environmental consciousness research paper

Advertisement

Environmental Consciousness, Sustainability, and the Character of Philosophy of Education

• Open access
• Published: 12 November 2016
• Volume 36 , pages 333–347, ( 2017 )

Cite this article

You have full access to this open access article

• Michael Bonnett   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2038-2435 1  

18k Accesses

23 Citations

2 Altmetric

Explore all metrics

This paper argues that education itself, properly understood, is intimately concerned with an individual’s being in the world, and therefore is ineluctably environmental. This is guaranteed by the ecstatic nature of consciousness. Furthermore, it is argued that a central dimension of this environment with which ecstatic human consciousness is engaged, is that of nature understood as the ‘self-arising’. Nature, so conceived, is essentially other and is epistemologically mysterious, possessing its own normativity, agency, and intrinsic value. As such, engagement with nature presents opportunities for consciousness quintessentially to go beyond itself, to be inspired and refreshed, and to receive non-anthropogenic standards in the form of intimations of what is fitting and what is not. It will be argued that these are fundamental to the orientation of human being, providing primordial intimations of the nature of reality and truth. Given their centrality to the idea of a person’s becoming educated, the elucidation of these and the issues to which they give rise must be central to the philosophy of education and in this sense it becomes deeply ecological.

Similar content being viewed by others

A Multi-Perspective Reflection on How Indigenous Knowledge and Related Ideas Can Improve Science Education for Sustainability

Regenerative and restorative pedagogy: The foundation of a new contract for cognitive justice

Challenging Taken-for-Granted Ideas in Early Childhood Education: A Critique of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory in the Age of Post-humanism

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Introduction

Philosophy of education can be understood as engaged in the analysis and elucidation of the nature of education: the ideas that inform it and the practices that are taken concretely to constitute it. This broad characterization can rapidly be unpacked in terms of a wide range of more specific and intimately interrelated considerations, such as the character of teaching, learning, the curriculum and the pupil-teacher relationship—and also, the institutions such as schools and universities in which they occur. In turn, these considerations can lead to a number of underlying issues, for example concerning the nature of truth, knowledge and understanding; the nature and relevance of moral, social/political, aesthetic, and other values. And, perhaps, most fundamental of all: the nature of human subjectivity and personhood, and their relationship to the greater world that they inhabit, and of which they are a part. If something like this portrayal is accepted, it places the question of what it is to be human—that is to say, the character of its existence and potentiality—at the heart of philosophy of education. This has held true for many of the most influential philosophies of education, including those of Plato, Rousseau, Dewey, R. S. Peters, and the philosophers of Bildung .

It seems to me that it is on this topic of the nature and potentiality of human existence that concerns elaborated in the discourses of sustainability and environmental education have some important things to say. Indeed, they can be interpreted as requiring a significant re-orientation of the philosophy of education as largely it currently presents itself. I will begin to open up this issue by attempting to elucidate and defend what in recent times has become a heavily contested idea: that of an authentic human essence.

There is a long history of conceiving the self, not as some separate autonomous entity—as has been attributed to some forms of liberalism—but as essentially relational. Footnote 1 This has sometimes resulted in subjectivity becoming understood largely as merely the creation and on-going reflection of external influences, as illustrated in varying degree through, say, ideas of ‘subjectivation’ through the performative activities of others Footnote 2 or the subject’s coming into presence only through the recognition of others. Footnote 3 Here, the possibility of an authentic human essence is in danger of becoming dissipated across an interminable range of external agencies. Footnote 4 Yet, through its attempt to define what it is to be human, the idea of an authentic human essence can be portrayed as placing arbitrary restrictions upon human potentiality that in turn involve a colonisation of humanity by the views of the elites who decide the criteria. Footnote 5

However, there are alternative ways of acknowledging the relational dimension to human being and that emphasize the involvement with an environment without jettisoning the idea of a self that possesses some sort of internal integrity and whose characterizing aspects can be articulated to some degree. One such notion of authentic human essence derives from a formulation of the idea of consciousness derived from medieval schoolmen and re-introduced into modern philosophy by Franz Brentano in the latter half of the nineteenth century: the intentionality thesis. It will be argued that here, with some modifications, can be discerned a view of human being that holds the possibility of developing a notion of human essence in which the way in which we are ineluctably environmental is linked to a primordial idea of sustainability. I will argue that this has the potential to re-orientate our understanding of philosophy of education.

In his Psychology from an Empirical Standpoint Franz Brentano employed the idea of intentionality as a way of distinguishing consciousness from the merely physical. Footnote 6 He interpreted intentionality as ‘relationship to a content, the tendency towards an object’ that is immanent, i.e. contained within consciousness. This idea of consciousness as essentially directed upon an object, being ‘minded’, subsequently was taken up by Edmund Husserl Footnote 7 and seminally modified by his argument that the things to which consciousness is directed—its intentional objects—are not contained within itself, but are transcendent . For example, when we desire something such as a new coat, we do not desire something that is already within consciousness, say an image or an idea, but an actual coat whose existence lies beyond any individual consciousness. Furthermore, as Martin Heidegger makes clear in his rejection of Husserl’s developing transcendental idealism, we experience these transcendent objects as always already existing in a world that they share with us. Footnote 8 Such ‘worldliness’ is fundamental to their intelligibility. Human consciousness is ecstatic in this sense of existing in a constant (and complex) motion of standing out towards things beyond itself in the world. In this sense it is ineluctably worldly—and hence, we can say, environmental . And its internal integrity can be conceived as a constantly evolving genealogy of intentionality in which past acts condition, but far from determine, future acts. Footnote 9 , Footnote 10

For the purpose of illustrating how this internal relationship between consciousness and its environment connects with ecological concerns that can affect how we think about the idea of an authentic human essence, and in turn, how we should understand philosophy of education, I will develop two central aspects: (1) the primordial character of human ecstasis as a kind of sustaining; (2) the significance of the experience of nature.

Human Being as Sustainability

In other work, Footnote 11 I have argued that there is a pregnant sense in which sustainability lies at the heart of human consciousness, and that it is intimately entwined with a founding notion of truth. The argument goes as follows.

If it is proper to characterize human consciousness as intentional in the sense outlined above, it follows that the greater the range and integrity of the intentional objects in which it participates, the greater will be the richness of its own life. And because these objects are transcendent and therefore not to be conceived as exclusively the product of its own projections, primordially its stance will need to be one of receptiveness to what engages it. Although he makes no explicit reference to any intentionality thesis, something very like it can be interpreted as being present in Bertrand Russell’s introductory text The Problems of Philosophy. Footnote 12 In the concluding chapter ‘The Value of Philosophy’, he suggests that true knowledge is a union of the Self with the not-Self. It is important to note that in the case of philosophy this union is not to be understood as generating a body of definitely ascertainable knowledge. Rather, Russell holds that: ‘The value of philosophy is, in fact, to be sought largely in its very uncertainty’ and the consequent speculation that ‘suggests many possibilities which enlarge our thoughts and free them from the tyranny of custom’. Footnote 13 In this way even the smallest and most familiar things in life can become strange and enlarged in their significance. This leads Russell to make a seminal point that reveals a key implication of the intentionality thesis when considered from an educational point of view:

Apart from its utility in showing unsuspected possibilities, philosophy has a value – perhaps its chief value – through the greatness of the objects that it contemplates, and the freedom from narrow and personal aims resulting from this contemplation. Footnote 14

He goes on to make it clear that such enlargement of Self does not occur through study that ‘wishes in advance that its objects should have this or that character, but adapts the Self to the characters which it finds in its objects… In contemplation… we start from the not-Self, and through its greatness the boundaries of Self are enlarged; through the infinity of the universe the mind which contemplates it achieves some share in infinity’. Footnote 15 , Footnote 16

In this fundamental sense of consciousness being attentive to what its intentional objects present, it is involved in a sustaining of things—a letting them be as the things that they are. This is the basis of world-formation. And here, too, resides an originary sense of truth: an apprehension of things as they are in their own being. It should be noted that this is not to posit some objective reality entirely independent of consciousness; rather it is to speak of the reality in relationship to which primordially consciousness consists or lives, and, by the same token, the reality that occurs through consciousness, as the place where it can show up. As it were, subject and object are poles of the relationship that is consciousness. The poles can be distinguished, but arise only as aspects of this original relationship that constitutes consciousness and that at base is one of mutual anticipation. Elsewhere, Footnote 17 I have argued that anticipation in its varied forms pervades all that we do and experience: for example, for the walker that the earth will bear her up or for the reader that the text has meaning, and while often deeply implicit, also it is deeply enlivening and can be quite explicit—as with the anticipation of meeting a friend after a long absence, or setting off on a cross-country ramble on a fine spring morning.

Furthermore, such anticipation is not simply our projection onto an inert world. It occurs in the context of our participation in places, and a place and the things that populate and constitute it can be experienced as awaiting us and as claiming us through the invitations and prompts that they offer. Perhaps we look into the kitchen and see the dirty dishes awaiting our attention, the shade of a tree beckons us on a hot day. We can experience the history or ambience of a particular place as deeply affecting our sense of who we are and what we are doing. This is true whether it is our home with its familiar utensils that anticipate and invite our activity there, the solitude of an upland stream, or the endless lines of white war graves of the Somme that silently await our coming and remembrance. The significances that we experience in these examples are not merely subjective additions to something more primal or real, rather they constitute the world of sense in which we live—and from which all else is abstraction and fabrication.

It is important to make clear that this sense of reciprocal anticipation in our experience of the world emanates not only from the clearly artefactual, but also from the quintessentially non-artefactual: nature. The spider’s web anticipates the stray fly; after a hard winter the swelling buds standing out on dark stems anticipate warmer and longer days. Reaching for a ripe fruit, it can be experienced as awaiting our grasp; the nearby robin awaits alert for the disturbance that will expose hidden grubs as I take my fork to the soil. We exist through our participation in this interplay of anticipation. Without it, indeed, we would enter ontological freefall, for there is an important sense in which we ourselves inhere in the world through a meshing of our anticipations with those experienced in the places in which we live and in which essentially we find ourselves. In the case of ‘natural places’, this can range from an unreflective picking of an inviting apple, to a more general attunement to the myriad signs of what is nascent on a spring day that shapes our own anticipations and thus locates us in the play of the seasons. Ultimately there is nothing purely objective or passive about a place—‘domestic’ or ‘natural’; it only appears so when we have lost touch with its, and our own, genius—as when, under the influence of scientism, we can be persuaded that to recognize its transcendent inviting otherness is to indulge a frothy fiction.

Because it illustrates these points in a powerful way, and also because it leads to issues that lie at the heart of ideas of ecologizing philosophy of education, I will now turn to an elucidation of our experience of nature.

The Significance of Nature

The key feature of our experience of nature qua nature—that is to say the experience that lies at the kernel of our concept of nature—is its independence of our authorship and will. In this sense things in nature are quintessentially self - arising, Footnote 18 befalling us in their individuality and particularity as non-artefactual, essentially other. However, two caveats need to be entered here.

First, this is far from saying that in all our encounters with nature its self-arising character is what is most prominent. On occasion it may be heavily veiled or subverted. Indeed, it may be that increasingly and for the most part we come to see things in nature in purely instrumental or economic terms, paying little or no attention to their particularity and otherness. The point being made is that insofar as we do still construe something as a part of nature, the idea of it as self-arising is implicit, and furthermore that this understanding of nature both is deeply embedded in our form of sensibility and is an essential element of it (of which more anon).

Second, of course, we can affect nature in all sorts of ways, but in all our interactions with it there remains something that is ‘other’, always beyond us and experienced as occurring from out of itself—And this, notwithstanding the fact that our linguistic articulations of nature occur through concepts that have been socially produced. Perhaps, on my cross country ramble a freshening breeze sets the boughs of some great tree dancing. Clearly, this is understood and articulated through the relevant socially produced concepts, but that the boughs moved in this way and at this moment is perfectly independent of these concepts.

Having recognized this element of autonomy in nature, it is important to note that there is a complex relationship between the play of human purposes and the disclosure of the otherness of nature. While often our contact with an intelligible world is modulated by the purposes and practices that we pursue, equally, aspects of that world can announce themselves ‘uninvited’. Perhaps we suddenly experience a marked change of temperature or a powerful odour, or our attention is commanded by the sudden apprehension of something neither foreseen nor imagined—such as a clap of thunder emanating from brooding clouds that have crept up on us unawares. Furthermore, our artefacts are frequently both shaped by our awareness of aspects of nature with which we have to contend, such as the weather, and can reveal facets of that nature such as the way that a glass prism can display the colours concealed within white light.

And, of course, this intimate interplay and reciprocal conditioning of human purposes and artefacts with the appearing of nature in its otherness occurs within—and constantly extends—our overarching form of sensibility. This latter evolved precisely in response to the presence of otherness in its myriad changing forms, and historically whose most powerful and pervasive example is that of self-arising nature that both has shaped our senses and whose presence as an independent reality is implicit in the logic of our senses and the languages used in relation to them, such as those of perception and description. Hence, the nature that we experience is human-related in that human consciousness provides the place and occasion for its appearances, but ultimately not simply human-authored. In experience, the living presence of natural things is something we behold rather than construct, and we take such things to have their own ‘lives’ and interactions, regardless of whether we witness or speculate about them. Footnote 19

This experience of the living presence of natural things brings me to another important aspect of self-arising nature. Scientific ecology has drawn attention to the ways in which things in nature are biophysically interdependent, individuals being causally sustained as integral members of local ecosystems, which in turn are nested in overarching regional or global systems. However, from the phenomenological perspective, there is another important sense in which things in nature exist always in relationship: not now as scientifically defined objects or constructs, but in their very occurring—in their being . In other work Footnote 20 I have argued that the character of their living presence—the things that they are in our sensory experience of them—occurs through the mutually sustaining relationships that constitute place-making. To return to the example of the upland stream: the glistening flow of water eddying around tumbled polished rocks, the mysterious movement of a reed at the margin where the water is quiet, the momentary silver glint of a darting fish, the fragrances borne on the fresh breeze that blows at this place and that disturbs the pendant branches of a stunted willow that overhangs the stream at this spot, its fissured bark displaying and withholding strange shapes as sunlight and cloud shadow pass over it: Here the living presence of each is sustained through its participation in a creative interplay with all. This mutual interplay constitutes the place in which they are encountered. It is sustained by them and sustaining of them. Removed—perhaps the fish to an aquarium, the stone to a rock collection—their being is transformed, reduced to that of curio. In such uprooting, their existence arises through their participation in a new imposed interplay that is in part both parasitic on what they once were and at the same time subverts key aspects of their self-arising nature, their ability to befall us as natural.

If we enter a natural place and participate in the vibrancy of its being—the place-making that is occurring—our own embodied being is enlivened and refreshed, our senses resonating with pure engagement, united with what they receive. For a while our ecstatic nature is fulfilled. Herein lies a central aspect of the importance of self-arising nature: where it is prominent we can experience an ecstasis that can be inspirational by re-opening a space for possibilities of otherness and mystery that far outrun any preconceptions and knowingness with which habitually we equip and insulate ourselves. Things in nature are quintessentially other in the sense of having their own histories and futures, profiles and countenances, many of which we will never see and that can never be fully anticipated. The attentive walker in natural space is subject to frequent surprise as things encountered offer invitations to participate in their being in unique and never wholly predictable ways. They possess aspects that always lie beyond us, withdrawn, yet to be revealed, no matter how developed our scientific understanding becomes. And sometimes partly because of this, as when the living presence of the rock or willow tree are codified in some database pro forma of objective defining properties. Participation in the spontaneity and innate epistemological mystery of self-arising nature opens us to truth in its most primordial form: in Heideggerian vein, the coming into presence of things themselves and their withdrawing. In such a relationship we can come to feel the elemental powers that are at play: for example, those of birth and death, lightening and darkening, sound and silence, motion and stillness, and so forth. Footnote 21 These all embody significances both for human as well as non-human nature, as when perhaps a silence is experienced as uncanny and laden with foreboding, or the dawn light resonates with hope.

And there is another important point to be made here. Although they are profoundly other, things in nature communicate something of their own integrity such that we can have a sense of what would count as their fulfilment. In this sense they are normative and possess intrinsic value. Negatively, our awareness of this can be evoked if perhaps, returning to the upland stream, we were to find the bloated corpses of fish borne on foam topped waters smelling of industrial waste. More positively, in experiencing the myriad interplays, harmonies and contrasts, subtle adaptions and accommodations, we might be struck by a sense of rightness emanating from the stream during our first encounter. Things presence in such a way that how they are communicates that this is how they ought to be Footnote 22 Here we become acquainted with a form of rightness that is in some sense ‘pre-moral’: more a matter of an emplaced sensing of what belongs and what is fitting than anything that could be articulated in a set of abstract moral principles or specific prescriptions. But nonetheless, this is an acquaintanceship that can be refined and deepened through an attentive and intimate living alongside things that, for example, has found expression (in very different ways) in the lives of indigenous peoples and in Romantic poetry. Footnote 23 Entry into these can help to (re-)attune us to the presence of normative intimations, respect for which conditions but does not determine moral conduct. Rather such intimations are a pre-condition of a properly informed ethical response. Footnote 24 And here, again, we receive indications of truth, of a reality that is true to itself; vulnerable to the effects of overweening human ambition, yet potentially powerful in orientating human being for those sensitive to the silent messages it gives off. Footnote 25

Clearly, there is a sense in which such a claim contravenes that well established dictum in moral philosophy, emanating from Hume, that an ‘ought’ cannot be derived from an ‘is’ on the grounds that when an empirical fact is stated it is always possible to question whether it possesses the moral value attributed to it. Taken in loose combination with the the so-called ‘naturalistic fallacy’ propounded by G. E. Moore, this has sometimes resulted in a radical separation of fact and value, the latter becoming perceived as a mere human projection on some underlying empirical reality. Footnote 26 But from the phenomenological point of view this position has things the wrong way round. Our direct experience of things in nature is not normally that of neutral objects to which value is then added: we experience them as already having value in some respect—they are present to us with their value, which, as Max Scheler once put it, can be experienced as ‘streaming off’ them. At this level, the position is really an example of a proto-scientism. It deconstructs concrete experience and by a process of abstraction produces a theoretically neutral object and a separate value component. This is not to say that elements of the approach have no relevance in the moral sphere. When it comes to deciding how to act in a particular situation—e.g. whether to preserve or destroy some aspect of nature—the inherent value of one thing alone often cannot determine this; its value needs to be weighed against the values of other things involved, including human-wellbeing. In this sense ‘is’ does not imply ‘ought’, but it is a mistake to deploy this as an argument against the idea of intrinsic moral value as it has been taken to do, for in fact it assumes some prior apprehension of intrinsic values.

