Social Sustainability
Pro-Environmental Behavior
Definition
Pro-environmental behaviour is behaviour that harms the environment as little as possible, or even benefits it. Environmental psychology distinguishes private-sphere behaviours (purchasing, energy use, waste, diet) from public-sphere ones (activism, organisational action, policy support), and studies the values, norms, habits and structural conditions that drive or block them.
References
This reference provides supporting context for how “Pro-Environmental Behavior” is defined and used.
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Overview
How it is used
The concept structures behaviour-change programmes, sustainable consumption policy, and survey instruments (such as the General Ecological Behavior scale); it underpins the behavioural design of nudges and feedback systems.
Why it matters
Demand-side change could contribute a substantial share of emissions mitigation; understanding what actually shifts behaviour is therefore a core mitigation science.