What’s Consuming Ireland? Exploring expressed attitudes and reported behaviours towards the environment and consumption across three study sites on the island of Ireland
Date
2016Author
Lavelle, Mary-Jo
Fahy, Frances
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Lavelle, M-J. and Fahy, F. (2016) ‘What’s Consuming Ireland? Exploring expressed attitudes and reported behaviours towards the environment and consumption across three study sites on the island of Ireland’. Irish Geography, 49(2), 29-54, DOI: 10.2014/igj.v49i2.1233
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Abstract
Household consumption levels are escalating across the island of
Ireland. Although emissions from transport and construction sectors have
experienced a temporary decrease due to the economic downturn, overall
emissions are increasing. Despite this, there is a lack of baseline data on
three key consumption areas that impact significantly on the environment:
water, transport and energy. To address this gap in knowledge, the
CONSENSUS Lifestyle Survey (CLS) was developed and implemented
to explore expressed attitudes and reported behaviours towards the
environment and consumption across the Republic of Ireland and
Northern Ireland. Opening with a critical review of previous perspectives
adopted within attitude and behavioural research, this paper outlines the
development of the CLS. Drawing on a survey of 1,500 respondents across
three case study locations between 2010 and 2011, this paper adopts a
framework of environmental behaviour to discuss the findings under
the themes of ‘environmental concern variables’, ‘situational variables’
and ‘psychological variables’. Despite the expression of high levels of
environmental concern and positive attitudes towards environmental
protection and conservation, results reveal the persistence of valueaction
gaps. Results indicate the importance of structural variables for
shaping consumption behaviours, such as availability of services and
the built environment in particular sectors. Socio-demographic factors
were found to be important influences on the adoption of water-saving
actions. Inflexible social norms about communal sharing and ownership of
goods were also highlighted. The research reported in this paper provides
a comprehensive response to international calls for baseline data on
consumption behaviour.