To be sure, none of this is to deny that we need to be alert to occasions where the normativity claimed to be experienced in ‘nature’ and what is taken to be ‘natural’ is recruited to authenticate, for example, dubious conceptions and power relationships such as those associated with gender. Footnote 27 But such misappropriation should not persuade us simply to suspend or disparage, in any wholesale way, experiences of value and normative measures in nature that both constitute a sense of unity with nature and can inform and ground us in significant ways. While, no doubt, there are occasions when moral values have been read into nature to suit current prejudices, phenomenologically this imposition of an agenda is a far cry from the genuine receptivity to otherness that this paper advocates.

Bringing this section to a close, from the position being developed in this paper, a central point that arises in the course of this discussion of nature as the self-arising is that something of the fundamental character of human being becomes foregrounded. Relating to the quintessential otherness of nature in its manifold facets is central to human existence and involves a non-anthropocentric receptivity to things themselves with their innate value. In sum, at the heart of authentic human essence is the holding sway of truth conceived as an attitude of loving allowance. In this sense it is essentially sustaining and sustained. But in our everyday busy-ness this mutuality with nature is largely effaced by other powerful motives that have come to dominate in our late-modern time.

Nature’s Enemies: Scientism and the Metaphysics of Mastery

By scientism, I refer to the phenomenon of presuming that classical experimental science has a privileged access to the nature of reality; that somehow its methods, findings and constructions reveal what is ‘really’ real and that therefore it can assume the mantle of arbiter for thinking in general. Clearly, this is to be distinguished from science as a field of research; scientism is a set of presumptions about the significance and application of the assumptions, methodologies and findings of this field of research in our daily lives.

With regard to the natural world—which is here my central concern—it arises, for example, in claims that what in everyday experience we take to be solid objects are to be understood as, say, ‘really’ bits of space traversed by speeding particles; what we experience as their colour or sound is ‘really’ movement of a particular wavelength. When it appears to us that a beaver selects a site to build its lodge, protects this site from river surges by quiet pools resulting from felling nearby trees, gnawing them to manageable size and towing them to narrow parts of the river to construct dams, what is ‘really’ occurring is the working out of blind mechanical processes. The vocabulary of the former everyday account is to be regarded fundamentally as a quaint piece of anthropomorphism.

Elsewhere, Footnote 28 I have questioned this presumption that somehow such scientific accounts are ‘truer’, more objective in the sense of providing a more authentic depiction of the world—one that properly reflects how it really is. Why privilege blind mechanical depictions of the natural world over those that speak of purpose and agency? Does the natural historian, when implying agency by speaking of a predator hunting its prey, necessarily mis-describe what she sees, or indulge a way of speaking that is merely figurative? Why be tempted to posit as fundamental a world of, say, colourless, blindly hurrying particles when human experience of the natural world is so much richer than this and cannot be adequately articulated through its vocabulary?

I will return to this issue shortly. For the moment I make the point that while the former conception might be quite acceptable within the discipline of science with its particular project towards the world and where its limitations as well as its strengths are recognized, given the richness of experience and depths of intelligibility that it denies, such reductionism looks highly arbitrary when it gets generalised, as with scientism.

Let me now return to the question as to why we can find ourselves condoning scientism. I believe that the answer lies in what I have termed the ‘metaphysics of mastery’. Footnote 29 I use this epithet to refer to the ways in which Western culture increasingly frames issues in terms that are deeply human-centred and manipulative. While much is still hybrid in this respect, here grows an underlying presumption that everything is to be understood in terms of how it can be brought to serve the human will alone: the purposes that humans give to themselves, increasingly detached from any sensibility of any other source of value, and in which ultimately the desire for mastery comes to reign supreme and everything must be brought to order in its service. Here we have, as it were, the burgeoning of a will that looks only to itself: a kind of hyper-anthropocentrism that now supersedes the fully human and seeks to dominate it, as it would all else. Under its aegis, all values become instrumental and the world, including the natural world, becomes a resource—the purer, the better. The all-consuming goal is that of utility: to have everything to hand with minimum inconvenience and maximum efficiency from the point of view of our self-defined comfort and self-given projects. Anything resistant to this requirement presents itself as being in need of re-engineering or replacement. While this motive is far from new, its increasing dominance and purity has been spurred by—and is expressed in—the growth of technological power. This has led, for the moment, to the throwing off of the old constraints of religion and nature and expresses itself in the burgeoning of consumerism and the choice of alternative virtual realities in which to live and that reflect an increasingly disdainful attitude towards the given.

In the present context this raises the important issue of what such a wilful attitude does to our relationship with nature. The anthropologist Gregory Bateson notes how when faced with a changing variable we tend to focus on modifying our environment rather than ourselves. Footnote 30 This is entirely consistent with the metaphysics of mastery, as are the ever increasingly ambitious aspirations to manage what at one time would have been accepted more or less as natural givens, ranging from, say, our anatomy to the oceans and the climate. Of course, some of these aspirations might be entirely appropriate if, rather awkwardly, simply they expressed a humble acknowledgement of human responsibility for the consequences of its actions upon the natural world and a determination to modify such actions so as to restore to nature its own integrity. But for the most part they do not. They continue to express an overweening desire to order all according to human will—an aggressive anthropocentrism. And it seems plausible to argue that it is precisely this hubris towards the natural world that has led to our current environmental situation.

To begin with, there is the problem that even when matters are set up in scientific terms, the complexity of natural systems and the magnitude of their temporal and spatial scales means that our current knowledge is far from commensurate with such grandiose ambitions. But more fundamental than this, viewing everything in nature as a resource prevents things from showing up as they are themselves. The lack of a felt sense of nature’s integrity and normativity itself results in a very partial perception and understanding of the world in which we are embedded, vitiating decision-making and leading inevitably to deleterious consequences. The well documented history of unintended outcomes of human interventions in nature bears witness to this. Footnote 31 And the continued decimation of natural populations and habitats, such as those associated with deforestation and the industrial fishing methods that destroy the sea floor, demonstrate how even when deleterious consequences are known narrow short term interests prevail. Looking at this phenomenon from a different perspective—and taking one stark illustration—how could reducing the North American buffalo population from an estimated 60 million to less than 500 in a period of a few decades ever have come to be regarded as a right thing to do? Only if nature is regarded simply as a disposable resource, possessing no inherent intrinsic value, could such slaughter present itself as a legitimate candidate for deliberate action.

Today, perhaps the most pervasive expression of an underlying attitude of mastery—putting nature under the yoke—is exhibited in the strength and character of the consumerist economic motives that dominate Western society and increasingly are becoming globalized. The commodification of all (for example as ‘natural capital’, ‘human capital’) is a clear expression of the motive of mastery. Typically it operates by externalising collateral effects that lie outside the chain of ‘most efficient’ production, unless, that is, these are impressed upon it by other powerful interest groups. Here, the underlying point remains: such a frame of mind remains immune to any truly holistic understanding of the world and nature continues to be set up as a pure resource for human consumption. This lack of truly systemic understanding and the aggressive instrumentalism that holds sway in its stead could, as it gathers strength, hardly fail to subvert both the subtle natural interplays and delicate equilibria in which human existence is embedded and any properly receptive frame of mind that would make it sufficiently sensible of this.

It is in this sense that it is appropriate to speak of a prevailing metaphysics of mastery, for here we are installed in a highly partial reality that inherently works to exclude anything that lies beyond its purview—especially any sources of intrinsic value that transcend the human will and could prove recalcitrant to its demands. And, to return to a previously raised question: the reason that quasi-mechanical portrayals of the natural world have the ascendency is that they set the world up as something that in principle can be controlled, mastered, whereas the recognition of spontaneity and of otherness of purpose pervading the world precludes this. So installed, it becomes increasingly difficult for us properly to address the environmental issues that now face us. When nature is perceived as purely a resource, any adverse consequences of exploiting it appear simply as needing to be fixed by either current or future technologies. Essentially, any problems are taken to lie not within the human will but within those aspects of nature that prove to be resistant to it. With this in play, the central and deep issue of the adequacy of our current modalities of perception is occluded.

The Philosophy of Education in the Light of Nature as the Self-Arising

The argument that human consciousness is ineluctably environmental and involved in sustainability, and subsequent discussion of the character of nature and its significance for understanding what lies at the core of authentic human being, have implications for the content and character of education at a number of levels.

In very general terms, previous argument can be read as putting on the table the proposition that centrally education should be concerned with inviting pupils to participate in a particular frame of mind—or perhaps, better, way of being—that is energized by loving allowance rather than unbridled calculative imposition. Given that such an attitude is as much absorbed from the surrounding culture of the school as from what is formally taught, this suggests a curriculum that itself is infused with such loving allowance both in terms of its approach to pupils as individuals and in its understanding of curriculum content as what presents itself as calling for attention in the course of their ongoing engagement with their environment. In addition to helping to refine and deepen such attentiveness through providing opportunities to dwell with things in their arising and to reflect on their significances, presumably the curriculum would need to alert pupils to the myriad ways in which the metaphysics of mastery holds sway in their perceptions and to encourage experiences and reflections in which this can be disturbed and challenged. This conception of education opens a number of lines of thought for the philosophy of education.

For example, it suggests a different perspective on some of the key concepts that traditionally have been taken to be central to the idea of education. Ideas of truth and knowledge appear that challenge some current mainstream conceptions and that invite further investigation of their educational implications. Footnote 32 If primordially knowledge arises from receptivity to the non-human rather than by a process of anthropocentric construction, if the apprehension of intrinsic values is implicit in the occurring of truth, then the character of what counts as an educational situation—and underpinning notions of human wellbeing, flourishing and the good life—come up for review. With regard to the character of education, ideas of the curriculum as some kind of pre-specified programme of knowledge and skills acquisition, and the teacher–pupil relationship as orientated around the idea of transmission of this prescribed content from teacher to pupil, are severely challenged. Detailed pre-specification (on the back of which often follows managerialism and modularisation) is the bane of genuine engagement with one’s environment, which (it has been argued) fundamentally is apprehended through the fluid sensing of an affective embodied self. This self is sensuous, physically as well as intellectually active and engaging. It requires freedom to respond to the spontaneous prompts and invitations experienced in unfettered participation. On this characterization, the scientism implicit in much of school culture can have deleterious effects on the ability of pupils to inhere authentically in the space that formal schooling provides.

Here, the fundamental issue is raised of the effects on their subjectivity of the environment in which pupils are required to participate. If consciousness is ineluctably environmental and places lay claim to an individual in the senses described earlier in this paper, the potential for a debilitating personal disengagement arises in situations where pre-specification of learning and acceptable responses is high. If the refutation of pupils’ anticipations by the school is extensive or radical, the natural flow of their intentionality becomes stymied. The pupil can feel ‘out of place’ and paralyzed. Footnote 33 Such alienation from their immediate environment, combined with restriction of free exploration previously alluded to, threatens a kind of autism that represents the antithesis of what environmental education must achieve. This suggests a need for careful consideration in holistic terms of the milieu of anticipations that schools support and when disruption of those of incomers is edifying and when pathological.

In the context of admitting self-arising nature to the enterprise of education this matter of the character of the educational environment warrants consideration of a number of associated issues:

The nature and educational potential of a curriculum that emerges in response to the experiences, issues and opportunities that occur when free engagement with a nature-rich environment is valued;

How ideas of moral education and justice that inform the school environment become modified when anthropocentric hubris is suspended and the normativity and intrinsic value of non-human nature are allowed a voice. This raises the further issue of how to conceive of our responsibilities towards nature—and the future; Footnote 34

If authentic human being is radically ecstatic and environmental in the ways previously indicated the importance of considering schools as places—their experienced character, culture, ethos, architecture and location—becomes an important topic for investigation; Footnote 35

Insofar as computerization and the a growing preoccupation with electronic connectivity can be argued to be antipathetic to the ways of relating to the world valorised by knowing nature—for example, through their limitation of multisensory engagement with spontaneity in the immediate environment, and their bodied passivity—the ontology of computerized learning becomes an important area of investigation. Footnote 36

Points such as these illustrate a need for a re-appraisal of the topics that should lie at the heart of philosophy of education. And returning to the large topic of the ascendance of the metaphysics of mastery and the normalisation of scientism in education, a number of further questions arise with regard to the content of the curriculum: What motives and attitudes towards nature are implicit in different areas of the school curriculum? This question is of particular importance when it is recalled that many traditional school subjects were formed historically at a time when the metaphysics of mastery was on the rise and motives of conquering and exploiting nature were pervasive. Footnote 37 More broadly, if our ideas and experience of nature are central to human being in the ways previously claimed, then questions of the following kind become highly germane Footnote 38 : What is nature and what is our place in it? How can we know nature and what should be our attitude towards it? Against what criteria should humankind judge its progress/success/flourishing in relation to the natural world? Ultimately : What would count as a right relationship with nature? Such questions are germane to education because they represent important, but now largely overlooked, ways of articulating our understanding of the human situation—which itself lies (or should lie) at the heart of educational thought.

Arising from discussion of these questions will be the need to analyse and investigate, along with the phenomenon of scientism and its influence in education, the nature of our inherence in the (natural) world—including those perspectives that are inclined to sustain it and those that are inclined to undermine it. For example, an examination of the arguably aggressive utilitarian-rational precepts of modernist humanism (including the ways in which they are carried forward in language through root metaphors and particular locutions Footnote 39 ) and a consideration of the possibilities of post-humanism, become important. Similarly, the character and worth of alternative views of education such as that of indigenous peoples that has arisen in reciprocity with the natural world, and the sensitivities expressed in some Romantic literature such as that of John Clare, Gerard Manley-Hopkins, and William Wordsworth, call for serious study.

Taken as a whole the position outlined in this paper intimates an approach to thinking about education that valorizes receptivity, concreteness and particularity over the abstract and the analytic; holism and the ontological over the atomistic and the epistemological; ‘cosmo-centrism’ over anthropocentrism and cosmopolitanism; sensitivity to immanent organic elemental powers directly experienced as against abstract formulations. These, in turn, install at the heart of the educational enterprise knowledge by intimate acquaintance rather than knowledge by abstract calculation. Clearly, this latter places discussion of the nature and place of affectivity and of bodied knowledge firmly on the agenda of philosophy of education.

This returns us to the important theme of education occurring through a constantly emergent rather than pre-specified curriculum. What comes into view here is the aspiration to develop a systemic wisdom of the human situation that is rooted in learners’ life-worlds enriched through direct acquaintanceship with nature. While this does not deny that it can be helpful to maintain some sort of systematic introduction to what may be identified as a range of key perspectives, and to have at hand ideas and information that can be drawn upon to elucidate them as evolving educational situations make them relevant, potentially there arise important questions concerning how generally knowledge needs to be organized in educational contexts.

For example: To what extent should knowledge be configured so as to be stored and accessed through narratives that root it in lived experience as against through abstract systematic disciplines? (And in the case of the former, which or whose narratives should be privileged?) What are the implications for practice if knowledge is presented as not exclusively the product of human agency and ingenuity, but in part, at least, as receptiveness to what is offered by other forms of agency involved in the occurring of things? How are these alternative forms of agency best understood and woven into accounts of education? And how should this affect the educational status (and perhaps character) of different modes of thought such as the scientific and the poetic? Given the character of nature as the self-arising and the varying circumstances in which education takes place, the question is also raised concerning what considerations are relevant to seeking the enrichment of the life-worlds of learners through personal encounters with the nature? This issue becomes particularly acute for education in urban contexts where the presence of self-arising nature can be less immediately apparent and some of its fundamental rhythms can be attenuated by, for example, extensive light and sound pollution.

Finally, we are brought up against the basic question of the extent to which the aim of introducing pupils to what has been referred to as a civilised inheritance of enduring traditions of thought Footnote 40 —and that may lie beyond the compass of their current life-world preoccupations—is legitimate. If it is, how is it to be reconciled with the idea of a radically emergent curriculum?

To propose such questions, and to seek to reveal the complex synergies and tensions between the ideas involved, is to propose an agenda that could substantially transform the posture of philosophy of education as, largely, it currently stands.

See, for example, Seigel ( 2005 , Ch. 1).

Espoused by Butler ( 1997 ).

Biesta ( 2006 ).

Bonnett ( 2009a ).

A gross example of this would be the Enlightenment elevation of European bourgeois reason as universal arbiter of thinking—aptly dubbed by Robert Solomon as the ‘transcendental pretence’ (Solomon 1980 ).

Brentano ( 1995 ).

Husserl ( 2001 ).

Heidegger ( 1972 ).

Bonnett ( 1978 ).

It should be made clear here that two senses of ‘intentional’ come into play: first, a direct pre-predicative engagement that is to be distinguished from (2) having an intention in the further deliberative sense of, say, working on a problem or deciding a course of action. Each feeds into the other. In what follows the reference is mainly to the pre-predicative sense of intention, although it is part of the broader picture that such pre-predicative engagement plays into intention in the more deliberative sense.

Bonnett ( 2004 ).

Russell ( 1959 ).

