied by type of resource (backcountry or frontcountry), type of encounter (no conflict versus conflict), and question response format (two-category implicit, two-category explicit, and three-category). These three independent variables explained 64% of the variance in norm prevalence. Also as hypothesized, there was no relationship between type of activity (consumptive or nonconsumptive) and norm prevalence. Implications for future research and management are discussed; it is argued that prevalence is an important characteristic of social norms.     

Engaging Economic Development Agencies in Environmental Protection: The case for embedded autonomy

This article examines the role of economic development agencies in strengthening the environmental performance of industry within rapidly industrialising East Asian economies. Three case-study examples are considered, namely, the role of the Industrial Development Board in reducing industrial pollution in Taiwan, pollution control in the palm oil industry in Malaysia, and the role of the Economic Development Board in influencing environmental performance of industry in Singapore. The concept of embedded autonomy is developed to consider the ways in which agencies of economic development can work with firms and industries while simultaneously remaining autonomous from these firms with respect to setting and enforcing performance standards. The three cases suggest that a form of policy integration that more directly integrates economic and environmental goals within agencies of economic development may be feasible, but only where there exists a strong autonomous government bureaucracy and where there is strong societal commitment to improving the environmental performance of industry.     

Social capital as a facilitator of pro-environmental actions in the USA: a preliminary examination of mechanisms

In this article, the mechanisms through which social networks impact individuals' environmentally significant actions are examined through a pilot study. A conceptual model was developed and in-depth interviews were performed with individuals in a North Carolina town in order to understand the mechanisms through which social capital facilitates pro-environmental actions. Individuals with higher social capital were found to act pro-environmentally because they value the collective interest rather than out of self-interest. Social capital was found to play a role in the formation of this valuation mainly through micro-level socialisation processes, particularly by instilling decision-making processes based on values in individuals, which informed individuals then applied to environmentally significant decisions. The results also suggest that the prevalence of the norm of engagement with environmental issues in an individual's social network can be an especially important promoter of pro-environmental actions. The study suggests that the culture of social networks is particularly important in the formation of ecological citizens.     

A targeted social marketing approach for community pro-environmental behavioural change

Community-level initiatives will play a key role in meeting greenhouse gas reduction targets. This paper examines the experience gained in applying a targeted social marketing approach to foster local-scale community pro-environmental behavioural change in the City of York, UK. This involved determining the neighbourhood carbon footprint, identifying residents that had access to appropriate infrastructure and were receptive to green issues. Six community teams were recruited from the selected neighbourhoods and provided with information, advice and mentoring on how to reduce their carbon footprint over a six-month period. A statistically significant reduction in carbon emissions was achieved. Each participant achieved a mean reduction in their carbon footprint of 2.0 tonnes of CO₂e/year. The largest reductions were achieved in the areas of shopping and home energy. In addition, it helped to foster community spirit. Based on the experience gained from implementing this approach, a cost-effective model of community engagement is proposed.     

Looking beyond incentives: the role of champions in the social acceptance of residential solar energy in regional Australian communities

Research into renewable energy adoption is increasingly identifying that the successful implementation of renewable energy projects is influenced by a combination of market, community and socio-political acceptance of renewable energy technology. This research uses case studies in two regional Australian communities to examine the social acceptance of residential solar energy, in particular under the influence of financial incentives and social interactions. Fifty-five semi-structured interviews with members of the local community, industry and government were undertaken between May and October 2015. Respondents were asked about their perceptions and knowledge of solar energy and incentives to support its adoption, and their interactions with actors important in the diffusion process. Responses indicated that financial incentives motivated solar adoption; however, social interactions in the communities also contributed to decision-making. In one case study, a local “solar champion” built a private solar farm to demonstrate the technical feasibility of solar, assisted community members with physically installing their own systems and helped community members to maximise the financial benefits of their solar installations. This solar champion contributed to this community having an earlier and more rapid rate of small-scale solar adoption compared with the second case study community. The second case study community included two individuals interested in promoting solar energy; however, they were less integrated with the community’s process of adopting solar, resulting in community members experiencing substandard installations and consequent distrust of the solar industry. This research concludes that local context influences solar adoption through complex interactions among market, community and socio-political acceptance.     

Adaptive capacity and climate change: the role of community opinion leaders

The contribution of the informal community sector to the development of collective response strategies to socioecological change is not well researched. In this article, we examine the role of community opinion leaders in developing and mobilising stocks of adaptive capacity. In so doing, we reveal a largely unexplored mechanism for building on latent social capital and associated networks that have the potential to transcend local-scale efforts – an enduring question in climate change adaptation and other cross-scalar sustainability issues. Participants drawn from diverse spheres of community activity in the Sunshine Coast, Australia, were interviewed about their strategies for influencing their community objectives and the degree to which they have engaged with responding to climate change. The results show community opinion leaders to be politically engaged through rich bridging connections with other community organisations, and vertically with policy-makers at local, state, national and international levels. Despite this latent potential, the majority of community opinion leaders interviewed were not strategically engaged with responding to climate change. This finding suggests that more work is needed to connect networks knowledgeable about projected climate change impacts with local networks of community opinion leaders. Attention to the type of community-based strategies considered effective and appropriate by community opinion leaders and their organisations also suggests avenues for policy-makers to facilitate community engagement in responding to climate change across sectors likely to be affected by its impacts. Opportunities to extend understanding of adaptive capacity within the community sector through further research are also suggested.     

Sustainable development in the Spanish region of Valencia and the social responsibility of SMEs. A multi-stakeholder vision on the role of public administrations

The complexity associated with the public and private management of sustainable development is causing the increasing involvement of various European Union governments in issues related to the social responsibility of organisations. However, the debate about the nature of this involvement is still open. The study here shows the results of a survey conducted in the Spanish region of Valencia among businesses and social agents, paying special attention to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The outcomes of the interviews display the nascent state of CSR implementation both in the companies of the region and the government initiatives related to encouraging the development of the concept.     

