International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education

Towards a campus culture of environmental sustainability: Recommendations for a large

university
Brett L.M. Levy Robert W. Marans
Article information:
To cite this document:
Brett L.M. Levy Robert W. Marans, (2012),"Towards a campus culture of environmental sustainability",
International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 13 Iss 4 pp. 365 - 377
Permanent link to this document:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14676371211262317
Downloaded by MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY At 06:10 30 January 2015 (PT)

Downloaded on: 30 January 2015, At: 06:10 (PT)

References: this document contains references to 36 other documents.
To copy this document: permissions@emeraldinsight.com
The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 1440 times since 2012*
Users who downloaded this article also downloaded:
Richard Emanuel, J.N. Adams, (2011),"College students' perceptions of campus sustainability",
International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 12 Iss 1 pp. 79-92 http://
dx.doi.org/10.1108/14676371111098320
Jessica Finlay, Jennifer Massey, (2012),"Eco-campus: applying the ecocity model to develop green
university and college campuses", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 13 Iss 2
pp. 150-165 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14676371211211836
Matthew James, Karen Card, (2012),"Factors contributing to institutions achieving environmental
sustainability", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 13 Iss 2 pp. 166-176 http://
dx.doi.org/10.1108/14676371211211845

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by 540409 []
For Authors
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for
Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines
are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.
About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com
Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company
manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as
providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.
Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee
on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive
preservation.

*Related content and download information correct at time of download.

 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1467-6370.htm

Campus culture
Towards a campus culture of of environmental
environmental sustainability sustainability
Recommendations for a large university
365
Brett L.M. Levy
School of Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA and Received 24 January 2011
School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Revised 10 May 2011
Madison, Wisconsin, USA, and Accepted 9 August 2011

Robert W. Marans
Downloaded by MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY At 06:10 30 January 2015 (PT)

Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan,

Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Abstract
Purpose – The authors led an interdisciplinary team that developed recommendations for building a
“culture of environmental sustainability” at the University of Michigan (UM), and the purpose of this
paper is to provide guidance on how other institutions might promote pro-environmental behaviors on
their campuses.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors synthesize research on fostering environmental
behavior, analyze how current campus sustainability efforts align with that research, and describe
how they developed research-based recommendations to increase environmental sustainability on the
UM campus.
Findings – Analyses of prior research suggest that there are five factors that influence individuals’
pro-environment behaviors: knowledge of issues; knowledge of procedures; social incentives; material
incentives; and prompts/reminders. Given these factors, UM should pursue three types of activities to
support the development of pro-environment behaviors: education, engagement, and assessment.
Practical implications – The specific recommendations in this report are for the University of
Michigan. However, other institutions interested in fostering a culture of environmental sustainability
might benefit from undertaking similar comprehensive assessments of how they could support
community members’ development of pro-environment behavior and knowledge.
Originality/value – The paper builds on prior research to offer a new vision for how to develop a
culture of environmental sustainability on a large university campus.
Keywords United States of America, Universities, Sustainability, Environmental management
Paper type Case study

Many colleges and universities have undertaken large-scale environmental

sustainability efforts, but few have developed comprehensive plans to address the
cultural or behavioral aspects of environmental sustainability on their campuses.
Recently the University of Michigan (UM) commissioned a committee to develop
recommendations for how campus community members could begin to behave in more International Journal of Sustainability
environmentally sustainable ways and thus develop a “culture of environmental in Higher Education
Vol. 13 No. 4, 2012
sustainability.” The purpose of this paper is to describe these recommendations, their pp. 365-377
theoretical basis, the process by which they were developed, and how they relate to other q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1467-6370
efforts across the USA. The authors hope that other institutions interested in reducing DOI 10.1108/14676371211262317
 IJSHE their environmental impact will also embark on the process of comprehensively
13,4 addressing the behavioral aspects of environmental sustainability.