It is true that in his desire to make philosophic contemplation impersonal and dispassionate—as free as possible from human hopes and fears, customary beliefs and traditional prejudices—Russell claims that the free intellect ‘will value more the abstract and universal knowledge into which the accidents of private history do not enter, than the knowledge brought by the senses, and dependent, as such knowledge must be, upon an exclusive and personal point of view and a body whose sense-organs distort as much as they reveal’ (p. 93). This discounting of the role of affect and the body in sense-making clearly goes against some central themes of this paper. But his cabined notion of understanding does not vitiate the point that from within the constraints of a very different viewpoint emerges the essential underlying insight that there is an intimate relationship between enlargement of self and openness to the otherness of things.

Bonnett ( 2009b ).

Bonnett ( 2004 ), op. cit.

I have defended the idea of nature as a ‘primordial reality’ against postmodern/poststructuralist critiques that all understandings of nature as an underlying reality are the products of narratives that in various ways are arbitrary or even ‘optional’ in the early chapters of Retrieving Nature (Bonnett 2004 ).

Bonnett ( 2012 ).

Bonnett ( 2015a ).

Bonnett ( 2012 ), op. cit.

See, for example, Garrard ( 1998 ).

Bonnett ( 2012 ), op. cit. For an illustration of normative intimations arising from nature see, for example, Holmes Rolston III’s account of the refusal of rangers in Yosemite National Park to cut a drive-through tunnel through another sequoia after the fall of the famous Wawona tree in the storms of 1968-69. They refused on the grounds that to do so would be an indignity to a majestic sequoia, and that it perverted the trees. Rolston III ( 1999 , p. 120).

See, for example, Skulason ( 2015 ), for further discussion of this.

Moore did not take this route, espousing instead the idea of intrinsic values as ‘non-natural properties’ that reside in the thing itself and are discerned by the intellect.

See, for example, Haraway ( 1991 ).

Bonnett ( 2013 ).

In what follows there are clear resonances with, for example, some aspects of Heidegger’s analysis of the essence of modern technology (Heidegger 1977 ). and Plumwood’s characterisation of masculine rationality (Plumwood 1995 ).

Bateson ( 2000 ).

Such as Carson ( 1962 ).

Bonnett ( 2015b ).

See, for example, Postma and Smeyers ( 2012 ), and Kemp ( 2015 ), on these matters.

See, for example, Blenkinsop ( 2012 ).

For example, Payne ( 2006 ).

For a discussion of science that relates to this see Joldersma ( 2009 ).

Bonnett ( 2007 ).

Bowers ( 2012 ).

Oakeshott ( 1972 ).

Bateson, Gregory. 2000. Steps to an ecology of mind Chicago . Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Google Scholar  

Biesta, Gert. 2006. Beyond learning . Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers.

Blenkinsop, Sean. 2012. Four slogans for cultural change: An evolving place-based, imaginative and ecological learning experience. Journal of Moral Education 41(3): 353–368.

Article   Google Scholar  

Bonnett, Michael. 1978. Authenticity and education. Journal of Philosophy of Education 12: 51–61.

Bonnett, Michael. 2004. Retrieving Nature: Education for a Post-Humanist Age . Oxford: Blackwell.

Bonnett, Michael. 2007. Environmental education and the issue of nature. Journal of Curriculum Studies 39(6): 707–721.

Bonnett, Michael. 2009a. Education and selfhood: A phenomenological investigation. Journal of Philosophy of Education: What do Philosophers of Education Do? 43(3): 357–370.

Bonnett, Michael. 2009b. Schools as places of unselving: an educational pathology? In Exploring education through phenomenology. Diverse approaches , ed. G. Dall’Alba. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

Bonnett, Michael. 2012. Environmental concern, moral education, and our place in nature. Journal of Moral Education Special Issue: Moral Education and Environmental Concern 41(3): 285–300.

Bonnett, Michael. 2013. Normalising catastrophe: Sustainability and scientism. Environmental Education Research 19(2): 187–197.

Bonnett, Michael. 2015a. The powers that be: Environmental education and the transcendent. Policy Futures in Education 13(1): 42–56.

Bonnett, Michael. 2015b. Transcendent nature and the character of truth and knowledge in education. In Nature in education , ed. P. Kemp, and S. Frolund, 50–65. Zurich: LIT Verlag.

Bowers, Chet A. 2012. Questioning the idea of the individual as an autonomous moral agent. Journal of Moral Education 41(3): 301–310.

Brentano, Franz. 1995. Psychology from an empirical standpoint . London: Routledge.

Butler, Judith. 1997. Excitable speech. A politics of the performative . New York, NY: Routledge.

Carson, Rachel. 1962. Silent spring . Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Garrard, Greg. 1998. The romantic’s view of nature. In Spirit of the environment , ed. David Cooper, and Joy Palmer, 113–130. New York, NY: Routledge.

Haraway, Donna. 1991. Simians, cyborgs, and women. The reinvention of nature . London: Free Association Books.

Heidegger, Martin. 1972. Being and time . Oxford: Blackwell.

Heidegger, Martin. 1977. The question concerning technology and other essays . New York, NY: Harper & Row.

Husserl, Edmund. 2001. Logical investigations , vol. II. London: Routledge.

Joldersma, Clarence W. 2009. How can science help us care for nature? Hermeneutics, fragility, and responsibility for the earth. Educational Theory 59(4): 465–483.

Kemp, Peter. 2015. The animal: My partner. In Nature in education , ed. Peter Kemp, and Sune Frolund, 215–226. Zurich: LIT Verlag.

Oakeshott, Michael. 1972. Education: The engagement and its frustration. In Education and the development of reason , ed. R.F. Dearden, Paul H. Hirst, and R.S. Peters, 19–49. London: Routledge, Kegan & Paul.

Payne, Phillip. 2006. The technics of environmental education. Environmental Education Research 12(3–4): 487–502.

Plumwood, Val. 1995. Nature, self, and gender: Feminism, environmental philosophy and the critique of rationalism. In Environmental ethics , ed. Robert Elliot, 155–164. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Postma, Dirk W., and Paul Smeyers. 2012. Like a swallow, moving forward in circles: on the future dimension of environmental care and education. Journal of Moral Education 41(3): 399–412.

Rolston III, Holmes. 1999. Ethics on the home planet. In An invitation to environmental philosophy , ed. Anthony Weston. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Russell, Bertrand. 1959. The problems of philosophy . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Seigel, Jerrold. 2005. The idea of the self . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Book   Google Scholar  

Skulason, Pall. 2015. The Wildness of Nature. Its significance for our understanding of the world. In Nature in education , ed. Peter Kemp, and Sune Frolund. Zurich: LIT Verlag.

Solomon, Robert C. 1980. History and human nature . Brighton: Harvester Press.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Universiy of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Michael Bonnett

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael Bonnett .

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Bonnett, M. Environmental Consciousness, Sustainability, and the Character of Philosophy of Education. Stud Philos Educ 36 , 333–347 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-016-9556-x

Download citation

Published : 12 November 2016

Issue Date : May 2017

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-016-9556-x

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Environmental consciousness
• Sustainability
• Human being
• Metaphysics of mastery
• Philosophy of education
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

Dynamics of environmental consciousness and green purchase behaviour: an empirical study

International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management

ISSN : 1756-8692

Article publication date: 2 October 2017

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between environmental consciousness (ECO), green purchase attitude (GPA), green purchase intention (GPI), perceived customer effectiveness (PCE), green behaviour (GRB) and green purchase behaviour (GPB). Based on the statistical analyses, this paper offers some further research directions to advance the extant literature.

Design/methodology/approach

The theoretical model is firmly grounded in extant literature. To test the study hypotheses, the authors have developed a survey instrument following a two-stage process. The constructs were first operationalized by the authors and then pre-tested by experts. Dillman’s (2007) guidelines were then followed to gather data. Finally, the theoretical model was tested using multivariate statistical tools.

Results indicate that ECO has an influence on GPA and PCE; GPA has an influence on PCE and GRB; GPI has an influence on PCE; and GRB has an influence on GPB. Environmental benefit still ranks at the sixth position among eight product-selection criteria, as is evident from qualitative in-depth interviews indicating a primarily rationalistic and not an altruistic purchase approach. The gap in translation of ECO into GB and GPB can be attributed to costliness, non-availability with less variety, lack of brand reputation of green products and budget constraints for customers.

Research limitations/implications

The study faces the limitation of generalizability of the results because it was carried out in a particular state in India; it may not be the perception of the country as a whole. The bias owing to social desirability, selective memory and telescoping with the use of self-reported data could also be a limitation for the current empirical study.

Originality/value

This study aimed to extend pro-environmental behaviour studies beyond developed countries and to empirically validate the models built on the theory of ECO leading to GPB, especially for India, a rising market. A novel approach to empirically discuss the situational and market factors will provide a much-needed thrust for research on these lines.

• Environmental consciousness
• Green behaviour
• Green purchase attitude
• Green purchase behaviour
• Green purchase intention

Mishal, A. , Dubey, R. , Gupta, O.K. and Luo, Z. (2017), "Dynamics of environmental consciousness and green purchase behaviour: an empirical study", International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management , Vol. 9 No. 5, pp. 682-706. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCCSM-11-2016-0168

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2017, Aditi Mishal, Rameshwar Dubey, Omprakash K. Gupta and Zongwei Luo.

Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial & non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

1. Introduction

Environmental protection is a pressing concern for the entire globe. There is a rich body of literature on low-carbon emission ( Bord et al. , 2000 ; Renukappa et al. , 2013 ; Jones, 2014 ; Li and Lin, 2016 ; Du et al. , 2016 ), green manufacturing ( Montalvo, 2008 ; Deif, 2011 ; Singh et al. , 2012 ; Bhattacharya et al. , 2015 ), sustainability strategies ( Law and Gunasekaran, 2012 ; Mangla et al. , 2013 ; Harik et al. , 2015 ), responsible manufacturing ( Bazan et al. , 2017 ), environment management ( Massoud et al. , 2010 ; Zhang et al. , 2009 ), responsible purchasing ( Mont and Leire, 2009 ; Winter and Lasch, 2016 ), environment-friendly technology ( Luken et al. , 2008 ; Gutowski et al. , 2005 ), product recovery ( Kapetanopoulou and Tagaras, 2011 ), etc. Ultimately, the aim of all these studies is related to the central theme of protecting the environment and building environmental consciousness (ECO). The research on ECO has gained significant attention of scholars owing to improved awareness among consumers about environmental issues ( Kalafatis et al. , 1999 ; Gleim and Lawson, 2014 ; Sinha and Anand, 2017 ).

Wu and Chen (2013) argue that the stakeholders involved in promoting ECO are as follows: the government, the organizations offering goods and services and the consumers of these goods and services. The government has the role of creating awareness throughout the nation about the ill effects of goods that are harmful to the environment, the manufacturers have the responsibility towards preserving and improving the environment by manufacturing greener products and the consumers have the responsibility of protecting the environment by saying no to the goods that are harmful to the environment. Along with the top-down approach where the government drives sustainability efforts, equally important is the bottom-up responsiveness of customers and manufacturers to these green initiatives ( Hsu and Lin, 2015 ). Researchers are also exploring the green gap (ECO and green behaviour [GRB]) with increased research on factors explaining this phenomenon ( Mahoney, 2011 in Gleim and Lawson, 2014 ). Despite increasing literature focusing on ECO, GRB and green purchase behaviour (GPB), theory-focused research that attempts to examine the linkages between ECO, GRB and GPB is still underdeveloped. Hence, by testing a theoretical framework (see Figure 1 ), we further our understanding related to ECO and its influence on GRB and GPB. In previous studies, scholars have found that higher ECO leads to higher perceived customer effectiveness (PCE; Tan, 2011 ; Joonas, 2008 ; Ozmete, 2007 ), which is in turn a predictor of GPB ( Lee, 2009 ; Chan, 2001 ). Green purchase attitude (GPA; Klaus et al. , 2014 ; Thøgersen and Zhou, 2010 ; Tung et al. , 2012 ) is also remarked as a significant mediator between ECO and GPB. Another group of researchers focused on green purchase intention (GPI; Punyatoya, 2015 ; Limbu et al. , 2012 ; Leonidou et al. , 2011 ) as a key mediator between ECO and GPB. However, significant numbers of researchers agree that PCE, GPA and GPI have a significant influence on GRB ( Khare, 2015 ; Roy, 2013 ; Singh and Pandey, 2012 ; Steg and Vlek, 2009 ), which leads to GPB.

The rest of the paper is organized as follows. In the next section, we develop our theoretical framework and further outline the constructs. In subsequent sections, we develop a hypothesized model and our research hypotheses, describe the construct operationalization and data collection method and present the data analysis procedure and the results of the model testing. This paper finally concludes with a discussion about our findings and directions for future research.

2. Theoretical framing

With progress of efforts over half a century, the theoretical foundation of consumer attitude and behaviour studies from the field of social psychological research has an origin in the consumer value expectancy behaviour model, which was then further developed to the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and finally to the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) ( Rosenberg, 1956 ; Fishbein, 1963 ; Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980 ; Ajzen , 1985, 1991 cited in Kalafatis et al. , 1999 ). Several critical reviews and meta-analyses have been carried out based on these multi-attribute models and have since long dominated the efforts to predict social behaviours. The approaches have enjoyed a lot of popularity in consumer research, be it product purchase, store selection, social consumption or waste-recycling behaviour ( Davies et al. , 2002 ). Critique by Davies et al. (2002) brings out important points – specific attitude determines specific behaviour, theories do not account for non-attitudinal personal and situational factors and degree of formation of intention mediates attitude–behaviour relationship. Pro-environmental behaviours, whether GRB or GPB, can be explained with the help of Schwartz’s altruistic behaviour model, having an origin in derived shared social norms, which are also called as personally adopted social norms. The distinguishing characteristic of shared social norms is that the consequence of upholding or violating these norms is linked with one’s self-concept, which makes altruism logical, although products are costlier than counterparts (Schwartz, 1970 as cited in Davies et al. , 2002 ). Thus, though TRA does not contain a theory for relative importance of attitudinal and social norms, Schwartz’s model does.

2.1 Environmental consciousness

ECO refers to psychological factors that determine individuals’ propensity towards pro-environmental behaviours ( Zelezny and Schultz, 2000 ). With its origin in the 60s in the West, ECO was evident among individuals of a group who refrained from purchasing certain goods because of their environmentally hazardous by-products ( Grunert and Juhl, 1995 ). This attitude took root over a period and consumers became sensitive to the extent of refraining from purchasing environmentally harmful products. This influenced firms to commit to production of green products ( Pudaruth et al. , 2015 ; Sharma and Bansal, 2013 ; Huang and Kung, 2011 ; Connell, 2011 ; Buysse and Verbeke, 2003 ). ECO is a multidimensional construct known to influence a person’s knowledge, attitude, behaviour, intentions and actions. Researchers have studied the affective dimension ( Singh and Gupta, 2013 ; Dunlap et al. , 2002 ; van Liere and Dunlap 1981 ) as well as the dispositional and cognitive dimensions of ECO ( Matthew, 2013 ; Singh and Gupta, 2013 ). This study chooses to focus on the affective dimension.

2.2 Green purchase attitude

An important mediator between ECO and GPB, GPA is the result of likes and dislikes of customers and has a bearing on the willingness of the customer to buy a product with due consideration to environmental protection ( Chyong et al. , 2006 ; Tanner and Kast, 2003 ). The theory dealing with attitude suggests that it is built through social interaction. GPA has been found to be the resultant blend of ECO, knowledge and social norms ( Klaus et al. , 2014 ) with foundation in the long-standing value–attitude–behaviour theory ( Shim, et al. , 1999 ; Homer and Kahle, 1988 ). GPA links to personal values, viz., collectivism, and these links have been well proven empirically ( Thøgersen and Zhou, 2010 ; Aertsens et al. , 2009 ; Krystallis et al. , 2008 ; Brunsø et al. , 2004 ; Chan, 2001 ), eventually leading to GPB. Studies mainly explore the Western context; thus, many researchers have expressed the need to extend these studies to the remaining parts of the world to get a better understanding of the concept ( Tung et al. , 2012 ; Chen, 2007 ; Chan and Lau, 2002 ).

2.3 Green purchase intention

TRA postulates that an individual’s attitude generally influences the behaviour of a person ( Limbu et al. , 2012 ; Leonidou et al. , 2011 ; Jin and Suh, 2005 ; Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980 ), but it is mediated by intention. Thus, a person’s favourable attitude towards a brand triggers purchase intention, mediating positive intention results in purchase of a product or service, whereas negative intention reduces the chances of purchase ( Punyatoya, 2015 ). Consumers today are better aware of environmental issues because of environment-friendly strategies of government-nominated regulatory bodies ( Jain and Kaur, 2004 ) and media-triggered awareness about environmental hazards, thinning of the ozone layer, global warming, acid rains, etc. ( Leonidou et al. , 2011 ). Social influences on going green are stronger round the globe ( Cheah and Phau, 2011 ), resulting into increased inclination towards green products and rising green consumerism ( Peattie, 2001 ).

2.4 Perceived customer effectiveness

Kinnear et al. (1974) define PCE as a measurement of the belief of people that their green actions will result into environmental protection. As the research progressed, locus of control (LOC) was attached to PCE, defining how people think about controlling events affecting them ( Rotter, 1966 ). If the LOC is external, the person is influenced by the acquaintances, and if the LOC is internal, the person is not affected by his/her acquaintances ( Joonas, 2008 ; Ozmete, 2007 ). PCE has been used as a personal characteristic indicative of the environmental concern of an individual by some researchers ( Kim and Choi, 2005 ; Balderjahn, 1988 ; Kinnear et al. , 1974 ). Research has shown that higher PCE would mean higher ECO ( Tan, 2011 ). Individual or collective orientation of people also influences PCE ( Kim and Choi, 2005 ; Grimm, et al. , 1999 ). Two different schools of thought emerge: the first claims that PCE is an important predictor of behaviour ( Berger and Corbin, 1992 ; Kinnear et al. , 1974 ), whereas the second claims that PCE can moderate the relationship between attitude and behaviour ( Tan, 2011 ; Laskova, 2007 ; Berger and Corbin, 1992 ; Webster, 1975 ). Research has also indicated that PCE is based on knowledge and shows direct and indirect influences ( Kim and Choi, 2005 ).