The forgotten pillar: a definition for the measurement of social sustainability in American cities

This article provides a timely review of the interdisciplinary and disjointed literature on social sustainability and identifies some readily available measures of this concept for American cities. Based upon a comprehensive review of the literature, four broad dimensions are identified as being reflective of social sustainability: equal access and opportunity, environmental justice, community and the value of place, and basic human needs. Breaking these four dimensions into measurable indicators, this research provides a method for researchers and for American cities to begin to evaluate and to assess social sustainability efforts within their jurisdictions.     

Sustainable innovation in wastewater management: lessons for nutrient recovery and reuse

Urine diversion (UD) has great potential to contribute to sustainably managing wastewater by separating urine at the source and recovering nutrients for reuse in agriculture. While factors enabling the UD technology in Sweden are thought to involve policies supporting nutrient recovery/reuse, on closer inspection, the variable success of UD systems has revealed that critical factors for success also relate to human-centred issues of social organisation, participation and incorporation of social knowledges of a variety of stakeholders into the decision-making process in which new technologies are trialled and adopted. Through the analytical lens of strategic niche management, we consider how early experimentation in UD has involved user participation and whether internal processes of learning, networking and visioning have been consciously considered and to what effect. As niche experiments are enabled/disabled not only by informal institutions such as values and social norms but also formal regulatory institutions, we have concurrently analysed the broader environment in which policies and institutions influence, to varying degrees, the uptake of UD.     

Green jobs for the disadvantaged in British Columbia: the perspectives of non-governmental organisations and social entrepreneurs

This paper examines the actions and potential of green jobs for the disadvantaged, from the perspective of non-governmental organisations and social entrepreneurs. The populations of interest include: low-income, developmentally challenged, those with mental health or addiction issues, women, and First Nations. Findings indicate that green businesses and social entrepreneurs have uniquely engaged in social training and hiring strategies related to green jobs. The major challenges they face include a lack of policies that support the development of green jobs through social training and hiring. As a result of these findings, an argument is made for combining job and life skills for both disadvantaged populations and the agencies that serve them as well as building the capacity of employers to practise social hiring.     

Assessing the social impacts of extensive resource use activities

Extensive forms of resource use are rarely subject to detailed environmental and social assessment. This paper outlines a potential methodology for assessment of the social impacts of extensive resource use activities based on the Pressure-State-Impact-Response (PSIR) model of integrated indicator development. It then tests this methodology through a case study of changed water flow regimes in Central Queensland's Fitzroy River catchment. While resource degradation associated with interruptions to flow was expected to force all resource users to face higher costs and greater uncertainty, negative social impacts were particularly concentrated among vulnerable groups and downstream industries. Extension of the PSIR framework and methodology proved useful in linking social and biophysical research and would thus appear to offer some potential as a model for incorporating social concerns within natural resource decision making.     

One ecosystem,one food system: the social and ecological context of food safety strategies

Eating is the most intimate relationship people can have with their environment. As people have migrated, in very large numbers, from various parts of the globe, as well as from the countryside to the city, they have brought to their new homes not only their intimate familial relationships, but also their intimate environmental relationships. Intraand international trade in human foods and animal feeds amounting to billions of dollars annually support these transplanted eating habits. Infectious disease agents, toxins and environmental contaminants of all sorts are globally distributed along with these foods. Furthermore, the internationalization of a substantial portion of the food industry, along with urbanization, has resulted in unrealistic consumer perceptions of food, and fostered ecologically and socially unsound food production and food safety practices, which themselves are creating new food safety problems. Effective food safety strategies, which by necessity must account for the contamination of the environment in which the food is grown, as well as the environments through which it passes on the way to the consumer, need to be global in both breadth (socially and geographically) and depth (ecologically). As well, the desire for democratic social control now evident throughout the world, along with this diversity of culinary tastes, suggest that a successful global food safety strategy would do well to reflect the kinds of diversity and complex interactions seen in natural ecosystems.     

Advocates for environmental justice: the role of the champion in public participation implementation

That segment of the community I would say is just in general pretty disenfranchised. We found that if you want participation you have to go to them. I mean there are days when you just need to go knock on the door.

Brownfields developer in a poor urban neighbourhood

This article considers the role that champions play as advocates for socioeconomically disadvantaged community member involvement in environmental management decision-making. Six case studies of brownfields redevelopment projects located in poor urban neighbourhoods are examined. Analysis of these case studies reveals how champion behaviour, which has typically been studied only in the context of technological innovation, is enacted in public participation efforts in the service of environmental justice. The study finds that champions who emerge in these settings lead the development and implementation of non-standard public participation process innovations.     

Understanding the links between urban regeneration and climate-friendly urban development: lessons from two case studies in Japan

Urban regeneration policy and projects could facilitate the implementation of spatial policy responses to mitigate climate change and adapt to its consequences in cities. However, the potential role of urban regeneration in creating climate-friendly urban environments is not sufficiently evaluated and understood. Considering this gap, the paper aims to explore the potential linkage between urban regeneration and climate change. The case study analysis focuses on two urban regeneration projects, representing two major approaches of regeneration practices in Japanese cities, namely “project-based” and “plan-based” approaches. Research findings demonstrate that urban regeneration could help in reorganising existing urban areas in a climate-friendly manner. As a cross-cutting field of urban policy, urban regeneration could also help in creating synergies between mitigation and adaptation goals. Yet, achievement of such outcomes via regeneration projects necessitates the existence of an overriding urban development vision, political commitment, and willingness to implement binding and structural measures.