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SPECIAL ISSUE PAPER
Pro-Environmental Awareness and Behaviors on Campus: Evidence from Tianjin, China
1
College of Management and Economics, Tianjin University, Tianjin PR CHINA
2
China Center for Social Computing and Analytics, Tianjin University, Tianjin, PR CHINA
Online publication date: 2017-11-15
Publication date: 2017-11-15
EURASIA J. Math., Sci Tech. Ed 2018;14(1):427-445
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
China has promoted green campuses for decades. To better explore the current extent of pro-environmental awareness and behaviors of types of stakeholders (student, faculty members, and administrators) on campus, this study investigated the relationship between pro-environmental awareness and pro-environmental behaviors along with the influences of motivators, barriers, and culture (face (reputation) and group pressure). A questionnaire survey was conducted with a sample of the three types of stakeholders at Tianjin University, one of the largest academic institutions and the earliest to implement green campus development initiatives in China. Structural equation modeling tested a causal model of awareness, behaviors, and other explanatory variables. The results found that pro-environmental behaviors were more likely than awareness and the respondents engaged in private more than in public pro-environmental behaviors. Chinese social and cultural factors influenced pro-environmental behavior, particularly among the administrators, which informs our understanding of the reasons for the awareness-behavior gap. China’s universities focus on eco-technology and energy management rather than on dissemination and publicity. The results suggest that advancing a pro-environmental cultural atmosphere and a consistent sustainability policy might significantly foster pro-environmental behaviors on university campuses.
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