2.5 Green behaviour

GRB, also referred to as pro-environmental behaviour, means a set of behaviours that minimizes harm to the environment through minimizing use of energy, reducing waste, conserving water, refraining from buying goods perceived to be hazardous to the environment, etc., holding true equally in the case of developed and developing countries ( Steg and Vlek, 2009 ; Kollmuss and Agyeman, 2002 ). A number of factors contribute to an increase in GRB: general awareness about ecological and sustainability issues, heightened ECO and mainly the availability of green alternatives ( Khare, 2015 ).

2.6 Green purchase behaviour

GRB need not necessarily end up into GPB, as indicated in the previous section. Studies carried out in collectivist societies have revealed that social influence, past green buying behaviour and environmental norms would influence purchase decisions ( Lee, 2009 ; Chan, 2001 ). Studies have also revealed that lifestyle, values, norms and beliefs and green self-identity also influence GPB ( Ahn et al. , 2012 ; Kim and Chung, 2011 ; Jansson et al. , 2010 ). TPB ( Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980 ) very well explains GPB, stating that attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control together influence purchasing intentions, which in turn influence purchasing behaviour. Research studies have, over a period, separately measured generalized GRB ( Oskamp et al. , 1991 ; Pickett et al. 1993 ; Tracy and Oskamp, 1983 ) and GPB ( Balderjahn, 1988 ; Bratt, 1999 ; Brooker, 1976 ; Coddington, 1993 ; Davis, 1993 ; Ottman, 1993 ; Reizenstein et al. , 1974 ; Roper Organization and Johnson Wax, 1990 , 1992).

3. Hypothesized model

Various measures of pro-environmentalism such as eco-consciousness, environmental attitude, PCE, GPA and GPI have been found to be strongly associated, except in a few studies which differ with regard to GPI. Eco-consciousness is seen to translate well into behaviour and is positively correlated with attitude and PCE ( Jain and Kaur, 2004 ; Allen and Ferrand, 1999 ; Bratt, 1999 ; Shrum et al. , 1995 ; Ellen, 1994 ; Gamba and Oskamp, 1994 ; Ellen et al. , 1991 ). PCE is further seen to be positively correlated with attitude and behaviour ( Majláth, 2010 ; Minton and Rose, 1997 ; Roberts, 1996 ; Berger and Corbin, 1992 ; Ellen et al. , 1991 ). Attitude, intention and behaviour studies related to environment range from energy conservation ( Paladino and Baggiere, 2008 ), to recycling ( McCarty and Shrum, 1994 ), to environmental activism ( Kilbourne and Pickett, 2008 ). Though exhaustively researched, all these measures have been criticized as being complex and difficult to measure and implement ( Kilbourne and Pickett, 2008 ; Chan, 2001 ; Balderjahn, 1988 ).

While TPB plays an important role in understanding GPB, many researchers have accounted that GPB is greatly influenced by personal norms too ( Moser, 2015 ; Ha and Janda, 2012 ; Thøgersen and Ölander, 2006 ). Moser (2015) through his study obtained a surprising outcome that GPA did not influence GPB, and instead, willingness to pay was a stronger predictor of GPB. All these studies indicate that there is immense scope to further explore the determinants of GPB in an Indian setting. One of the explanations suggests that customers’ willingness to buy green products particularly may be dampened by the cost, poor quality and non-availability of green products, resulting into purchase of non-green products ( Roy, 2013 ; Singh and Pandey, 2012 ). Again, there is a need to research further to seek empirical evidence. Following previous arguments, we propose a theoretical framework as shown in Figure 1 .

Environmental consciousness of customers has a positive influence on green purchase attitude.

Environmental consciousness of customers has a positive influence on perceived customer effectiveness.

Environmental consciousness of customers has a positive influence on green purchase intention.

Green purchase attitude of customers has a positive influence on perceived customer effectiveness.

Green purchase intention of customers has a positive influence on perceived customer effectiveness.

Green purchase attitude of customers has positive influence on green behaviour.

Green purchase attitude of customers has a positive influence on green purchase behaviour.

Perceived customer effectiveness of customers has a positive influence on green behaviour.

Perceived customer effectiveness of customers has a positive influence on green purchase behaviour.

Green purchase intention of customers has a positive influence on green behaviour.

Green purchase intention of customers has a positive influence on green purchase behaviour.

Green behaviour of customers has a positive influence on green purchase behaviour.

4. Research methods

4.1 construct operationalization.

We used the survey method to test our theoretical model. A survey instrument was developed by identifying suitable measurements from a comprehensive literature review. Some modifications were made to the existing scale to make those more suitable in context to our study. All constructs are operationalized as reflective constructs, as discussed next in Table I .

4.2 Sampling design and data collection

The strong foundation of the current research is a two-stage random sampling method inspired from a census study in India. The first stage was random selection of blocks with, on average, 100 households for one of the 20 geo-clusters of Nashik, Maharashtra, India, followed by schedule listing using the north-west rule. The schedule included the basic sociodemographic information and two questions asking respondents if they thought environmental degradation was a problem and about awareness of green products.

The second stage of sampling included randomly drawing 25 households from each schedule listed block, proportionately representing each stratum, with the help of random number tables. Personal interview method was an obvious choice considering the length of the questionnaire and criticality of making observations whenever possible as a cross-check of responses given by respondents. However, missing final directive on deciding the lower bound for sample size in structural equation modelling (SEM) to date being a non-linear function, some researches attempt to guide the fixation of lower bounds ( Westland, 2010 ). Thumb rule proposed by Nunnally (1967 cited in Westland, 2010 ) guides most of the research studies in SEM, suggesting a sample size at least ten times the number of variables be used. However, most of the researchers claim that a sample size above 200 should be adequate for SEM analysis for number of indicators in the range of 15 to 20 ( Punyatoya, 2015 ; Rahbar and Wahid, 2011 ); thus, the sample size chosen in this research, 500, is adequate enough (508 filled responses were received; among which, eight were defective, and hence discarded). The data were collected with the help of a self-administered structured questionnaire having three distinct components. The first part pertained to the demographics of the respondents, the second part involved the quantitative five-point Likert scale-based questions and the third part involved qualitative questions. A short summary of the purpose of this research and the confidentiality statement were given at the beginning of the questionnaire. Demographics given in Table II indicate fair distribution across cross sections of the society, closely representing census reports.

5. Data analysis

We have used the partial least squares (PLS) approach to SEM to test our model and research hypotheses. PLS-SEM is a second-generational analytic technique, which is considered more efficient than conventional methods, where principal component analysis and regression analysis are run simultaneously, making it a preferred choice. The advantage comes with the fact that PLS-SEM in the process of establishing cause–effect relationships among research constructs avoids multi-collinearity and measurement errors. Moreover, among two approaches of covariance- and PLS-based, the covariance-based approach burdens research with the need for a larger sample. PLS path modelling (PLS-SEMM) with the component-based approach empowers the prediction-oriented discovery process with no assumption requirement in relation to either population or scale of measurement ( Fornell and Bookstein, 1982 ). The fact that formative and reflective indicators can be used in the model in the case of PLS helps the technique score over AMOS and LISREL ( Fornell and Bookstein, 1982 ). The current study used SmartPLS® software for PLS.

5.1 Measurement model

The measurement model deals with reliability and validity issues. Internal consistency reliability measure, item reliability measure and composite reliability measures together were considered to verify reliability of latent variables ( Table III ). The alpha coefficients are of acceptable value (> or = 0.5), even though they are not on the higher side of acceptability. As evident from Table IV , the resultant item reliability measured as standardized factor loading ranges from 0.6 to 0.8. The R -square value ( Table III ), an indication of the percentage of influence of the independent variables on dependent variables, is acceptable (>10 per cent) for all the variables except GPI. The composite reliability estimate ranging from 0.7 to 0.8 indicates higher reliability. The convergent validity test based on factor loading and composite reliability test indicates moderate to high acceptable range of factor loading for all items, suggesting good composite reliabilities in general. Factor loadings above 0.5 are considered in most of the analyses of this nature, and hence, after factor reduction, the loadings above 0.6 are considered for further analysis, which range from 0.6 to 0.8.

Critical test of discriminant validity was carried out by estimating square root of average variance extracted (AVE) for each construct is greater compared with correlation between constructs ( Table V ), thus indicating acceptable discriminant validity. Even though Cronbach alpha reliability in this study is relatively lower, considering the fact that it is merely the measure of internal consistency, based on rest of the measures, reliability and validity are considered adequate and acceptable.

5.2 Hypothesis testing

The hypothesized model consists of six latent constructs designed to test 12 hypotheses postulated based on meta-analyses carried out for the current research ( Figures 1 and 2 ). Items were combined as seen in the model on the basis of an iterative process of testing carried out for the convergent and discriminant validity of the model. Figure 2 depicts the hypothesized model with coefficient and explanatory power ( R 2 ) for each of the dependent constructs. While path coefficients are indicative of the strength of the relationship among the latent variables, t -values ( Table VI ) are indicative of the significance of the relationship, enabling the process of hypothesis testing as seen in Figure 3 .

6. Discussions

ECO of customers has a significant influence on GPA ( H1 ), as discussed in line with earlier studies ( DiPietro and Gregory, 2012 ; Hu et al. , 2010 ) which indicate that customers who are eco-conscious (personally utilize green practices and initiatives such as recycling, minimization of waste, etc.) are more likely to patronize green purchases.

It was revealed that ECO of customers has a significant influence on PCE ( H2 ). Conscious effort is demanded of customer to make green purchase decisions. So, PCE has to support ECO of the customer to result in GPB, as is revealed in other similar studies ( Tan, 2011 ; Laskova, 2007 ; Kim and Choi, 2005 ).

Surprisingly, ECO of customers had no significant influence on GPI ( H3 ). One can very well predict behaviour on the basis of intention. Against this general notion, the study carried out by Kuhl and Beckman (1985) suggests a weak link between cognition and behaviour than expected. They proved that one’s behaviour may not be consistent with one’s beliefs, values, attitudes or intentions. This supports the rejection of the hypothesis stating that ECO significantly influences GPI of customers.

GPA of customers has a significant influence on PCE ( H4 ). Many researchers including Antil (1984) , Berger and Corbin (1992) , Roberts (1996) and Majláth (2010) proved that attitude and response to messages received from one’s surroundings are a function of one’s belief that he/she has the ability to positively contribute towards protection of the environment. Mixed results suggest positive as well as negative relationships between GPA and PCE ( Arbuthnot, 1977 ; Kellgren and Wood, 1986 ). Whereas, others suggest weak relationships between these variables ( Webster, 1975 ; Mainieri et al. , 1997 ; and Tanner and Kast, 2003 ).

GPI has a significant influence on PCE ( H5 ). GPI is strongly supported by pro-environmental attitude, environmental knowledge-awareness and even environmental concern. GPI and PCE are different constructs and usually GPA is known to influence PCE, as observed by Chan (2001) . However, this research reveals the fact that GPI makes the customers perceive that they are effective contributors to pollution mitigation and environmental degradation minimization; thus, the hypothesis stands supported.

GPA has a significant influence on GRB ( H6 ). It is human nature to evaluate everything on the basis of some degree of inclination favouring or disfavouring ( Eagly and Chaiken, 1993 ) influencing an individual’s purchase behaviour. GPA has been significantly related to general GRB, as is evident through various environmental studies ( Straughan and Roberts, 1999 ; Kim and Choi, 2003; Lopez and Cuergo-Arango, 2008 ; Tan and Lau, 2011 ), as well as with GPB ( Aoyagi-Usui, 2001 ; Kim and Choi, 2005 ; Tilikidou, 2007 ) and green apparel purchasing behaviour ( Shim, 1995 ; Butler and Francis, 1997 ).

GPA has no significant influence on GPB ( H7 ), as revealed through hypothesis testing. An interesting perspective brought forth with this research indicates that GPA has a significant influence on GRB but not on GPB. This implies that GRB need not necessarily end up into GPB, even though both are causally linked to GPA. Green gap between attitude and behaviour is an observation since long in social sciences, reasons being personal, frequency and habits of past behaviour, personal benefit domination or lack of trust ( Gleim et al. , 2013 ; Mittal, 1998 ; Ouellette and Wood, 1998 ; Verplanken et al. , 1997 ); market and situational; or non-availability, inadequate promotional strategies of green as compared to conventional products, costliness or aesthetics issues ( Punyatoya, 2015 ; Gleim and Lawson, 2014 ; Tang et al. , 2014 ; Solomon et al. , 2010 ; Blackwell et al. , 2006 ).

PCE has no significant influence on GRB ( H8 ), as revealed through hypothesis testing. This result contrasts with the research undertaken by Kim (2005) . As the study was undertaken in a different location with change in beliefs, culture and social setting, variance is possible. PCE, a complex variable, is the result of self-evaluation exercise of analysing ability to contribute towards solutions of the issue ( Ellen et al. , 1991 ; Berger and Corbin, 1992 ). Further, to make things more complicated, an alternative argument poses a debate that individualistic–collectivistic orientations impact PCE, where individuals within a culture may also differ in their value orientation ( Kim, 2005 ). So, there is always a possibility that PCE need not necessarily have a significant influence on GRB.

PCE of customers has no significant influence on GPB ( H9 ). The finding is in contrast to the research findings of a group of researchers who claimed influence of PCE over GRB, recycling, use of energy-efficient products and GPB ( Vermeir and Verbeke, 2006 ; Verhoef 2005 ; Kim and Choi, 2005 ; Lee and Holden, 1996 ). It has been proven that GRB of customers has a significant influence on GPB ( H12 ). It is also established through hypothesis testing that PCE has no influence on GRB ( H8 ). So, it is obvious that PCE has no significant influence on GPB.

GPI has no significant influence on GRB ( H10 ), as revealed through hypothesis testing. Kim (2005) opines that personal efficacy and behavioural intentions are better predictors of target behaviour in relation to the level of specificity of attitudes, behaviour or motivational factors. A large group of researchers have worked on the value–attitude–behaviour model ( McCarty and Shrum, 1994 ; Follows and Jobber, 2000 ; Castaneda et al. , 2008 ; Singh and Gupta, 2013 ), but there is not much evidence supporting influence of GPI on GRB. Thus, GPI need not necessarily result in GRB, as revealed through current research. Further, GPI of customers has no significant influence on GPB ( H11 ). Again, as discussed before, GRB and GPB are positively related; hence, the above argument also holds true for GPI.

The GRB of customers significantly influences GPB ( H12 ). Earlier studies reveal the fact that GRB (pro-environmental behaviour) indirectly influences GPB through GPA ( Kim and Choi, 2003 ). Meta-analyses also reveal a significant relationship between GRB and GPB ( Soutar et al. , 1994 ; Follows and Jobber, 2000 ; Mat Said et al. , 2003 ; Haron et al. , 2005 ; Halpenny, 2006 ; Tilikidou, 2007 ).

7. Conclusions

Current research is an attempt to examine the influence of ECO of the customers on GPB empirically. GPA, GPI, PCE and GRB were the mediating variables between ECO and GPB. The study has provided empirical proof for the fact that ECO of the customer significantly influences GPA as well as PCE, but does not significantly influence GPI. Further, GPA and GPI significantly influence green purchase effectiveness. The study brings forth an important fact that GPA significantly influences GRB, which in turn significantly influences GPB. This finding implicates that the government must initiate active measures in the form of creating awareness, introducing strict regulations on going green and encouraging green manufacture so that ECO of the customers can be increased. A lot of work is in progress to protect Mother Earth from unfriendly practices of manufacture and measures are being taken to protect the environment in all possible ways, and this study is an attempt to meaningfully add to the growing body of literature in this field. The study has also provided a theoretical model for ECO leading to GPB and also developed and validated a questionnaire that can be used by future researchers in studies on ECO.

Generalizability of the results can be considered as one of the main limitations of the study, as it was carried out in a particular state of India and results may not be considered as the perception of the country as a whole, even though it is thought to be a worthy representative sample. So, the study offers scope for collecting sample data from the entire country, so that the results can be generalized at the national level. The study is typically focussed towards understanding the level of influence of ECO on GPB but does not analyse the linkage between behaviour and action. There is still a gap between behaviour and action, which may be studied as an extension of this work.

ECO has been gaining due importance in the past decade, and a lot of research is in progress round the globe on this vital issue which addresses sustainability. This research is a meaningful contribution to the body of knowledge in this area, bringing forth implications for the policymakers and the manufacturers to make both the customers and the manufacturers develop pro-environmental attitude, behaviour, intention and practice, as it establishes an empirical linkage between these variables.

At the same time, contemporary research has not successfully explained reasons for the gap between rates of translation of GPA into actual purchase of environment-friendly or green products ( Gupta and Ogden, 2009 ).

The neo-classic economic theory explains GRB to a great extent. According to this theory, individuals have rational preferences, they try to maximize their outcomes and they act independently when full information is available ( Kollmuss and Agyeman, 2002 ). The individuals look for the options that are available when it comes to purchase of goods or products. Among these options, they observe both environmentally friendly and environmentally hazardous options which are available. At the same time, they would like to maximize their outcomes in the purchase they make. So, based on all the information about the products that is available through all possible sources, they compare the choices they have in the list of the goods and the products. It is at this stage when their GRB prompts them to select the best of the options among the goods or products that would maximize their outcomes, and at the same time, do no or minimum damage to the environment. Hence, we conclude with the hope that our current study may attract the attention of scholars to advance the existing debates.

