Encouraging greener living - Defra publishes public attitudes research

31st January 2008

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published a framework to encourage environmentally friendly behaviour among individuals and communities.

The report pulls together evidence on public understanding, attitudes and behaviours and draws conclusions on the potential for behaviour change among members of the public.

Defra’s environmental segmentation model is also included in the research. It divides the public into seven clusters, each sharing a distinct set of attitudes and beliefs towards the environment and is based on people’s responses to a broad range of attitudinal questions as part of the 2007 Defra attitudes and behaviours survey.

The model will be used to improve Government’s understanding of people’s environmental attitudes, values and behaviours towards the environment. By defining the different motivations and barriers to pro-environmental behaviour, the model will help policy makers understand how to support different groups of people to take action.

Click here to access the report