Background and objectives

Like many campuses across the USA and elsewhere in the world, the UM has
undertaken various efforts to reduce its negative environmental impact. Until recently,
366 however, these initiatives put little emphasis on the cultural or human dimensions of
environmental sustainability. In the 1980s, building performance teams surveyed
campus buildings and conducted tune-ups to reduce energy consumption. In the 1990s,
the university participated in the EPA’s Energy Star Program, which resulted in
several energy conservation measures, including replacing incandescent light bulbs
with compact fluorescent light bulbs, launching a recycling program, and upgrading
Downloaded by MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY At 06:10 30 January 2015 (PT)

water-cooled condensing systems. Also at this time, university staff launched an

awareness campaign by placing posters in numerous campus buildings to encourage
students and staff to reduce energy usage by wearing heavier clothing during the
winter, turning off lights, and conserving energy in various other ways.
The last decade has witnessed an acceleration of energy conservation efforts on
campus. In 2003, UM President Mary Sue Coleman established an Environmental Task
Force which subsequently recommended that the university conduct and release a
sustainability report that would include a set of social, economic, cultural, and aesthetic
indicators. Since 2007, several environmental reports with selected indicators have
been published annually, but none of these reports contained indicators reflecting the
behaviors and thoughts of members of the university community (UM, 2007). Thus, to
this point, cultural issues had not been given a central role in the university’s
assessment of progress in environmental sustainability.
However, in 2008, President Coleman launched a six-point plan for environmental
sustainability, which included environmental reporting, renewable energy, alternative
transportation, green purchasing, new construction and renovation projects, and Planet
Blue. The latter sought to conserve energy within current buildings and included a
study to understand the conservation-related thoughts and actions of faculty, staff, and
students in five UM buildings. Findings published in this journal indicated that campus
community members often do not practice individual conservation behaviors (leaving
office lights on, etc.) but would be willing to accept collective conservation efforts, such
as higher building temperatures during summer months or motion-sensor lighting in
hallways (Marans and Edelstein, 2010). Further examinations have indicated that when
faculty and staff were more aware of UM’s conservation efforts, they were more likely to
engage in conservation behaviors (Edelstein et al., 2011). These studies suggest that
although conservation behaviors at the university are suboptimal, campus-wide efforts
towards environmental sustainability and awareness thereof can strengthen the
adoption of such behaviors.
During the fall of 2009, in response to student demand, President Coleman announced
the university’s ambitious Sustainability Initiative, which included a strong cultural
component. To establish the UM as both a leader and laboratory in environmental
sustainability, this initiative aims to influence teaching, research, and operations in
order to reduce the institution’s environmental impact. As part of the effort to effect
changes in operations, university officials commissioned an integrated assessment (IA).
The IA strategy, which has been employed to address a wide array of environmental
 challenges (Scavia, 2010), includes both experts (e.g. scientists) and stakeholders Campus culture
(e.g. community members) in designing solutions to large-scale collective problems. of environmental
Similar to certain environmental management systems employed by business leaders
(Daily and Huang, 2001), the IA process aims to maximize input and buy-in in the sustainability
development of strategic plans.
UM’s IA involved seven teams, and their areas of focus were: energy, buildings,
transportation, food, purchasing and recycling, land and water, and culture. Each team 367
was charged with:
.
assessing the environmental sustainability of the campus within their domain;
.
recommending actions to be taken on campus in that domain; and
.
summarizing their findings and recommendations in a report for UM
administrators.
Downloaded by MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY At 06:10 30 January 2015 (PT)

To complete these tasks, the teams, which included one faculty lead and five to eight
students (including one student lead), met weekly and conducted relevant research. The
charge of the authors’ team, the culture team, was to develop research-based
recommendations that would promote a “culture of environmental sustainability,” that
is, a campus community in which individuals understand major environmental
challenges and act to resolve them. Whereas previous research had studied the efforts to
promote environmental sustainability in industry through fostering employees’
environmental behavior (Brio et al., 2008; Harris and Crane, 2000; Jabbour et al., 2008;
Renwick et al., 2008), the authors’ team examined how a decentralized university could
influence not only its tenured and non-tenured employees but also its students. The
culture team’s development of research-based recommendations is only one step
towards developing a stronger culture of environmental sustainability, but carefully
designed plans can be crucial to the widespread adoption of cultural changes
(Jabbour, 2010).

Methods
To complete the assessment and recommendations, the authors’ team of eight students
and one faculty member collected and analyzed three types of information:
(1) research and theory on environmental behavior and psychology;
(2) efforts to build a culture of sustainability on other campuses; and
(3) the status of the culture of sustainability on our campus.