Theoretical framework

Factor loadings and path coefficients

The t -values of the model

Construct operationalization

Demographic details of the sample

Reliability and validity

Factor loading after reduction

AVE square roots and inter-correlation

Notes : Significance level: * = 1%; ** = 5%; italics represent hypothesis supported

Eco-consciousness (ECO)

We are approaching the limit of the number of people the earth can support.

The earth has plenty of natural resources if we just learn to develop them. (R)

The earth is like a spaceship with only limited room and resources.

Humans have the right to modify the natural environment to suit their needs. (R)

Plants and animals have as much right as humans to exit.

Humans were meant to rule over the rest of the nature. (R)

When humans interfere with nature, it often produces disastrous consequences.

The balance of nature is strong enough to cope with the impacts of modern industrial nations. (R)(a)

The balance of nature is very delicate and easily upset.

Human ingenuity will ensure that we do not make the earth unliveable. (R)

Despite our special abilities, humans are still subject to the laws of nature. (a)

Humans will eventually learn enough about how nature works to be able to control it. (R)

Humans are severely abusing the environment.

The so-called ecological crisis facing humankind has been greatly exaggerated. (R)(a)

If things continue on their present course, we will soon experience a major ecological catastrophe.

Purchase customer effectiveness (PCE)

The conservation efforts of one person are useless as long as other people refuse to conserve.

There is not much that any one individual can do about the environment.

As one person has no effect on the solution of environmental problems, it does not count what I do.

Green purchase attitudes scale (GPA)

I (1 _ dislike; 5 _ like) the idea of purchasing green.

Purchasing green is a (1 _ bad; 5 _ good) idea.

I have a/an (1 _ unfavourable; 5 _ favourable) attitude towards purchasing a green version of a product.

Green purchase intention scale (GPI)

Over the next month, I will consider buying products because they are less polluting.

Over the next one month, I will consider switching to other brands for ecological reasons.

Over the next one month, I plan to switch to a green version of a product.

Green purchase behaviour (GPB)

I choose the environmentally sustainable alternative for products if one with a similar price is available.

I choose the environmentally sustainable alternative for products regardless of their price.

I try to discover the environmental effects of environmentally sustainable products prior to purchase.

I bring my own shopping bag at store in order to reduce the use of plastic bags.

If I understand the potential damage to the environment that some products can cause, I do not purchase those products.

I don’t buy a product if the company which sells it is environmentally irresponsible.

Aertsens , J. , Verbeke , W. , Mondelaers , K. and Van Huylenbroeck , G. ( 2009 ), “ Personal determinants of organic food consumption: a review ”, British Food Journal , Vol. 111 No. 10 , pp. 1140 - 1167 .

Ahn , J.M. , Koo , D.M. and Chang , H.S. ( 2012 ), “ Different impacts of normative influences on proenvironmental purchasing behavior explained by differences in individual characteristics ”, Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science: Bridging Asia and the World , Vol. 22 No. 2 , pp. 163 - 182 .

Ajzen , I. ( 1985 ), “ From intentions to actions: a theory of planned behaviour ”, in Kuhl , J. and Beckmann , J. (Eds), Action-Control: From Cognition to Behaviour , Springer-Verlag , Heidelberg , pp. 11 - 39 .

Ajzen , I. ( 1991 ), “ The theory of planned behaviour ”, Organizational Behavior and the Human Decision Process , Vol. 50 No. 2 , pp. 179 - 211 .

Ajzen , I. and Fishbein , M. ( 1980 ), Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior , Prentice-Hall , Englewood Cliffs, NJ .

Allen , J.B. and Ferrand , L.J. ( 1999 ), “ Environmental locus of control, sympathy and pro-environmental behaviour: a test of Geller’s actively caring hypothesis ”, Environment and Behavior , Vol. 31 No. 3 , pp. 338 - 353 .

Antil , J.H. ( 1984 ), “ Socially responsible consumers: profile and implications for public policy ”, Journal of Macromarketing , Vol. 4 No. 2 , pp. 18 - 39 .

Aoyagi-Usui , M. ( 2001 ), “ How individual values affect green consumer behavior? Results from a Japanese survey ”, Global Environment Research , Vol. 5 No. 1 , pp. 97 - 105 .

Arbuthnot , J. ( 1977 ), “ The roles of attitudinal and personality variables in the prediction of environmental behavior and knowledge ”, Environment and Behavior , Vol. 9 No. 2 , pp. 217 - 232 .

Balderjahn , I. ( 1988 ), “ Personality variables and environmental attitudes as predictors of ecologically responsible consumption patterns ”, Journal of Business Research , Vol. 17 No. 1 , pp. 51 - 56 .

Bazan , E. , Jaber , M.Y. and Zanoni , S. ( 2017 ), “ Carbon emissions and energy effects on a two-level manufacturer-retailer closed-loop supply chain model with remanufacturing subject to different coordination mechanisms ”, International Journal of Production Economics , Vol. 183 , pp. 394 - 408 .

Berger , I.E. and Corbin , R.M. ( 1992 ), “ Perceived consumer effectiveness and faith in others as moderators of environmentally responsible behaviors ”, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing , Vol. 11 No. 2 , pp. 79 - 89 .

Bhattacharya , A. , Dey , P.K. and Ho , W. ( 2015 ), “ Green manufacturing supply chain design and operations decision support ”, International Journal of Production Research , Vol. 53 No. 21 , pp. 6339 - 6343 .

Blackwell , R.D. , Miniard , P.W. and Engel , J.F. ( 2006 ), Consumer Behavior , 10th ed. , Thomson Higher Education , Mason .

Bord , R.J. , O’Connor , R.E. and Fisher , A. ( 2000 ), “ In what sense does the public need to understand global climate change? ”, Public Understanding of Science , Vol. 9 No. 3 , pp. 205 - 218 .

Bratt , C. ( 1999 ), “ Consumers’ environmental behaviour: generalised, sector-based, or compensatory? ”, Environment and Behavior , Vol. 31 No. 1 , pp. 28 - 34 .

Brooker , G. ( 1976 ), “ The self-actualizing socially conscious consumer ”, Journal of Consumer Research , Vol. 3 No. 2 , pp. 107 - 112 .

Brunsø , K. , Scholderer , J. and Grunert , K.G. ( 2004 ), “ Testing relationships between values and food-related lifestyle: results from two European countries ”, Appetite , Vol. 43 No. 2 , pp. 195 - 205 .

Butler , S.M. and Francis , S. ( 1997 ), “ The effects of environmental attitudes on apparel purchasing behavior ”, Clothing and Textiles Research Journal , Vol. 15 No. 2 , pp. 76 - 85 .

Buysse , K. and Verbeke , A. ( 2003 ), “ Proactive environmental strategies: a stakeholder management perspective ”, Strategic Management Journal , Vol. 24 No. 5 , pp. 453 - 470 .

Castaneda , J.A. , Rodrıguez , M.A. and Luque , T. ( 2008 ), “ Attitudes’ hierarchy of effects in online user behavior ”, Online Information Review , Vol. 33 No. 1 , pp. 7 - 21 .

Chan , R.Y. ( 2001 ), “ Determinants of Chinese consumers – green purchase behaviour ”, Psychology and Marketing , Vol. 18 No. 4 , pp. 389 - 413 .

Chan , R.Y.K. and Lau , L.B.Y. ( 2002 ), “ Explaining green purchasing behavior: a cross-culture country study on American and Chinese consumers ”, Journal of International Consumer Marketing , Vol. 14 Nos 2/3 , pp. 9 - 40 .

Cheah , I. and Phau , I. ( 2011 ), “ Attitude towards environment friendly products: the influence of ecoliteracy, interpersonal influence and value orientation ”, Marketing Intelligence and Planning , Vol. 29 No. 5 , pp. 452 - 472 .

Chen , M.-F. ( 2007 ), “ Consumer attitudes and purchase intentions in relation to organic foods in Taiwan: moderating effects of food-related personality traits ”, Food Quality and Preference , Vol. 18 No. 7 , pp. 1008 - 1021 .

Chyong , H.T. , Phang , G. , Hasan , H. and Buncha , M.R. ( 2006 ), “ Going green: a study of consumers’ willingness to pay for green products in Kota Kinabalu ”, International Journal of Business and Society , Vol. 7 No. 2 , pp. 40 - 54 .

Coddington , W. ( 1993 ), Environmental Marketing: Positive Strategies for Reaching Green Consumers , McGraw-Hill , New York, NY .

Connell , H.K.Y. ( 2011 ), “ Exploring consumers’ perceptions of eco-conscious apparel acquisition behaviors ”, Social Responsibility Journal , Vol. 7 No. 1 , pp. 61 - 73 .

Davis , F.D. ( 1993 ), “ User acceptance of information technology: system characteristics, user perceptions and behavioral impacts ”, International Journal of Man-Machine Studies , Vol. 38 No. 3 , pp. 475 - 487 .

Davies , J. , Foxall , G.R. and Pallister , J. ( 2002 ), “ Beyond the intention–behaviour mythology: an integrated model of recycling ”, Marketing Theory , Vol. 2 No. 1 , pp. 29 - 113 .

Deif , A.M. ( 2011 ), “ A system model for green manufacturing ”, Journal of Cleaner Production , Vol. 19 No. 4 , pp. 1553 - 1559 .

DiPietro , R.B. and Gregory , S. ( 2012 ), “ Customer perceptions regarding green restaurant practices: a comparison between fast food and upscale casual restaurants ”, FIU Hospitality Review , Vol. 30 No. 1 , pp. 1 - 22 .

Du , S. , Tang , W. and Song , M. ( 2016 ), “ Low-carbon production with low-carbon premium in cap-and-trade regulation ”, Journal of Cleaner Production , Vol. 134 , pp. 652 - 662 .

Dunlap , R.E. ( 2002 ), An enduring concern , Public Perspective , available at:, www.PublicPerspective.org (accessed on 21 June, 2015 ).

Eagly , A. and Chaiken , S. ( 1993 ), The Psychology of Attitudes , Harcourt Brace Jovanovich , New York, NY .

Ellen , P.S. ( 1994 ), “ Do we know what we need to know? Objective and subjective knowledge effects on pro- ecological behaviours ”, Journal of Business Research , Vol. 30 No. 1 , pp. 43 - 52 .

Ellen , P.S. , Wiener , J.L. and Cobb-Walgren , C. ( 1991 ), “ The role of perceived consumer effectiveness in motivating environmentally conscious behaviors ”, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing , Vol. 10 No. 2 , pp. 102 - 117 .

Fishbein , M. ( 1963 ), “ An investigation of the relationships between beliefs about an object and the attitude toward that object ”, Human Relations , Vol. 16 No. 3 , pp. 233 - 234 .

Follows , S.B. and Jobber , D. ( 2000 ), “ Environmentally responsible purchase behavior: a test of a consumer model ”, European Journal of Marketing , Vol. 34 Nos 5/6 , pp. 723 - 746 .

Fornell , C. and Bookstein , F.L. ( 1982 ), “ Two structural equation models: LISREL and PLS applied to consumer exit-voice theory ”, Journal of Marketing Research , Vol. 19 No. 4 , pp. 440 - 452 .

Gamba , R. and Oskamp , S. ( 1994 ), “ Factors influencing community residents participation in commingled curbside recycling programs ”, Environment and Behavior , Vol. 26 No. 5 , pp. 587 - 612 .

Gleim , M. and Lawson , S.J. ( 2014 ), “ Spanning the gap: an examination of the factors leading to the green gap ”, Journal of Consumer Marketing , Vol. 31 Nos 6/7 , pp. 503 - 514 .

Gleim , M.R. , Smith , J.S. , Andrews , D. and Cronin , J.J. ( 2013 ), “ Against the green: a multi-method examination of the barriers to green consumption ”, Journal of Retailing , Vol. 89 No. 1 , pp. 44 - 61 .

Greendex Survey ( 2012 ), available at: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/greendex/2012-survey/ (accessed 21 July, 2014 ).

Grimm , S.D. , Church , A.T. , Katigbak , M.S. and Reyes , J.A.A. ( 1999 ), “ Self-described traits, values, and moods associated with individualism and collectivism: testing I-C theory in an individualistic (US) and a collectivistic (Philippine) culture ”, Journal of Cross- Cultural Psychology , Vol. 30 No. 4 , pp. 466 - 500 .

Grunert , S. and Juhl , H. ( 1995 ), “ Values, environmental attitudes, and buying of organic foods ”, Journal of Economic Psychology , Vol. 16 No. 1 , pp. 39 - 62 .

Gupta , S. and Ogden , D.T. ( 2009 ), “ To buy or not to buy? A social dilemma perspective on green buying ”, Journal of Consumer Marketing , Vol. 26 No. 6 , pp. 376 - 391 .

Gutowski , T. , Murphy , C. , Allen , D. , Bauer , D. , Bras , B. , Piwonka , T. , Sheng , P. , Sutherland , J. , Thurston , D. and Wolff , E. ( 2005 ), “ Environmentally benign manufacturing: observations from Japan, Europe and the United States ”, Journal of Cleaner Production , Vol. 13 No. 1 , pp. 1 - 17 .

Ha , H.Y. and Janda , S. ( 2012 ), “ Predicting consumer intentions to purchase energy-efficient products ”, Journal of Consumer Marketing , Vol. 29 No. 7 , pp. 461 - 469 .

Halpenny , E.H. ( 2006 ), “ Examining the relationship of place attachment with pro-environmental intentions ”, Proceedings of the 2006 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium, Bolton Landing , New York, NY .

Harik , R. , El Hachem , W. , Medini , K. and Bernard , A. ( 2015 ), “ Towards a holistic sustainability index for measuring sustainability of manufacturing companies ”, International Journal of Production Research , Vol. 53 No. 13 , pp. 4117 - 4139 .

Haron , S.A. , Paim , L. and Yahaya , N. ( 2005 ), “ Towards sustainable consumption: an examination of environmental knowledge among Malaysians ”, International Journal of Consumer Studies , Vol. 29 No. 5 , pp. 426 - 436 .

Homer , P.M. and Kahle , L.R. ( 1988 ), “ A structural equation test of the value-attitude behaviour hierarchy ”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , Vol. 54 No. 4 , pp. 638 - 646 .

Hsu , J.L. and Lin , T. ( 2015 ), “ Carbon reduction knowledge and environmental consciousness in Taiwan ”, Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal , Vol. 26 No. 1 , pp. 37 - 52 , available at: www.allacademic.com/meta/p111527_index.html

Hu , H.H. , Parsa , H.G. and Self , J. ( 2010 ), “ The dynamics of green restaurant patronage ”, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly , Vol. 51 No. 3 , pp. 344 - 362 .

Huang , C. and Kung , F. ( 2011 ), “ Environmental consciousness and intellectual capital management: evidence from Taiwan’s manufacturing industry ”, Management Decision , Vol. 49 No. 9 , pp. 1405 - 1425 .

Jain , S.K. and Kaur , G. ( 2004 ), “ Green marketing: an Indian perspective ”, Decision , Vol. 31 No. 2 , pp. 168 - 209 .

Jansson , J. , Marell , A. and Nordlund , A. ( 2010 ), “ Green consumer behavior: determinants of curtailment and eco-innovation adoption ”, Journal of Consumer Marketing , Vol. 27 No. 4 , pp. 358 - 370 .

Jin , B. and Suh , Y.G. ( 2005 ), “ Integrating effect of consumer perception factors in predicting private brand purchase in a Korean discount store context ”, Journal of Consumer Marketing , Vol. 22 No. 2 , pp. 62 - 71 .

Jones , S.F.I. ( 2014 ), “ The cost of carbon management using ocean nourishment ”, International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management , Vol. 6 No. 4 , pp. 391 - 400 .

Joonas , K. ( 2008 ), “ Environmentally friendly products: factors affecting search for information ”, AIMS, International Journal of Management , Vol. 2 No. 3 , pp. 165 - 176 .

Kalafatis , S.P. , Pollard , M. , East , R. and Tsogas , M. ( 1999 ), “ Green marketing and Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour: a cross-market examination ”, Journal of Consumer Marketing , Vol. 16 No. 5 , pp. 441 - 460 .

Kapetanopoulou , P. and Tagaras , G. ( 2011 ), “ Drivers and obstacles of product recovery activities in the Greek industry ”, International Journal of Operations & Production Management , Vol. 31 No. 2 , pp. 148 - 166 .

Kellgren , C.A. and Wood , W. ( 1986 ), “ Access to attitude relevant information in memory as a determinant of attitude-behavior consistency ”, Journal of Experimental Psychology , Vol. 22 No. 4 , pp. 328 - 338 .

Khare , A. ( 2015 ), “ Antecedents to green buying behaviour: a study on consumers in an emerging economy ”, Marketing Intelligence & Planning , Vol. 33 No. 3 , pp. 309 - 329 .

Kilbourne , W. and Pickett , G. ( 2008 ), “ How materialism affects environmental beliefs, concerns, and environmentally responsible behavior ”, Journal of Business Research , Vol. 61 No. 9 , pp. 885 - 893 .

Kim , H.Y. and Chung , J.E. ( 2011 ), “ Consumer purchase intention for organic personal care products ”, Journal of Consumer Marketing , Vol. 28 No. 1 , pp. 40 - 47 .

Kim , Y. and Choi , S.M. ( 2003 ), Antecedents of Pro-Environmental Behaviors: An Examination of Cultural Values, Self-Efficacy, and Environmental Attitudes , International Communication Association , Marriott Hotel .

Kim , Y. and Choi , S.M. ( 2005 ), “ Antecedents of green purchase behaviour: an examination of collectivism, environmental concern and PCE ”, Advances in Consumer Research , Vol. 32 , pp. 592 - 559 .

