Category: behaviour/attitudes

Evaluating behavioural energy efficiency programmes

Katherine Tweed writes on the Greentechefficiency website about the difficulty in evaluating many energy efficiency programmes in the US.  She reviews a recent report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). She explains that a dearth of data is making it difficult to effectively evaluate nearly 300 programmes across the U.S.   Can … Continue reading Evaluating behavioural energy efficiency programmes →

Awareness campaign falls flat

Paul Melia writes in the Irish Independent about an energy saving campaign in Ireland that failed to meet expectations according to recent analysis.  The findings are useful for EiD readers to reflect upon. Power of None – €10m energy saving campaign fails to deliver A study by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) said … Continue reading Awareness campaign falls flat →

New report: Greening Household Behaviour: The Role of Public Policy

The OECD has recently published a valuable report on the role that public policy can play in affecting our household behaviour. Household consumption patterns and behaviour have an impact on stocks of natural resources, environmental quality and climate change. This is expected to increase significantly in the future. In response, governments have introduced a variety … Continue reading New report: Greening Household Behaviour: The Role of Public Policy →

There are some things we should not ignore – but we do

If you don’t read everything Andrew Sims writes, you should. Andrew Simms is chief analyst at Global Witness, a fellow of the New Economics Foundation, and the author of Ecological Debt, Tescopoly and Eminent Corporations.  What he does is make us think.  This article is must reading.   We keep moaning about population, but ignore … Continue reading There are some things we should not ignore – but we do →

The idea of a value-based economic structure

Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, a Sufi teacher and author, writes in the Guardian about an alternative view of economic growth and sustainability. The author argues that corporate visions of sustainability focus on material prosperity – but leaders must respect the soul as well as the soil.   Eco-spirituality: towards a values-based economic structure  As our world stumbles … Continue reading The idea of a value-based economic structure →

Influences on choosing energy efficiency

Ashutosh Jogelekar writes an excellent article in the Scientific American about the effect of one’s political position has on whether you invest in energy efficient technologies or not.  Political ideology can dominate other factors in choosing energy efficiency Political ideology - tracking from liberal to conservative from left to right - can influence the purchase … Continue reading Influences on choosing energy efficiency →

Results from new UK survey on renewable energy and energy efficiency

GreenWise provides a good review of a recent government survey that shows that support for renewable energy is increasing.  But the survey reveals that the public still has bad energy consumption habits. More people back renewable energy, but energy wasting behaviour persists, DECC survey shows Support for renewable energy is rising among the UK public, … Continue reading Results from new UK survey on renewable energy and energy efficiency →

Time to have fun and be serious

Sarah Morrison writes in The Independent on the role that eco-sensibility put into childhood games can have a much more positive impact on addressing climate change.  Well, it can even be adult games!   Battling climate-change: How snakes and ladders could save the planet Experts think putting eco-sensibility into fun childhood games will engage people … Continue reading Time to have fun and be serious →

New report on whether changing behaviour can save energy

The European Environment Agency (EEA) recently published a report that investigates what it takes to achieve energy savings through changing consumer behaviour and launches an online survey to know more about society's views on the topic.The EEA report, Achieving energy efficiency through behaviour change: what does it take? reviews recent studies on behaviour change and … Continue reading New report on whether changing behaviour can save energy →