To develop a theoretical understanding of environmental behavior, the team consulted

with academics on campus, reviewed and analyzed relevant literature, and discussed
their ideas. Developing an understanding of current campus sustainability efforts
required our team members to review campus sustainability reports from 70 colleges
and universities from around the country. In addition, to learn about efforts on our own
campus, the authors assigned one culture team member to attend the weekly meetings
of each of the other six teams. By analyzing and discussing findings at the team’s
weekly meetings, the group developed recommendations that aligned with its
theoretical understandings of human behavior change. The team’s analyses enabled
them to make recommendations that the authors believe will be useful to leaders at UM
and beyond.
 IJSHE Theoretical foundations
13,4 Over the last few decades, empirical studies have shown that several factors support
environmentally responsible behavior, such as recycling or energy conservation.
Among these are:
. understanding challenges;
.
procedural knowledge;
368 .
prompts;
.
social motives; and
.
material incentives.

Any one of these factors alone may be sufficient to influence some individuals to act in
environmentally responsible ways, but because humans are motivated differently
Downloaded by MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY At 06:10 30 January 2015 (PT)

across time, combinations thereof are often most effective in sustaining environmentally
responsible behavior (Abrahamse et al., 2005; Parnell and Larsen, 2005).
First, evidence indicates that understanding environmental issues positively
influences one’s likelihood of undertaking environmentally responsible actions. In their
seminal meta-analysis of behavioral research, Hines et al. (1986-1987) found 17 studies
indicating that individuals are more likely to act in environmentally responsible
ways when they understand environmental problems and/or their potential solutions.
Meanwhile, De young’s (2000) review suggests that individuals make more
environmentally responsible choices when they feel competent – and thus have the
know-how – to successfully undertake such actions. These two types of knowledge –
declarative (knowledge of the problem) and procedural (how to address the problem) –
are both important for effecting behavior change (Ramsey and Rickson, 1977).
Although understanding environmental issues and how to address them is a vital step
in fostering pro-environmental behaviors, it is insufficient for sustaining such behaviors
over an extended period of time. Individuals often need to be reminded to behave in an
environmentally responsible manner. Numerous studies have documented the power of
providing such reminders or prompts. For example, Katzev and Mishima (1992) found
that when signs about recycling were posted near waste receptacles in a college mail room,
paper recycling increased. Likewise, Aronson and O’Leary (1982-1983) found that when
signs promoting water conservation were posted in a shower room, individuals decreased
their water usage while Ayotte and her colleagues (2006) found that small prompts on
light switches and computers succeeded in encouraging energy conservation on their
college campus. Thus, if individuals possess knowledge but are still not undertaking
environmentally responsible behaviors, deploying prompts can help to effect change.
Evidence also indicates that another powerful motivator for behavior change is social
motives, including perceived social norms and stated commitments (McMakin, 2002).
Studies show that when individuals commit to acting in an environmentally responsible
way, they tend to keep their word. For example, Katzev and Pardini (1987) found that
when community members committed to recycling their newspapers, they were more
likely to undertake these activities than those who received material rewards for
recycling. Also, in their meta-analysis, Hines et al. found six studies documenting a
strong relationship between individuals’ written commitments to act environmentally
and their actions. This research suggests that people strive to align their actions with
their words.
 Perceived social norms can also have a large effect on an individual’s behavior Campus culture
(Cialdini, 2003). In Fishbein and Ajzen’s (2010) theory of reasoned action, an individual’s of environmental
perception of social norms is one of the strongest predictors of behavior: when someone
perceives something as a “normal” way of acting, that individual is more likely to pursue sustainability
that behavior. Various studies have found that when individuals work together towards
environmental goals – thus creating norms of pro-environment behaviors, these
individuals begin to behave in more environmentally sustainable ways (Hopper and 369
Nielsen, 1991). For instance, Staats et al. (2004) found that when people worked with
neighbors to discuss ways to reduce their energy consumption and trash generation,
they were successful in achieving these goals. Likewise, De Young (1989-1990) found
that when university staff members were given responsibility for monitoring their
buildings’ energy usage and promoting energy conservation (on a voluntary basis),
energy use in their building areas declined substantially. Also, in a study of small-scale
Downloaded by MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY At 06:10 30 January 2015 (PT)