Kinnear , T.C. , Taylor , J.R. and Ahmed , S.A. ( 1974 ), “ Ecologically concerned consumers: who are they? ”, Journal of Marketing , Vol. 38 No. 2, pp. 20-24, Cited in Tab, B. (2011), The Role of Perceived Consumer Effectiveness on Value-Attitude-Behaviour Model in Green Buying Behaviour Context, Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences , Vol. 5 No. 12 , pp 1766 - 1771 .

Klaus , T.P. , Athanasios , G.G. , Yanfeng , K. , Guang , Z. and Hue , H.Y. ( 2014 ), “ Testing and validation of a hierarchical values-attitudes model in the context of green food in China ”, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics , Vol. 26 No. 2 , pp. 296 - 314 .

Kollmuss , A. and Agyeman , J. ( 2002 ), “ Mind the gap: why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro- environmental behavior? ”, Environmental Education Research , Vol. 8 No. 3 , pp. 239 - 260 .

Krystallis , A. , Vassallo , M. , Chryssochoidis , G. and Perrea , T. ( 2008 ), “ Societal and individualistic drivers as predictors of organic purchasing revealed through a portrait value questionnaire (PVQ)-based inventory ”, Journal of Consumer Behaviour , Vol. 7 No. 2 , pp. 164 - 187 .

Kuhl , J. and Beckman , J. , eds ( 1985 ), Action Control: From Cognition to Behavior , Springer Verlag , New York, NY .

Kumar , B. ( 2012 ), Theory of Planned Behaviour Approach to Understand the Purchasing Behaviour for Environmentally Sustainable Products , Research and Publications, WP no. 2012-12-08 , IIM , Ahmedabad .

Laskova , A. ( 2007 ), “ Perceived consumer effectiveness and environmental concerns ”, Proceedings of the 13th Asia Pacific Management Conference , Melbourne , pp. 206 - 209 .

Law , K.M.Y. and Gunasekaran , A. ( 2012 ), “ Sustainability development in high-tech manufacturing firms in Hong Kong: motivators and readiness ”, International Journal of Production Economics , Vol. 137 No. 1 , pp. 116 - 125 .

Lee , K. ( 2009 ), “ Gender differences in Hong Kong adolescent consumers’ green purchasing behaviour ”, Journal of Consumer Marketing , Vol. 26 No. 2 , pp. 87 - 96 .

Lee , J.A. and Holden , S.J.S. ( 1996 ), “ Understanding the determinants of environmentally conscious behavior ”, Psychology and Marketing , Vol. 16 No. 5 , pp. 373 - 392 .

Leonidou , L.C. , Leonidou , C.N. , Palihawadana , D. and Hultman , M. ( 2011 ), “ Evaluating the green advertising practices of international firms: a trend analysis ”, International Marketing Review , Vol. 28 No. 1 , pp. 6 - 33 .

Li , K. and Lin , B. ( 2016 ), “ Heterogeneity analysis of the effects of technology progress on carbon intensity in China ”, International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management , Vol. 8 No. 1 , pp. 129 - 152 .

Limbu , Y.B. , Wolf , M. and Lunsford , D. ( 2012 ), “ Perceived ethics of online retailers and consumer behavioral intentions: the mediating roles of trust and attitude ”, Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing , Vol. 6 No. 2 , pp. 133 - 154 .

Lopez , A.G. and Cuergo-Arango , M.A. ( 2008 ), “ Relationship among values, beliefs, norms and ecological behavior ”, Psicpthema , Vol. 20 No. 4 , pp. 623 - 629 .

Luken , R. , Van Rompaey , F. and Zigova , K. ( 2008 ), “ The determinants of EST adoption by manufacturing plants in developing countries ”, Ecological Economics , Vol. 66 No. 1 , pp. 141 - 152 .

McCarty , J.A. and Shrum , L.J. ( 1994 ), “ The recycling of solid wastes: personal and cultural values and attitudes about recycling as antecedents of recycling behavior ”, Journal of Business Research , Vol. 30 No. 1 , pp. 53 - 62 .

Mahoney , S. ( 2011 ), “ Study: green gap is bigger than ever ”, available at: www.mediapost.com/publications/article/148938/study-green-gap-is-bigger-than-ever.html (accessed 28 February 2012 ).

Mainieri , T. , Barnett , E.G. , Valdero , T.R. , Unipan , J.B. and Oskamp , S. ( 1997 ), “ Green buying: the influence of environmental concern on consumer behavior ”, Journal of Social Psychology , Vol. 137 No. 2 , pp. 189 - 204 .

Majláth , M. ( 2010 ), “ Can Individuals do anything for the environment? The role of perceived consumer effectiveness ”, Proceedings of FIKUSZ ‘10 Symposium, for Young Researchers, 2010, Óbuda University Keleti Károly Faculty of Business and Management, Tavaszmezı u , H-1084 Budapest, Hungary , pp 157 - 166 , available at: http://kgk.uni-obuda.hu/fikusz (accessed 14 May, 2013 ).

Mangla , S. , Madaan , J. and Chan , F.T.S. ( 2013 ), “ Analysis of flexible decision strategies for sustainability-focused green product recovery system ”, International Journal of Production Research , Vol. 51 No. 11 , pp. 3428 - 3442 .

Massoud , M.A. , Fayad , R. , Kamleh , R. and El-Fadel , M. ( 2010 ), “ Environmental management system (ISO 14001) certification in developing countries: challenges and implementation strategies ”, Environmental Science and Technology , Vol. 44 No. 6 , pp. 1884 - 1887 .

Mat Said , A. , Ahmadun , F.R. , Paim , L.H. and Masud , J. ( 2003 ), “ Environmental concerns, knowledge and practice gap among Malaysian teachers ”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education , Vol. 4 No. 4 , pp. 305 - 313 .

Matthew , W. ( 2013 ), “ Does green management matter for donation intentions?: the influence of environmental consciousness and environmental importance ”, Management Decision , Vol. 51 No. 8 , pp. 1716 - 1732 .

Minton , A.P. and Rose , R.L. ( 1997 ), “ The effects of environmental concern on environmentally friendly consumer behavior: an exploratory study ”, Journal of Business Research , Vol. 40 No. 1 , pp. 37 - 48 .

Mittal , B. and Lassar , W.M. ( 1998 ), “ Why do customers switch? The dynamics of satisfaction versus loyalty ”, Journal of Services Marketing , Vol. 12 No. 3 , pp. 177 - 194 .

Mont , O. and Leire , C. ( 2009 ), “ Socially responsible purchasing in supply chains: drivers and barriers in Sweden ”, Social Responsibility Journal , Vol. 5 No. 3 , pp. 388 - 407 .

Montalvo , C. ( 2008 ), “ General wisdom concerning the factors affecting the adoption of cleaner technologies: a survey 1990-2007 ”, Journal of Cleaner Production , Vol. 16 No. 1 , pp. S7 - S13 .

Moser , A.K. ( 2015 ), “ Thinking green, buying green? Drivers of pro-environmental purchasing behavior ”, Journal of Consumer Marketing , Vol. 32 No. 3 , pp. 167 - 175 .

Mostafa , M.M. ( 2007 ), “ A hierarchical analysis of the green consciousness of the Egyptian consumer ”, Psychology & Marketing , Vol. 24 No. 5 , pp. 445 - 473 .

Nunnally , J.C. ( 1967 ), Psychometric Theory , McGraw Hill , New York, NY , Cited in Westland, J.C. (2010), Lower bounds on sample size in structural equation modelling, Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, PII: S1567‐4223(10)00054‐2, doi: 10.1016/j.elerap.2010.07.003 .

Oskamp , S. , Harrington , M.J. , Edwards , T.C. , Sherwood , D.L. , Okuda , S.M. and Swanson , D.C. ( 1991 ), “ Factors influencing household recycling behaviour ”, Environment and Behavior , Vol. 23 No. 4 , pp. 494 - 519 .

Ottman , J.A. ( 1993 ), Green Marketing: Challenges and Opportunities for the New Marketing Age , NTC Business Books , Lincolnwood, IL , p. 10 .

Ouellette , J.A. and Wood , W. ( 1998 ), “ Habit and intention in everyday life: the multiple processes by which past behavior predicts future behaviour ”, Psychological Bulletin , Vol. 124 No. 1 , pp. 54 - 74 .

Ozmete , E. ( 2007 ), “ An evaluation of locus of control as a system related to life management: a case study on youth ”, World Applied Science Journal , Vol. 2 No. 5 , pp. 691 - 698 .

Paladino , A. and Baggiere , J. ( 2008 ), “ Are we ‘green’? An empirical investigation of renewable electricity consumption ”, European Advances in Consumer Research , Vol. 18 , pp. 340 - 341 , available at: www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/eacr/vol8/eacr_vol8_48.pdf

Peattie , K. ( 2001 ), “ Towards sustainability: the third stage of green marketing ”, The Marketing Review , Vol. 2 No. 2 , pp. 129 - 146 .

Pickett , G.M. , Kangun , N. and Grove , S.J. ( 1993 ), “ Is there a general conserving consumer? A public policy concern ”, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing , pp. 234 - 243 .

Pudaruth , S. , Juwaheer , T.D. and Seewoo , Y.D. ( 2015 ), “ Gender-based differences in understanding the purchasing patterns of eco-friendly cosmetics and beauty care products in Mauritius: a study of female customers ”, Social Responsibility Journal , Vol. 11 No. 1 , pp. 179 - 198 .

Punyatoya , P. ( 2015 ), “ Effect of perceived brand environment-friendliness on Indian consumer attitude and purchase intention ”, Marketing Intelligence and Planning , Vol. 33 No. 3 , pp. 258 - 275 .

Rahbar , E. and Wahid , N.A. ( 2011 ), “ Investigation of green marketing tools’ effect on consumers’ purchase behavior ”, Business Strategy Series , Vol. 12 No. 2 , pp. 73 - 83 .

Reizenstein , R.C. , Hills , G.E. and Philpot , J.W. ( 1974 ), “ Willingness to pay for control of air pollution: a demographic analysis ”, 1974 Combined Proceedings, American Marketing Association , Chicago, IL , pp. 323 - 328 .

Renukappa , S. , Akintoye , A. , Egbu , C. and Goulding , J. ( 2013 ), “ Carbon emission reduction strategies in the UK industrial sectors: an empirical study ”, International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management , Vol. 5 No. 3 , pp. 304 - 323 .

Roberts , J.A. ( 1996 ), “ Green consumers in the 1990s: profile and implications for advertising ”, Journal of Business Research , Vol. 36 No. 3 , pp. 217 - 231 .

Roper Organization and Johnson Wax ( 1990 ), The Environment: Public Attitudes and Individual Behavior , The Roper Organization , New York, NY .

Rosenberg , M.J. ( 1956 ), “ Cognitive structure and attitudinal affect ”, Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology , Vol. 53 No. 3 , pp. 367 - 372 .

Rotter , J.B. ( 1966 ), “ Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement ”, Psychological Monographs: General and Applied , Vol. 80 No. 1 , pp. 1 - 28 .

Roy , H. ( 2013 ), “ Effect of green marketing on consumer behaviour – a study with practical reference to West Bengal ”, International Journal of Behavioural Social and Movement Sciences , Vol. 2 No. 1 , pp. 44 - 55 .

Sharma , K. and Bansal , M. ( 2013 ), “ Environmental consciousness, its antecedents and behavioural outcomes ”, Journal of Indian Business Research , Vol. 5 No. 3 , pp. 198 - 214 .

Shim , S. ( 1995 ), “ Environmentalism and consumers’ clothing disposal patterns: an exploratory study ”, Clothing and Textiles Research Journal , Vol. 13 No. 1 , pp. 38 - 48 .

Shim , S. , Warrington , P. and Goldsberry , E. ( 1999 ), “ A personal value-based model of college students; attitudes and expected choice retailing careers ”, Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal , Vol. 28 No. 1 , pp. 28 - 51 .

Shrum , L.J. , McCarty , J.A. and Lowrey , T.M. ( 1995 ), “ Buyer characteristics of the green consumer and their implications for advertising strategy ”, Journal of Advertising , Vol. 24 No. 2 , pp. 71 - 82 .

Singh , N. and Gupta , K. ( 2013 ), “ Environmental attitude and ecological behaviour of Indian consumers ”, Social Responsibility Journal , Vol. 9 No. 1 , pp. 4 - 18 .

Singh , P.B. and Pandey , K.K. ( 2012 ), “ Green marketing: policies and practices for sustainable development, integral review ”, A Journal of Management , Vol. 5 No. 1 , pp. 22 - 30 .

Singh , A. , Singh , B. and Dhingra , A.K. ( 2012 ), “ Drivers and barriers of green manufacturing practices: a survey of Indian industries ”, International Journal of Engineering Sciences , Vol. 1 No. 1 , pp. 5 - 19 .

Sinha , A.K. and Anand , A. ( 2017 ), “ Towards fuzzy preference relationship based on decision making approach to access the performance of suppliers in environmental conscious manufacturing domain ”, Computers and Industrial Engineering , Vol. 105 , pp. 39 - 54 .

Solomon , M.R. , Bamossy , G. , Askegaard , S. and Hogg , M.K. ( 2010 ), Consumer Behaviour: A European Perspective , 4th ed. , Prentice Hall , New York, NY .

Soutar , G.N. , Ramaseshan , B. and Molster , C.M. ( 1994 ), “ Determinants of pro-environmental consumer purchase behaviou: some Australian evidence ”, in Cote , J.A. and Leong , S.M. (eds), Asia Pacific Advances in Consumer Research , Association for Consumer Research , Provo, UT , Vol. 1 , pp. 28 - 35 .

Steg , A. and Vlek , R. ( 2009 ), “ Encouraging pro-environmental behaviour ”, Journal of Environmental Psychology , Vol. 29 No. 3 , pp. 309 - 317 .

Straughan , R.D. and Roberts , J.A. ( 1999 ), “ Environmental segmentation alternatives: a look at green consumer behavior in the new millennium ”, Journal of Consumer Marketing , Vol. 16 No. 6 , pp. 558 - 575 .

Tan , B. ( 2011 ), “ The role of perceived consumer effectiveness on value-attitude-behaviour model in green buying behaviour context ”, Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences , Vol. 5 No. 12 , pp. 1766 - 1771 .

Tan , B. and Lau , T. ( 2011 ), “ Green purchase behavior: examining the influence of green environmental attitude, perceived consumer effectiveness and specific green purchase attitude ”, Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences , Vol. 5 No. 8 , pp. 559 - 567 .

Tang , Y. , Wang , X. and Lu , P. ( 2014 ), “ Chinese consumer attitude and purchase intent towards green products ”, Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration , Vol. 6 No. 2 , pp. 84 - 96 .

Tanner , C. and Kast , S.W. ( 2003 ), “ Promoting sustainable consumption: determinants of green purchases by Swiss consumers ”, Psychology and Marketing , Vol. 20 No. 10 , pp. 883 - 902 .

Taylor , S. and Todd , P.A. ( 1995 ), “ Understanding information technology usage: a test of competing models ”, Information Systems Research , Vol. 6 No. 2 , pp. 144 - 176 .

Thøgersen , J. and Ölander , F. ( 2006 ), “ The dynamic interaction of personal norms and environment-friendly buying behavior: a panel study ”, Journal of Applied Social Psychology , Vol. 36 No. 7 , pp. 1758 - 1780 .

Thøgersen , J. and Zhou , Y. ( 2010 ), Motives of organic food buyers in China – do they differ from Europe? , Paper presented at Knowledge Collaboration and Learning for Sustainable Innovation , ERSCP – EMSU Conference , Delft , The Netherlands .

Tilikidou , I. ( 2007 ), “ The effects of knowledge and attitudes upon Greeks’ pro-environmental purchasing behaviour ”, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management , Vol. 14 No. 3 , pp. 121 - 134 .

Tracy , A.P. and Oskamp , S. ( 1983 ), “ Relationships among ecologically responsible behaviors ”, Journal of Environmental Systems , Vol. 13 No. 2 , pp. 115 - 126 .

Tung , S. , Shih , C. , Wei , S. and Chen , Y. ( 2012 ), “ Attitudinal inconsistency towards organic food in relation to purchasing intention and behaviour: an illustration of Taiwan consumers ”, British Food Journal , Vol. 114 No. 7 , pp. 997 - 1015 .

Van Liere , K.D. and Dunlap , R.E. ( 1981 ), “ Environmental concern ”, Does it make a difference how it’s measured? Environment and Behavior , Vol. 13 No. 6 , pp. 651 - 676 .

Verhoef , P.C. ( 2005 ), “ Explaining purchases of organic meat by Dutch consumers ”, European Review of Agricultural Economics , Vol. 32 No. 2 , pp. 245 - 267 .

Vermeir , I. and Verbeke , W. ( 2006 ), “ Sustainable food consumption: exploring the consumer ‘attitude - behavioral intention’ gap ”, Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics , Vol. 19 No. 2 , pp. 169 - 194 .

Verplanken , B. , Aarts , H. and Van Knippenberg , A. ( 1997 ), “ Habit, information acquisition, and the process of making travel mode choices ”, European Journal of Social Psychology , Vol. 27 No. 5 , pp. 539 - 560 .

Webster , F.E. Jr ( 1975 ), “ Determining the characteristics of the socially conscious consumer ”, Journal of Consumer Research , Vol. 2 No. 3 , pp. 188 - 196 .

Westland , J.C. ( 2010 ), “ Lower bounds on sample size in structural equation modelling ”, Electronic Commerce Research and Applications , PII: S1567‐4223(10)00054‐2 , doi: 10.1016/j.elerap.2010.07.003 .

Winter , S. and Lasch , R. ( 2016 ), “ Recommendations for supplier innovation evaluation from literature and practice ”, International Journal of Operations and Production Management , Vol. 36 No. 6 , pp. 643 - 664 .

Wu , J. and Chen , C. ( 2013 ), “ The manufacturing strategy decision analysis framework for excelling operating excellence of Taiwan light emitting diode industry ”, Journal of Quality , Vol. 20 No. 4 , pp. 403 - 425 .

