How sustainable is your lifestyle and what things are preventing you from reducing your climate footprint?
Below is a set of bar charts showing a range of sustainable living behaviours in Tasmania, late 2009 – March 2011. (These charts have been recently updated)
The aim of the project is to help householders find ways to overcome identified barriers.
Householders were asked:
1) what they are presently doing
2) the ‘barriers’ that are inhibiting them from reducing their climate footprint.
(Click each item below to display relevant bar graph.)
Household appliances:
Behaviour 1
Stand-by power
Why we don’t do it
Behaviour 2
New appliances
Why we don’t do it
Behaviour 3
Fridge management
Why we don’t do it
Hot water system
Behaviour 4
Efficient shower head
Why we don’t do it
Behaviour 5
Hot water thermostat
Why we don’t do it
Behaviour 6
Check hot water losses
Why we don’t do it
Behaviour 7
Showering habits
Why we don’t do it
Space heating
Behaviour 8:
Room zoning
Why we don’t do it
Behaviour 9
Sensible clothing
Why we don’t do it
Behaviour 10
Ceiling & window insulation
Why we don’t do it
Food footprint
Behaviour 11
Food miles
Why we don’t do it
Behaviour 12
Home grown food
Why we don’t do it
Behaviour 13
Reduce high-footprint foods
Why we don’t do it
Travel footprint
Behaviour 14
Walking / cycling
Why we don’t do it
Behaviour 15
Public transport
Why we don’t do it
Behaviour 16
Air travel
Why we don’t do it
Energy management
Behaviour 17
Household agreement
Why we don’t do it
Behaviour 18
Carbon offsets
Why we don’t do it
Behaviour 19
Solar energy
Why we don’t do it
Influencing others
Behaviour 20
Lobbying politicians
Why we don’t do it
Behaviour 21
Influencing others
Why we don’t do it
Our efforts
Behaviour 22:
Rating our behaviour
Behaviour 23
Household abatement plan?
Being prepared to commit
Household target
The most powerful thing you can do
Background to these surveys
Most Tasmanians show a very high concern about climate change and energy, but that concern is not reflected in what they do in response – this is shown in the charts below.
• Concern – as expressed
How concerned are we about climate change?
How concerned are we about rising energy prices?
• Performance – as reported
How are we responding?
Rating our behaviour
The huge gulf between ‘concern’ and ‘action’ mostly stems from the inertia of old ways of thinking and acting. Social change takes time. The aim of our program is to better understand the blocks that inhibit people from connecting their concern with behavioural change.
• Best and worst performances Where are we succeeding, where are we failing?
This chart requires some interpretation, but it is clearly shown that 2) householders have most trouble dealing with their travel behaviours and 2) technology changes are more successful than changes of habit and lifestyle.
(Note: Target audience was Tasmanian householders who desire to reduce their energy footprint. Data was received from 426 respondents, mostly in Southern Tasmania. Recruitment via door-to-door invitation plus online recruitment.)
For more information please click the project website HERE.