sustainability initiatives, Irvine and Kaplan (2001) found that individuals were willing to
change their unsustainable behaviors if community members asked them to do so and
explained the rationale.
Although social incentives, prompts, and awareness seem to be the most powerful
means of promoting sustained environmentally responsible behaviors, there is some
evidence that material incentives such as cash or gifts can play a role, as well (Geller,
1989). These should be employed cautiously, however, because research suggests that
behavior changes motivated by material rewards will last only as long as the reward is
issued. Katzev and Pardini (1987) for example, found that households recycled regularly
while receiving a material reward but substantially reduced their recycling frequency
once that reward was removed. Likewise, Ryan and Deci (2000) found that providing
material incentives for individuals’ performance of certain tasks can undermine their
intrinsic motivation to complete those tasks. However, if the material incentive is
modest and carefully targeted to encourage specific behaviors, its use may work well
when paired with other strategies to jump-start behavior change in the short-run.
Human decision-making is motivated by various factors, so fostering a culture of
sustainability on a large university campus may require a variety of approaches.
Because of the unique circumstances in each community, some scholars have proposed
that each intervention be treated as a small-scale experiment (Irvine and Kaplan, 2001).
Nonetheless, as the culture team designed their recommendations, they considered the
central principles evident in prior research on environmental behavior and examined
efforts to promote sustainability on campuses nationwide.

Efforts to promote a culture of sustainability on campuses nationwide

Numerous colleges and universities throughout the USA have undertaken efforts to
promote a culture of sustainability on their campuses. Many of these efforts involve
strategies that are supported by research on environmental behavior and psychology.
In this section, the authors describe how various efforts nationwide (including those at
UM) relate to this research.

Knowledge of issues
Many colleges and universities have promoted sustainable behavior by supporting
students’ increased understanding of major environmental issues and how to address
them. Most institutions have long offered students opportunities to learn about these
 IJSHE issues through coursework in engineering, natural and social sciences, and the like, but
13,4 now schools are increasingly integrating such learning more into individuals’ regular
routines or trajectories. For example, at a number of institutions, including the
University of Georgia, Bucknell University, and Furman College, students are required
to complete a course in environmental issues in order to graduate. In addition, at many
colleges and universities, campus community members are able to learn about
370 significant environmental issues through peer education programs (e.g. University of
Maryland), training in sustainable building design for employees (e.g. University
of California, Berkeley, and University of Pennsylvania), and outreach teams of
innovative engineering projects, like solar cars (e.g. UM, University of Waterloo) (UC
Berkeley, 2010). Thus, there have been an increasing number of opportunities for
students to learn about major environmental issues on their campuses. UM offers
many options, but as of this writing, no coursework or activities in environmental
Downloaded by MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY At 06:10 30 January 2015 (PT)

sustainability are required for graduation.

Procedural knowledge
Students, staff, and faculty around the USA have a variety of opportunities to develop
procedural knowledge on a range on environmental issues – both directly and
indirectly. Most prevalent are campus recycling programs, which often include
literature explaining the methods and rationale for recycling materials. During the
winter of 2011, about 630 colleges and universities participated in Recyclemania (2011), a
nationwide recycling competition that includes students, faculty, and staff. In addition
to recycling, campus community members can learn other methods for conserving
resources while on campus through green orientation programs (e.g. University of
Maryland), guides on greening one’s workplace (e.g. University of Vermont, Harvard
University), and programs for purchasing green office and cleaning supplies (e.g.
California Institute of Technology, Princeton University). Also, some colleges and
universities indirectly teach their campus community members about environmentally
sustainable procedures with descriptive displays of their solar panels and sustainable
building practices. Whereas our own campus does the latter, it has no solar panels on
public display. UM does have recycling available in all campus buildings and provides
written information for freshmen, but it has not developed programs to prepare new
students or employees to practice environmentally sustainable behaviors on campus.

Social incentives
There are also many programs that allow campus community members to become
socially engaged with others in environmental learning and action, and these programs
may support the development of social norms for environmentally sustainable
behaviors. Needless to say, most institutions have numerous volunteer organizations
in which students can opt to become collectively involved in various environmental
issues and actions. In addition, several schools have initiated programs that organize
students and employees to positively influence their peers as “sustainability
ambassadors” (e.g. University of Chicago, Massachusetts Institute of Technology),
“conservation advocates” (e.g. University of Virginia), or “eco-reps” (e.g. Dartmouth
College). Yet other colleges and universities have living and learning residential
communities for students (e.g. Earth House at Pennsylvania State University), gather
pledges for energy saving goals (e.g. University of Wisconsin, Madison), and employ
 “recycling monitors” (e.g. Bucknell University). The UM has about a dozen student Campus culture
environmental organizations, but it currently has few other programs that include of environmental
social incentives for pro-environment behaviors, so there are many opportunities for
change in this domain. sustainability
Material incentives
Many institutions have promoted environmental sustainability via material incentives. 371
This has been especially prevalent in the domain of transportation. For example, it is
common practice for schools to offer students free bus ridership (e.g. University of
Texas), and some offer free bike rentals. Claremont McKenna College even pays
individuals who bike, walk, or carpool to campus whereas other universities offer bike
share programs (e.g. New York University). To encourage electricity conservation,
various schools hold energy reduction competitions between dorms (e.g. Notre Dame
Downloaded by MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY At 06:10 30 January 2015 (PT)