Zelezny , L.C. and Schultz , P. ( 2000 ), “ Psychology of promoting environmentalism: promoting environmentalism ”, Journal of Social Issues , Vol. 56 No. 3 , pp. 365 - 371 .

Zhang , B. , Bi , J. and Liu , B. ( 2009 ), “ Drivers and barriers to engage enterprises in environmental management initiatives in Suzhou industrial park, China ”, Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering in China , Vol. 3 No. 2 , pp. 210 - 220 .

Further reading

Ajzen , I. and Fishbein , M. ( 1969 ), “ The prediction of behavioural intentions in a choice situation ”, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology , Vol. 24 No. 3 , pp. 207 - 224 .

Bagozzi , R.B. ( 1992 ), “ The self-regulation of attitudes, intentions and behavior ”, Social Psychology Quarterly , Vol. 55 No. 2 , pp. 178 - 204 .

Creswell , J.W. and Clark , V.L.P. ( 2011 ), Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research , SAGE Publications , New York, NY .

Hackman , C.L. and Knowlden , A.P. ( 2014 ), “ Theory of reasoned action and theory of planned behavior-based dietary interventions in adolescents and young adults: a systematic review ”, Adolescent Health Medical Theory , Vol. 5 , pp. 101 - 114 .

Hofstede , G. ( 1980 ), Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Value , Sage , Beverly Hills, CA .

Kaplan , S. ( 1991 ), “ Beyond rationality: clarity-based decision making ”, in Environment, Cognition and Action , Garling , T. and Evans , G. (Eds), Oxford University Press , New York, NY , 171 - 190 .

Leonard , L.N.K. , Cronon , T.P. and Kreie , J. ( 2004 ), “ What influences IT ethical behaviour intentions: planned behaviour, reasoned action, perceived importance, or individual characteristics? ”, Information and Management , Vol. 42 No. 1 , pp. 143 - 158 .

Lu , L. , Chang , H. and Chang , A. ( 2015 ), “ Consumer personality and green buying intention: the mediate role of consumer ethical beliefs ”, Journal of Business Ethics , Vol. 127 No. 1 , pp. 205 - 219 .

Majláth , M. ( 2008 ), “ Challenges in Marketing: reasons for the Existence of Green Marketing, FIKUSZ 2008 ”, Proceedings of Business Sciences – Symposium for Young Researchers , Budapest 7th November, 2008 ,, 137 - 147 .

Nagy , S. ( 2005 ), Cited in Majláth, M. (2010) , “ Can Individuals do anything for the environment? The role of perceived consumer effectiveness ”, Proceedings of FIKUSZ ‘10 Symposium, for Young Researchers , pp. 157 - 166 , available at: http://kgk.uni-obuda.hu/fikusz (accessed 14 may 2013 ).

Schlegelmilch , B.B. , Bohlen , G.M. and Diamantopoulos , A. ( 1996 ), “ The link between green purchasing decisions and measures of environmental consciousness ”, European Journal of Marketing , Vol. 30 No. 5 , pp. 35 - 55 .

Schultz , P.W. and Zelezny , L.C. ( 1998 ), “ Values and proenvironmental behavior: a five-country survey ”, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology , Vol. 29 No. 4 , pp. 540 - 558 .

Triandis , H. ( 1995 ), Individualism and Collectivism , Westview Press , Boulder, CO .

Triandis , H.C. ( 1989 ), “ The self and social behavior in differing cultural contexts ”, Psychological Review , Vol. 96 No. 3 , pp. 506 - 520 .

van Huylenbroek , G. , Mondelaers , K. , Verbeke , W. and Van Huylenbroeck , G. ( 2009 ), “ Personal determinants of organic food consumption: a review ”, British Food Journal , Vol. 111 No. 10 , pp. 1140 - 1167 .

Weigel , R.H. ( 1983 ), “ Environmental attitudes and prediction of behavior ”, in Feimer , N.R. and Geller , E.S. (Eds), Environmental Psychology: Directions and Perspectives , Praeger , New York, NY , pp. 257 - 287 .

Yeonshin , K. and Chio , S.M. ( 2005 ), “ Antecedents of green purchase behavior: an examination of collectivism, environmental concern, and PCE ”, Advances in Consumer Research , Vol. 32 No. 1 , pp. 592 - 599 .

Corresponding author

Related articles, we’re listening — tell us what you think, something didn’t work….

Report bugs here

All feedback is valuable

Please share your general feedback

Join us on our journey

Platform update page.

Visit emeraldpublishing.com/platformupdate to discover the latest news and updates

Questions & More Information

Answers to the most commonly asked questions here

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Front Psychol

Environmental awareness and environmental information disclosure: An empirical study based on energy industry

Shijin wang.

1 Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou, China

2 University of Liverpool, Liverpool, GB, United Kingdom

Associated Data

The datasets presented in this study can be found in online repositories. The names of the repository/repositories and accession number(s) can be found in the article/Supplementary material.

Environmental protection and governance have become a topic of global concern. Sustainable development and green development are the unshakable ideas of China’s social and economic development. Under this premise, the energy industry, as a pillar industry in China, has the disadvantages of high energy consumption and heavy pollution. Therefore, the quality of environmental information disclosure in energy industry needs to be improved urgently. This paper selects 66 samples from 22 energy companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets from 2018 to 2020 as the research object, establishes two potential variables and 13 observed variables of environmental awareness and environmental information disclosure respectively, and constructs structural equation model to study the impact of corporate environmental awareness on environmental information disclosure. The research shows that the environmental awareness of enterprises is positively related to the level of environmental information disclosure. The conclusion is helpful to improve the enthusiasm and consciousness of energy companies to disclose environmental information. A better role in supervising the quality of environmental information disclosure by the government, enterprises and the public can be played.

Introduction

Since the reform and opening up, China’s economy has taken off rapidly, but at the same time it has also brought serious environmental problems. The important role of environmental information disclosure has gradually entered the public’s vision and has also been concerned by the state and the government. As a responsible country, China has vigorously promoted the construction of ecological civilization. In 2008, the State Environmental Protection Administration of the People’s Republic of China issued Decree No. 35, “Measures for the Disclosure of Environmental Information (for Trial Implementation),” which came into force. The purpose of the Decree is to explore the establishment of an environmental information disclosure system for Chinese enterprises, protect the stakeholders of enterprises and enable the public to obtain more comprehensive, open and transparent environmental information of enterprises. On June 12, 2017, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the China Securities Regulatory Commission signed the Cooperation Agreement on Jointly Carrying out Environmental Information Disclosure of Listed Companies. The purpose of signing this agreement is to strengthen the environmental protection awareness of listed companies, supervise the environmental information disclosure of listed companies, realize the transparency and openness of environmental information disclosure of listed companies, enable the general public to more conveniently access environmental information, and make “Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” a social reality.

Environmental awareness came into being in the western countries in 1960s. The reason why environmental consciousness can enter people’s consciousness field and gradually become a universal social consciousness in western society until today has its economic and social background. Under the influence of the third technological revolution, advanced science and technology were rapidly transformed into productive forces, industrial production in western countries increased at a high speed, and farmers’ production, gross national product and people’s living standards were greatly improved. However, due to the rapid development of industry, natural resources are constantly destroyed and wasted, the environment is deteriorating, the contradiction between man and nature is deepening, and people finally become victims of resource and environment problems ( Si, 2021 ). Under the background, the concept of environmental awareness came into being. In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development was a landmark event on the world’s environment and development issues. The conference released Agenda 21 and put forward the concept and initiative of “sustainable development.” According to the requirements of the United Nations, countries all over the world formulated their own sustainable development strategies and put them into practice. “Sustainable development” formally brings environment and development into a unified framework, forming a development concept of coordinated development and sustainable development, and begins to reflect on the traditional development concept of blindly pursuing development, neglecting or even seeking development at the expense of destroying the environment.

In summary, this paper selects 22 listed companies in the energy industry as samples, extracts the potential variables of environmental awareness and environmental information disclosure, and establishes a structural equation model to explore whether environmental awareness has an impact on environmental information disclosure.

Literature review

The concept of environmental awareness emerged in the 1960s. It is a comprehensive concept that reflects many new problems in the relationship between human beings and the environment ( Arcury, 1990 ), including five levels, especially knowledge, attitude, perceptual knowledge, evaluation and behavior. Liu Jianguo believes that environmental awareness refers to the sum of people’s understanding of the environment itself, the relationship between people and the environment and environmental protection. It is divided into two levels: rational knowledge, including thoughts, viewpoints, theories and perceptual knowledge, including psychology, emotion and attitude ( Liu, 2008 ). China’s public environmental awareness is generally on the rise through a survey of China’s public environmental awareness level. It will enter a stable state in 2019 and the public environmental awareness is generally high ( Liu et al., 2009 ; Yan et al., 2010 ). Huang provides information on the public’s perception of the local environmental quality, environmental awareness and environmental performance, and of their willingness to pay for improving environmental quality and making green purchases. The results indicate that residents are not satisfied with the local environmental quality, and they would like to share environmental responsibility ( Huang et al., 2006 ).

There are two main explanations for the motivation of enterprises to disclose environmental information: socio-political theory and economic disclosure theory. Social and political theory covers a series of hypotheses to explain the disclosure behavior from the perspectives of legality, social system and stakeholders. It holds that companies passively disclose the environmental protection information of companies concerned by outsiders mainly based on the pressure of external information demanders, which indicates that companies have fulfilled the “social contract” to avoid threats such as legal lawsuits ( Khan et al., 2013 ; Clementino and Perkins, 2021 ). Based on the signal transmission theory, the view is that companies voluntarily disclose environmental protection information to the outside world in order to obtain development resources, in order to show the company’s corporate image with good environmental performance, which is different from companies with poor performance and is recognized by the public. However, as the increasing relevance of Sustainable Development Goals in companies’ disclosure practices ( Izzo et al., 2020 ), the government has gradually become the main body of environmental information disclosure ( Yao, 2010 ; Wang et al., 2013 ). Shi Beibei pointed out that government environmental information disclosure can increase the public’s right to know and participate in environmental management of enterprises, improve the effect of environmental legislation and realize sustainable development ( Shi et al., 2019 ). To sum up, environmental information disclosure refers to a kind of governance behavior in which the government and enterprises disclose relevant information about the environment in order to meet the supervision needs of the external public. The ultimate goal is to reduce corporate sewage discharge and realize sustainable economic development.

Scholars at home and abroad have not reached a consensus on the research index system of environmental information disclosure. From a comprehensive analysis of various aspects, factors such as enterprise size, industry, system level, financial status, proportion of senior executives holding shares, and audit level are generally accepted research influencing factors. The quality level of environmental information disclosure of listed companies in China is significantly related to company size, management expenses and policy implementation ( Wang, 2019 ; Zhang, 2021 ). Wang Xinping made descriptive statistics on the data of more than 3,000 listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen. The results show that the perfection of the environmental information disclosure system of listed companies and the strengthening of the supervision of environmental violations have a significant positive impact on the degree of environmental information disclosure of listed companies ( Wang and Li, 2021 ). Ortas processed and analyzed the collected data by quantile regression method. The results show that the indicators reflecting the financial position are significant factors that affect the disclosure of environmental information ( Ortas et al., 2015 ). Environmental events, political relations, the nature of equity, barriers to entry have a significant impact on the environmental disclosure of heavily polluted listed companies ( Luo and Lai, 2015 ). Li’s research results show that the greater the government’s supervision, the higher the level of corporate environmental information disclosure ( Li, 2015 ). Carnini et al. think that there is a positive relationship between environmental, social, and governance disclosure and firm performance ( Carnini Pulino et al., 2022 ). Another research shows that there is a significant positive correlation between environmental information disclosure and enterprise value and environmental cost ( Wang et al., 2020 ). The results of Prasad show that factors such as corporate characteristics, size, age and foreign customers have significant positive impact on environmental disclosure, while leverage has negative impact on disclosure ( Prasad et al., 2017 ). Chen explores the influencing factors and mechanisms of corporate environmental information disclosure. Through a random-effect GLS regression analysis of 363 listed manufacturing companies from the Shanghai Stock Exchange for 2012–2018, they find that the link between internal/external factors and environmental information disclosure is mediated by corporate environmental management ( Chen et al., 2022 ). The factors affecting the quality of environmental information disclosure are very extensive, and the conclusions reached by most scholars using different research objects and methods are inconsistent, which need further research.

Xu Yongjie pointed out that environmental awareness and supervision are the driving force of environmental information disclosure ( Xu, 2018 ). Xiao Hua conducted a research on environmental information disclosure and environmental awareness in China through a questionnaire survey. The survey results show that environmental information disclosure has been implemented in China’s enterprises at the present stage. Some enterprises are required to make mandatory disclosure, while others voluntarily disclose. However, there are still problems such as imperfect environmental accounting information system, incomplete environmental information disclosed, lack of comparability and reliability ( Xiao, 2001 ). Chen shows that enterprises with strong environmental awareness have a higher level of environmental information disclosure. Exploring the relationship between them is helpful to improve the level of environmental information disclosure ( Chen, 2016 ). To sum up, this paper establishes a structural equation model for corporate environmental information disclosure and environmental awareness to explore the relationship between environmental awareness and environmental information disclosure.

Research assumptions

Enterprise performance will affect the environmental information disclosure behavior of enterprises to a certain extent. Generally speaking, the improvement of enterprise’s environmental performance will affect the enterprise’s awareness of environmental disclosure, enhance the enterprise’s awareness of environmental disclosure, and then the enterprise’s environmental information disclosure behavior will be better and better. However, there are some extreme situations, that is, the performance of enterprises is very poor, but the level of environmental information disclosure of enterprises is very good. This is because enterprises with poor environmental performance will be under the pressure of legitimacy and the pressure from the public, and their image and reputation are poor. In this case, in order to enhance their social reputation and gain recognition from stakeholders, enterprises will choose to disclose more environmental information to prove their efforts and achievements in the environment. Some scholars also randomly selected 300 households in Beijing and Guangzhou to conduct a questionnaire survey. The statistical results show that in China, although people pay more attention to ecological issues and hold positive ecological values, they cannot effectively implement them in their behaviors. Then enterprises with high environmental awareness do not necessarily apply this awareness to the environmental information disclosure of enterprises. Therefore, this paper puts forward the hypothesis:

H 0 : Environmental awareness negatively affects the level of environmental information disclosure.

Qingdao Haier Co., Ltd. has started voluntary environmental information disclosure since 2005. Its environmental information disclosure level is extremely high and the information disclosure content is detailed. Thus, when enterprises have higher environmental awareness, they pay more attention to environmental information and the environmental information disclosure level is also higher. However, it is also a non-heavily polluting enterprise. In 2014, Yanghe shares, respectively, exceeded the standard for the discharge of a number of pollutants, and twice appeared in the black list of pollutants released by the Jiangsu Provincial Environmental Protection Department. Yanghe shares had to disclose its own environmental information under the supervision of the government because it entered the field of vision of the Environmental Protection Department twice. In the case of repeated illegal discharge of pollutants, the public report of Yanghe shares did not disclose this matter. Obviously, the environmental awareness of this enterprise is relatively weak. However, the environmental information disclosed under such mandatory circumstances is lacking in content, with the intention of avoiding the environmental information that is unfavorable to itself. In summary, the following assumptions are made:

H 1 : Environmental awareness positively affects the level of environmental information disclosure.

Research design

Research framework.

In this paper, SEM model is used for empirical research. Structural equation model is an analysis method based on statistical analysis technology. It combines the analysis of influencing factors with the related path analysis, and can be used to process and analyze the complex multivariable research data. SEM model can not only process and analyze complex data, but also estimate its potential variables and measure the model of complex variables. At the same time, the model itself allows measurement errors between independent variables and dependent variables. By establishing, estimating and testing causal relationship, SEM model has become a common and important statistical method in academic and professional research, which is applied in many professional fields such as economy, society and management.

There are three reasons for choosing these potential and observed variables. Firstly, this paper taken the standards of ISO (International Organization for Standardization), ISAR (International Standards of Accounting and Reporting), the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards and International Accounting and Reporting Standards. As well as sustainable development reports and social responsibility reports issued by listed energy companies. Secondly, the latest references are consulted to determine our variables. Thirdly, in view of the availability of data, variables from company are selected, including high-frequency indicators released by energy industry ( Table 1 ).

Summary of potential and observed variables.

Determination of potential and observed variables

Data sources.

According to the “Industry Classification Results of Listed Companies in the 4th Quarter of 2020” released by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the energy companies mainly composed of oil, coal and natural gas are selected as samples for exploratory analysis. The selected sample basis follows the following principles: First, eliminating ST companies that will have certain impact on the research process; The second is to eliminate companies with too short listing time and incomplete information disclosure data; Third, the selection of A-share listed companies is beneficial to the consistency of statistical data. In the end, this paper selects a total of 66 samples from 22 energy companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2018 to 2020. The basic information of the sample companies is shown in Table 2 .

Basic information of sample companies, statistics, stock codes, company abbreviations.

Juchao Information Network, Shanghai Stock Exchange, Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Reliability and validity test

The reliability test of the questionnaire sample data is to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the questionnaire itself. If the internal standard of the sample data of the questionnaire is uniform, the quality of the questionnaire can be considered to be better, and further analysis can be carried out. Cronbach’s α is often used to measure the internal quality of questionnaire sample data. From Table 3 , we can see that Cronbach’s α of the scale is above 0.7, from which we can draw the following conclusion: the sample data of the questionnaire in this paper have passed the sample reliability test and meet the standard. At the same time, this article tries to do the test again after deleting the items. After deleting, the value of Cronbach’s α has not changed greatly. This shows that the reliability level of the measurement items set in this paper is high.

Reliability test of the scale.

