Item UOW/11/CFSD/7 - Promoting Pro-Environmental Behaviour: Existing Evidence to Inform Better Policy Making. Summary Report

Promoting Pro-Environmental Behaviour: Existing Evidence to Inform Better Policy Making. Summary Report. A Study for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Andrew Darnton, Jake Elster-Jones, Karen Lucas and Mike Brooks (London: CfSD, University of Westminster/Defra, 2006).

Defra’s 5 year strategy Delivering the Essentials of Life (Defra, 2004) sets out an ambitious agenda for environmental leadership and sustainable development. Embedding these core principles relies on influencing change and making it easier for producers and consumers to behave more sustainably. This is a sizeable task – changing behaviours is a complex matter – and innovative policies and practical solutions are required at every level of society. In response to this challenging remit, Defra commissioned a consortium led by the CfSD to carry out an analysis of the existing evidence base relating to pro-environmental behaviour change. The study reviewed evidence on both producers and consumers, at the individual and collective levels.