University) and lightbulb exchanges through which campus community members can
trade their incandescent bulbs for more energy efficient bulbs (e.g. University of
California, Los Angeles). Also, some institutions have “green funds” through which
students and employees can secure funding for environmental improvement projects
(e.g. Duke University). Meanwhile, some campus administrators have required building
contractors to abide by national Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) standards in new construction and renovation of campus buildings
(e.g. Princeton University, Cornell University). In these areas, the UM has been quite
active, providing free bus transportation to the campus community, requiring large new
buildings to be LEED-certified, and administering small grants for environmental
projects (through the Graham Institute).

Prompts
While the aforementioned programs specifically support campus community members’
pro-environment issue knowledge, procedural knowledge, social incentives, and
material incentives, many of these programs have prompts integrated into their work.
For example, recycling and energy conservation programs on our campus and elsewhere
commonly involve extensive signage (often physically close to the location of the
decision) to remind individuals to enact specific behaviors, such as turning off lights
when leaving a room. However, given humans’ capacity to behave unsustainable in the
absence of such prompts, it is important for colleges and universities to include these in
their plans to develop cultures of environmental sustainability.

Looking back, moving forward

Indeed there are many outstanding efforts nationwide to reduce the environmental
impact of university life and to promote a culture of sustainability. However, the
culture team’s review of activities at over 70 campuses indicated that these efforts to
support cultural change tend to lack two central features:
(1) comprehensiveness; and
(2) systematically measured outcomes.
The team found little documentation indicating the extent to which changes in recycled
materials, energy use, transportation costs, and/or organic food consumption were, at
least in part, attributable to changes in the behaviors of students, staff, or faculty.
 IJSHE Nor was there any evidence showing that the actions taken at the schools had shifted
13,4 the mindsets of campus community members. Thus, in our recommendations for the
UM campus, the culture team suggested a comprehensive, research-based approach to
shifting cultural norms as well as systematically monitoring our progress towards
developing a culture of sustainability.

372 Practical recommendations

Given prior research on supporting the development of pro-environment behaviors
(as described above), the team developed recommendations in three areas:
(1) education and training;
(2) engagement; and
(3) assessing and monitoring.
Downloaded by MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY At 06:10 30 January 2015 (PT)

Whereas the educational and engagement recommendations are intended to help

campus community members to develop knowledge and behaviors that are aligned to
environmental sustainability, the latter set of recommendations is intended to gauge
the short-term and long-terms impact of these and other efforts at our university.

