The Effect of Information Provision on Pro-Environmental Behaviors

Abstract

To reduce the environmental load of the household sector, it is important to enhance people’s pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs). Information provision has been considered as one of the possible methods for fostering PEBs. However, previous studies have seldom discussed what type of information is most appropriate for the target behavior. Effective media through which to provide such information should be also discussed. In order to identify the most effective such information, as well as the effectiveness of free papers as media through which to disseminate it, environmental information regarding two behaviors—“My Cup” and “Carbon Cashbag”—was provided through online questionnaires and free papers. Even though the same information was provided in both sources, it was found that the effectiveness of the content depended on the target behavior and region. As lack of information was one of the barriers to “Carbon Cashbag” behavior, it was found that the provision of very basic information improved the intention and practice of the behavior. Higher scores for intention and practice were observed when information was provided through free papers, which could therefore be considered as effective media through which to deliver information about PEBs.