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Research round-up: lights, CHARM, self-interest

by 27 Jul 2010

A round-up of recent sustainable development research highlighted by our partner, the Sustainable Development Research Network (SDRN). For more research news, join the network and receive regular SDRN mailings.

The value of turning lights off

Switching off lights, turning the television off at the mains and using cooler washing cycles could have a much bigger impact on reducing carbon dioxide emissions from power stations than previously thought, according to the findings of a study by Imperial College London.

The study shows that the figure used by government advisors to estimate the amount of carbon dioxide saved by reducing people’s electricity consumption is up to 60 percent too low. Dr Adam Hawkes, the author of the study, says the government should keep track of changing carbon emission rates from power stations to ensure that policy decisions for reducing emissions are based on robust scientific evidence.

The new study suggests that excluding power stations with low carbon emission rates, such as wind and nuclear power stations, and focussing on those that deal with fluctuating demand would give a more accurate emission figure. Hawkes says:

“this means any reduction we make in our electricity use – for example, if everyone switched off lights that they weren’t using, or turned off electric heating earlier in the year – could have a bigger impact on the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by power stations than previously thought. However, this also acts in reverse: a small increase in the amount of electricity we use could mean a larger increase in emissions than we previously thought, so we need to make sure we do everything we can to reduce our electricity use.”

Read more (Imperial College press release)…

The CHARM approach

CHARM, funded by the RCUK Digital Economy Programme, employs digital technologies as a means of providing individuals with feedback about their own and others’ sustainability behaviours.

The CHARM approach integrates practice theory from sociology, the social norm approach from social psychology, and digital technologies to investigate novel routes to sustainable behaviour change. Social psychology research shows that our everyday activities are influenced by what we believe to be ‘normal’ behaviour. With this in mind, the social norm approach attempts to change behaviour in socially desirable ways by telling people what other people do.

The CHARM approach is distinctive because it employs digital technologies – including mobile phones, the internet, energy monitors, pedometers, GPS and social networking applications – to provide sophisticated social norm feedback to participants.

In addition, in CHARM the quantitative data and questionnaires that are typical of the social norm approach will be complemented by ethnographic interviews and focus groups that will facilitate in-depth understanding of the sociotechnical contexts and practices that underlie sustainable and unsustainable behaviours. This novel approach will be applied in three case studies: 1) energy, 2) active lifestyle and 3) Facebook.

Read more (Project CHARM)…

Self interest motives for sustainable consumption

Findings have recently been published of a study that examined the perceptions and preferences of identified “responsible, sustainable consumers” with respect to functional products.

The study was part of a larger research program that is looking at material cultures and product design in relation to sustainable production and consumption. Based on empirical data gathered from citizens attempting to follow sustainable lifestyles, the researchers have reflected on how the adoption of sustainable consumption patterns can not only be motivated by altruistic and environmental considerations, but also, significantly, by perceived personal benefits, including an expected increase in personal well-being. These motivations, together with how they unfold into preferences for particular product characteristics, are discussed.

The research concludes that the understanding of such motives, along with their implications for the ways in which products and services are conceived and positioned, may warrant further research as it can represent a key incentive for change towards a more sustainable future.

Read more (Sustainability journal)…

The Sustainable Development Research Network (SDRN) is an initiative funded by both Defra and the Department for Transport, and is coordinated by the Policy Studies Institute in London.

SDRN aims to facilitate and strengthen the links between providers of research and policymakers across government, in order to improve evidence-based policymaking to deliver the UK government’s objectives for sustainable development.

SDRN Annual Conference 2010
This year’s SDRN Annual Conference will take place on 9th December 2010 at the Wellcome Collection Conference Centre, London. The Annual Conference is SDRN’s flagship event, bringing together over 150 sustainability practitioners, policy-makers and researchers and to share and discuss recent findings, and to review how research efforts can better contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals.

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