Greening Household Behaviour

This publication presents the main results and policy implications of an OECD survey of more than 10 000 households in 10 countries. It offers new insight into what policy measures really work, looking at what factors affect people’s behaviour towards the environment.

This publication presents a data overview of the most recent round of the survey implemented in five areas (energy, food, transport, waste, and water) and 11 countries: Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Israel, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Developing growth strategies that promote greener lifestyles requires a good understanding of the factors that affect people's behaviour towards the environment. Based on periodic surveys of more than 10 000 households, this publication presents responses from the most recent round of the OECD survey implemented in 2011, in 5 areas (energy, food, transport, waste and water) and 11 countries: Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Israel, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The survey provides a common framework to collect unique empirical evidence for better policy design. Analysis comparing the data across countries, policy conditions and household characteristics reveals which measures most effectively change behaviour. Each round of the survey also allows to track changes over time and to explore new emerging issues. The new survey confirms the importance of providing the right economic incentives for influencing our decisions. The findings indicate that 'soft' measures such as labelling and public information campaigns also have a significant complementary role to play. Spurring desirable behaviour change requires a mix of these instruments. This edition completely replaces the previously posted 2013 edition.

This publication presents the main results and policy implications of an OECD survey of more than 10 000 households in 10 countries. It offers new insight into what policy measures really work, looking at what factors affect people’s behaviour towards the environment.

Personal behaviour and choices in daily life, from what we eat to how we get to work or heat our homes, have a significant - and growing - effect on the environment. But why are some households greener than others? And what factors motivate green household choices? Answering these questions is vital for helping governments design and target policies that promote "greener" behaviour. The OECD's Environmental Policy and Individual Behaviour Change (EPIC) survey is designed to do just that. This large-scale household survey explores what drives household environmental behaviour and how policies may affect household decisions. It focuses on five areas in which households have significant environmental impact: energy, food, transport, waste and water. This policy paper is based on the second round of the EPIC survey, carried out in 2011 (the first was in 2008). The survey collected information from more than 12 000 households in Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Israel, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

The second round of the OECD Survey on Environmental Policy for Individual Behaviour Change (EPIC) was implemented in 2011. A publication providing an overview of the survey data from over 12 000 households in eleven countries (Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Israel, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland) is available. 1 Follow-up econometric analyses were conducted in each of the thematic areas covered (energy, food, transport, waste and water), as well as on cross-domain comparisons in environmental attitudes and behaviours. 2 This report presents a synthesis of main results from econometric analysis using the data from the 2011 EPIC survey, as well as policy implications.