Next, this paper conducts confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the environmental awareness and environmental information disclosure of the latent variables, and uses AMOS26.0 to conduct CFA on the scale. Fit the constructed confirmatory factor model and observe whether the model construction is accurate by combining with the fitting index. See Table 4 for the results of CFA. CR is greater than 0.7, which proves that the measurement items can better interpret the corresponding potential variables. That is, the five observed variables can consistently explain the potential variable of environmental information disclosure. Eight observed variables can consistently explain the potential variable of environmental awareness.

Validation factor results.

*** Significant at 99% significance level.

Model validation and hypothesis testing

Using the structural equation model, the final model shown in Figure 1 is obtained. The indicators of the model are Chi-square/df and GFI. Generally, Chi-square/df needs to be between 1 and 3. If it exceeds 3, the fitting is not good. If it is less than 1, the fitting is excessive. The best value for both GFI is close to 10.8. Chi-square is 152.3, df is 64, Chi-square/df = 2.38, Chi-square is less than 3 degrees of freedom; the GFI value is 0.733, close to 0.8, which meets the general standard. The overall fitting degree of this model is good, and the internal quality of the model reaches the standard.

AMOS output results.

Firstly, the standardized factor load is observed. The standardized factor load of environmental awareness on environmental information disclosure is 0.807, which is very important. The importance of wastewater discharge, sulfur dioxide discharge, carbon dioxide discharge, smoke dust and dust discharge and industrial solid waste production to environmental information disclosure is 0.82, 0.92, 0.49, 0.82 and 0.30, indicating that the disclosure of indicators such as wastewater discharge, sulfur dioxide discharge, carbon dioxide discharge, smoke dust and dust discharge and industrial solid waste production can positively measure the environmental information disclosure, in which the impact of wastewater discharge, sulfur dioxide discharge, smoke dust and dust discharge is stronger; The impact coefficients of environmental report, environmental protection objectives, environmental protection education and training, environmental event emergency response mechanism, environmental protection management system, ISO14001 certification, “three simultaneities” system, environmental honor or award items on environmental awareness are 0.29, 0.40, 0.62, 0.21, 0.34, 0.12, 0.21 and 0.41, indicating that their impact on environmental awareness is positive, among which the impact degree of environmental protection education and training is strong, while the impact degree of environmental report, environmental event emergency response mechanism, ISO14001 certification and “three simultaneities” system is weak.

From the data of non-standardized factor load, the non-standardized factor load of environmental awareness on environmental information disclosure is 1.607, with a p value of 0.005, indicating that environmental awareness and environmental information disclosure are significant at 95% significance level, which proves that H 1 , environmental awareness has significant positive impact on the level of environmental information disclosure. Denying H 0 , environmental awareness has a negative impact on the level of environmental information disclosure. It shows that environmental awareness has a positive impact on environmental information disclosure, and a better environmental awareness is beneficial to enterprises to improve the level of environmental information disclosure.

This paper mainly studies its impact on the level of environmental information disclosure from the perspective of environmental awareness. Based on the above empirical analysis, the following conclusions are drawn: the higher the environmental awareness of the enterprise, the higher the level of environmental information disclosure. The level of environmental awareness of an enterprise will have an important impact on whether the enterprise performs its environmental responsibilities. For companies, companies with a high degree of awareness pay more attention to the performance of their environmental responsibilities and correspondingly improve the quality and initiative of environmental information disclosure. Therefore, it is of great significance to improve the environmental awareness of enterprises to improve the level of environmental information disclosure.

Implications

This study provides some enlightenment for the managers. Managers need to pay attention to the correct combination of companies images and environmental awareness. If the enterprise shows a positive environmental awareness, it can highlight the “green value” of the products, thus improving consumers’ loyalty. High-quality environmental information disclosure may lead to the increase of negative information of enterprises in the short term, but in the long run, it will help enterprises regulate their own market behavior, improve their social responsibility awareness and strengthen the public supervision, thus helping enterprises to establish a good corporate image and enhance their value.

This research is of great significance for the sustainability of the energy industry. After consulting the literature, environmental sustainability regards different research areas (logistics, supply chain management, and transportation; innovation management; information systems; engineering; Centobelli et al., 2017 ). It can also be combined with digital transition ( Abbate et al., 2022 ). It’s an inevitable trend for the energy industry to cross with environmentally sustainable development ( Huber and Hirsch, 2017 ).

Limitation and future research direction

Firstly, the data collection year span is short, which limits the industrial and timeliness. Expanding the sample size and extending the time span can help the model improve its persuasiveness. With the development of economy, the number of listed companies is increasing, and the relevant data will be updated constantly, so as to expand the sample size and improve the credibility of the model.

Secondly, the selection of observation variables in this paper has certain limitations. For example, the questionnaire survey can be used to bring the individual’s inherent concept and behavior of environmental protection into the model as variables. Moreover, some variables play intermediary roles between environmental awareness and environmental information disclosure, such as digital cross technology and green transformation technology. These factors that may affect the experimental results have not been taken into account, which is the deficiency of the model. Further research can be started from these sides.

Data availability statement

Author contributions.

SW is the architect and the person in charge of the project, guiding the experimental design, data analysis. ZZ is the experimental designer and executor of the study, who completes the data analysis. The drafting and revision opinions are completed by KT.

This study was supported by grants from the National Social Science Foundation of China, “Research on the mechanism and path of collaborative management of haze pollution in China from the perspective of regional linkage” (nos. 19BGL196); Jiangsu University Advantageous Discipline Construction Project (PAPD); Jiangsu Provincial Social Science Excellent Youth Project in 2019; Jiangsu Provincial Youth and Blue Project in 2019 Funded project; Carbon Dafeng Carbon Neutral Technology Innovation Special Incubation Program of Jiangsu Normal University in 2022.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

• Abbate S., Centobelli P., Cerchione R., Oropallo E., Riccio E. (2022). Investigating healthcare 4.0 transition through a knowledge management perspective . IEEE Trans. Eng. Manag. 1–14. doi: 10.1109/TEM.2022.3200889 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Arcury T. A. (1990). Environmental attitude and environmental knowledge . Hum. Organ. 49 :300e304. doi: 10.17730/humo.49.4.y6135676n433r880, PMID: [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Carnini Pulino S., Ciaburri M., Magnanelli B. S., Nasta L. (2022). Does ESG disclosure influence firm performance? Sustainability 14 :7595. doi: 10.3390/su14137595 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Centobelli P., Cerchione R., Esposito E. (2017). Environmental sustainability in the service industry of transportation and logistics service providers: systematic literature review and research directions . Transp. Res. Part D: Transp. Environ. 53 , 454–470. doi: 10.1016/j.trd.2017.04.032 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Chen S. (2016). The Correlation Analvce between Environmental Information Requirements of Chinese Listed Company and the Level of Environmental Information Disclosure Based on Network Search Data . MA thesis. Guangzhou, China: South China Agricultural University. [ Google Scholar ]
• Chen X., Li X., Huang X. (2022). The impact of corporate characteristics and external pressure on environmental information disclosure: a model using environmental management as a mediator . Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 29 , 12797–12809. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-11410-x [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Clementino E., Perkins R. (2021). How do companies respond to environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings? Evidence from Italy . J. Bus. Ethics 171 , 379–397. doi: 10.1007/s10551-020-04441-4 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Huang P., Zhang X., Deng X. (2006). Survey and analysis of public environmental awareness and performance in Ningbo, China: a case study on household electrical and electronic equipment . J. Clean. Prod. 14 , 1635–1643. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2006.02.006 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Huber R., Hirsch B. (2017). Behavioral effects of sustainability-oriented incentive systems . Bus. Strategy Environ. 26 , 163–181. doi: 10.1002/bse.1905 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Izzo M. F., Ciaburri M., Tiscini R. (2020). The challenge of sustainable development goal reporting: the first evidence from Italian listed companies . Sustainability . 12 :3494. doi: 10.3390/su12083494 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Khan A., Muttakin M. B., Siddiqui J. (2013). Corporate governance and corporate social responsibility disclosures: evidence from anemerging economy . J. Bus. Ethics 114 , 207–223. doi: 10.1007/s10551-012-1336-0 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Li Guihong. (2015). Research on the Impact of Governmental Supervision and Managers’ Cognition on Corporate Environmental Information Disclosure. Northeastern University. Doctoral dissertation.
• Liu J. (2008). Carry out environmental education to raise awareness of environmental protection . Inner Mongolia Sci. Technol. Econ. 2008 , 82–84. [ Google Scholar ]
• Liu Q., Li H.-M., Zuo X.-L., Zhang F.-F., Wang L. (2009). A survey and analysis on public awareness and performance for promoting circular economy in China: a case study from Tianjin . J. Clean. Prod. 17 , 265–270. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2008.06.003 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Luo D., Lai Z. (2015). What affects corporate environmental disclosure? Contemp. Econ. Manage. 37 , 17–25. doi: 10.13253/j.cnki.ddjgl.2015.08.004 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Ortas E., Alvarez I., Garayar A. (2015). The environmental, social, governance, and financial performance effects on companies that adopt the United Nations global compact . Sustainability . 7 , 1932–1956. doi: 10.3390/su7021932 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Prasad M., Mishra T., Kalro A. D. (2017). Environmental disclosure by Indian companies: an empirical study . Environ. Dev. Sustain. 19 , 1999–2022. doi: 10.1007/s10668-016-9840-5 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Shi B., Feng C., Kang R. (2019). Environmental information disclosure and structure optimization of foreign direct investment . China Ind. Econ. 98–116. doi: 10.19581/J.Cnki.CieJournal.2019.04.006 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Si L. (2021). Cross-cultural comparative study of environmental awareness . Hebei Enterprise . doi: 10.19885/J.CNKi.HBQY.2021.06.038 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Wang L., Li S., Li C. (2020). Research on the impact of environmental information disclosure on enterprise value from the perspective of marketization . Resources and Environment in the Yangtze Basin . 29 , 1110–1118. [ Google Scholar ]
• Wang Y. (2019). Research on the Impact of Environmental Information Disclosure on Enterprise Green Innovation . MA thesis. Nanjing, China: Southeast University. [ Google Scholar ]
• Wang X., Li Y. (2021). Research on the quality of environmental information disclosure of energy companies and its influencing factors . Coal Econ. Res. 41 , 75–82. doi: 10.13202/J.Cnki.cer.2021.06.014 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Wang X., Xu X., Wang C. (2013). Public pressure, social reputation, internal governance and corporate environmental information disclosure: evidence from listed manufacturing companies in China . Nankai Bus. Rev. 16 , 82–91. [ Google Scholar ]
• Xiao H. (2001). Corporate Environmental Report Research . Xiamen University. Xiamen, China. PhD dissertation. Available at: https://kns-cnki-net443.webvpn.jsnu.edu.cn/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?bname=CDFD9908&filename=2002051152.nh [ Google Scholar ]
• Xu Y. (2018). Research on environmental accounting information disclosure of heavy pollution industries in China . Mod. Econ. Inf. 2018 :261. [ Google Scholar ]
• Yan G., Kang J., Xie X., Wang G., Zhang J., Zhu W. (2010). The changing trend of public environmental awareness in China . China Popul. Resour. Environ. 20 , 55–60. [ Google Scholar ]
• Yao S. (2010). Research on the relationship between environmental accounting control and corporate environmental performance . J. Manag. 7 , 1215–1220. [ Google Scholar ]
• Zhang F. (2021). Research on the Impact of Environmental Information Disclosure on Innovation Performance of Heavy Pollution Enterprises . MA thesis. Nanjing, China: Nanjing University of Information Technology. [ Google Scholar ]

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals

Consciousness articles from across Nature Portfolio

Consciousness is the state of being aware of oneself and the environment. It is associated with wakefulness, responsiveness and arousal. Consciousness is typically measured by verbal reports about experience. Related areas of interest are those functions that are thought to operate without consciousness, such as blindsight and subliminal perception.

Latest Research and Reviews

Longitudinal microstructural changes in 18 amygdala nuclei resonate with cortical circuits and phenomics

This fMRI study unveils how specific amygdala subregions and associated brain circuits undergo structural changes over time, highlighting the intricacies of brain plasticity and its link to cognitive and emotional processes.

• Karam Ghanem
• Karin Saltoun
• Danilo Bzdok

Multi-modal Neuroimaging Phenotyping of Mnemonic Anosognosia in the Aging Brain

Bueichekú et al. use multimodal in vivo neuroimaging to investigate the brain characteristics of individuals presenting unawareness of memory loss who are at risk of Alzheimer’s disease due to age. They find unawareness of memory decline is an early behavioral sign that a person might develop Alzheimer’s disease.

• Elisenda Bueichekú
• Patrizia Vannini

Gamma power and beta envelope correlation are potential neural predictors of deep hypnosis

• Yeganeh Farahzadi
• Cameron Alldredge
• Zoltán Kekecs

Examining the association between depersonalisation traits and the bodily self in waking and dreaming

• Matt P. D. Gwyther
• Bigna Lenggenhager
• Anna Ciaunica

Local orchestration of distributed functional patterns supporting loss and restoration of consciousness in the primate brain

The brain’s role in supporting consciousness is unclear. Here, authors show that global markers of consciousness in macaque cortex are suppressed by many anaesthetics, and restored by local stimulation of a thalamic nucleus that also induces awakening.

• Andrea I. Luppi
• Rodrigo Cofre

Impairment of unconscious emotional processing after unilateral medial temporal structure resection

• Wataru Sato
• Naotaka Usui
• Yushi Inoue

News and Comment

Mapping the claustrum to elucidate consciousness.

• Navona Calarco

What anaesthesia reveals about human brains and consciousness

The combination of general anaesthesia and neuroimaging holds unique potential for catalysing integrative and translational discovery about human brains and consciousness. By spanning molecular, cognitive and clinical neuroscience, anaesthesia provides a bridge from molecules to mind across species.

Humans can intermittently respond to verbal stimuli when sleeping

Sleep is typically considered as a state of behavioral disconnection from the outside world. Recordings of brain activity and facial muscle tone during sleep reveal that humans can respond to external stimuli across most sleep stages. These windows of behavioral responsiveness reveal transient episodes of high-cognitive states with electrophysiological signatures suggestive of a conscious state.

Switching into a dissociated state

Ketamine-induced dissociated states in mice result from the suppression and activation of cortical pyramidal neuron populations that are active and silent during wakefulness, respectively.

• Jake Rogers

The neural correlates of attention and awareness

In this Journal Club, Shanice Janssens describes a study with a clever design that dissociates attention and awareness.

• Shanice E. W. Janssens

Be conscious with your VTA

Quick links.

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

Planet versus Plastics

Plastic waste has infiltrated every corner of our planet, from oceans and waterways to the food chain and even our bodies. Only 9% of plastic is recycled due to factors including poor infrastructure, technical challenges, lack of incentives, and low market demand.   

“We need legislation that disincentivizes big oil from producing plastic in the first place, coupled with enforced single use plastic taxes and fines,” says Desiree LaBeaud , professor of pediatric infectious diseases and senior fellow at   Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment . “We also need truly compostable alternatives that maintain the convenient lifestyle that plastic allows us now."

Plastic presents a problem like no other. Stanford scholars are approaching it from many angles: exploring the connection between plastic and disease, rethinking how plastic could be reused, and uncovering new ways of breaking down waste. In honor of Earth Day and this year’s theme – Planet vs. Plastics – we’ve highlighted stories about promising solutions to the plastics challenge. 

Environmental changes are altering the risk for mosquito-borne diseases

Our changing climate is dramatically altering the landscape for mosquito-borne diseases, but other changes to the physical environment - like the proliferation of plastic trash - also make an impact, as mosquitos can breed in the plastic waste we discard. 

Since this study published, HERI-Kenya , a nonprofit started by Stanford infectious disease physician Desiree LaBeaud , has launched HERI Hub , a brick and mortar education hub that educates, empowers and inspires community members to improve the local environment to promote health.

Using plastic waste to build roads, buildings, and more

Stanford engineers  Michael Lepech  and  Zhiye Li  have a unique vision of the future: buildings and roads made from plastic waste. In this story, they discuss obstacles, opportunities, and other aspects of transforming or upcycling plastic waste into valuable materials. 

Since this white paper was published, students in Lepech's  life cycle assessment course  have explored the environmental and economic impacts of waste management, emissions, and energy efficiency of building materials for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Arts. In addition to recycled plastic, they proposed a photovoltaic system and conducted comparison studies to maximize the system’s life cycle. This work is being translated into an upcoming publication.

Stanford researchers show that mealworms can safely consume toxic additive-containing plastic

Mealworms are not only able to eat various forms of plastic, as previous research has shown, they can also consume potentially toxic plastic additives in polystyrene with no ill effects. The worms can then be used as a safe, protein-rich feed supplement.

Since this study published, it has inspired students across the world to learn about and experiment with mealworms and plastic waste. Stanford researchers involved with this and related studies have been inundated with requests for more information and guidance from people inspired by the potential solution.

Grants tackle the plastics problem

Stanford Woods Institute has awarded more than $23 million in funding to research projects that seek to identify solutions to pressing environment and sustainability challenges, including new approaches to plastic waste management. 

Converting polyethylene into palm oil

This project is developing a new technology to convert polyethylene — by far the most discarded plastic — into palm oil. The approach could add value to the plastic waste management chain while sourcing palm oil through a less destructive route.

Improving plastic waste management

This project aims to radically change the way plastic waste is processed via a new biotechnology paradigm: engineering highly active enzymes and microbes capable of breaking down polyesters in a decentralized network of “living” waste receptacles. 

More stories from Stanford

Eight simple but meaningful things you can do for the environment.

A new, artistic perspective on plastic waste

Whales eat colossal amounts of microplastics

Event | Pollution and Health

A greener future begins with small steps

Mosquito diseases on the move

Last straw: The path to reducing plastic pollution

Plastic ingestion by fish a growing problem

Stanford infectious disease expert Desiree LaBeaud talks trash, literally, on Stanford Engineering's The Future of Everything podcast.