Education and training

The culture team recommended several types of education and training for campus
community members. First, UM students and employees should develop knowledge of
environmental issues and procedures by completing an online tutorial in basic
environmental knowledge. This could be similar to the AlcoholEdu tutorial for students
or the PEERRS certification for faculty and research staff (for IRB-related issues), which
provide background and practical information in their respective areas. A tutorial that
focuses on environmental sustainability could inform campus community members
about the rationale and methods for recycling, traveling by bus, and conserving
electricity, among other behaviors. Second, the university should provide numerous
opportunities for faculty to learn how issues of environmental sustainability can be
integrated into their courses; including luncheon workshops, multi-day institutes, and a
central web site through which faculty can share curricula and syllabi. Once there are a
sufficient number of courses with substantial sustainability content, we recommended
requiring every student to complete at least one course emphasizing environmental
sustainability. Through the development and enactment of such courses, both students
and faculty could develop greater knowledge of environmental issues.
In addition, the team recommended that the UM Housing Office work with the Office
of Campus Sustainability and the School of Education develop and implement training
programs in environmentally sustainable living for residential advisors and specialized
“eco-reps” for each residential hall floor. Eco-reps would be responsible for teaching
others on their floors about the importance of environmental issues and demonstrate
how to live more sustainably – thus supporting social incentives for environmentally
sustainable living. Finally, the culture team recommended that Procurement Services
work with the Office of Campus Sustainability to develop a staff training program to
support environmentally sustainable purchasing of products such as recyclable paper,
cleaning supplies, soy-based inks, and the like. Currently over 4,000 employees purchase
products through university accounts, and many do so through one campus web site
which could be adjusted to easily support environmentally sustainable purchasing.
 Through appropriate training programs, employees could develop knowledge of Campus culture
environmentally sustainable processes. of environmental
Engagement
sustainability
The culture team recommended that UM establish organizational arrangements to
support the increased active engagement of students, faculty, and staff in improving the
sustainability of our campus community. To do this, the UM should hire a full-time 373
cultural liaison to regularly solicit conservation-minded ideas from students, faculty, and
staff; evaluate their ideas; and help bring feasible ideas to fruition by communicating
with administrators and providing organizational support and resources. Many
individuals throughout our campus have helpful ideas about how to increase the
effectiveness of recycling programs, decrease consumption of materials and energy, and
engage their peers and colleagues in such activities. With adequate support, a cultural
Downloaded by MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY At 06:10 30 January 2015 (PT)

liaison could productively harness new ideas for improving community members’
environmental behavior – and could also lead to small-scale studies of these ideas.
In addition, the team recommended that the provost require each academic unit to
develop a sustainability plan for its operations and that employees of those units
assume responsibility for implementing the plan; employee evaluations should then be
related to their work in this area. Meanwhile, the Office of Campus Sustainability
should design competitions designed to provide fun, interactive solutions to the
challenge of increasing sustainability practices on campus. These could involve
building or floor competitions to reduce waste, electricity use, or driving, and should be
accompanied by community-created information campaigns to encourage broad
participation and procedural knowledge.
To reduce the amount of unnecessary equipment and materials on campus (e.g.
printers, copiers), the culture team recommended that the Office of Campus Sustainability
design a system of incentives to encourage offices to share equipment. Finally, to address
the large amount of waste and energy used in laboratories, the team recommended that
the Office of Campus Sustainability work collaboratively with relevant schools and
departments, such as the medical school and the chemistry department. This should be
an arena in which labs throughout the campus can set attainable sustainability goals and
share ideas about how to achieve them. Through the above activities, members of the
campus community can develop knowledge of various environmentally responsible
processes and also experience social incentives to employ such knowledge. Also,
depending on the employee- or student-developed ideas, there may be substantial
material incentives to support the development of more sustainable behaviors.

Assessing and monitoring

To measure our progress in building a campus culture of sustainability, the culture
team recommended that UM carefully assess and monitor various aspects of this
culture. The university should support the development of a set of cultural metrics or
indicators aimed at such measurement. These indicators – which should be developed
through focus groups with the campus community and pilot-testing – could include
aspects of community members’ (including alumni) knowledge, behavior, and
engagement and would provide useful information to UM about how it might improve
its efforts to foster a culture of sustainability. In addition, the administration should
report these indicators publically as part of the UM’s annual sustainability report.
 IJSHE Furthermore, the culture team recommended that the UM undertake several
13,4 small-scale studies to assess the effects that certain sustainability interventions have on
individuals. For example, if the cultural liaison oversees the development of a
composting program or if Planet Blue tries to reduce energy consumption in several
buildings, the university should examine the effects that such programs have on
individuals’ environmental behavior, knowledge, and/or attitudes. At a more basic level,
374 such studies could determine how much of dorm composting or energy savings is
attributable to behavioral change. Furthermore, UM should examine potential barriers
to the development of pro-environment behaviors by administering periodic surveys to
relevant community members, such as employee and students who drive to campus and
do not take advantage of the bus system. Finally, to assess the environmental behavior
of occupants of new and renovated buildings, UM should conduct post-occupancy
evaluations (POE), an established procedure in architectural research that can determine
Downloaded by MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY At 06:10 30 January 2015 (PT)

the extent to which design objectives have been met (Table I). Such assessments would
provide useful information about the extent to which the university’s efforts to create a
culture of environmental sustainability succeed.

Summary and conclusion

Throughout the USA, many colleges and universities have undertaken serious efforts
to reduce their negative environmental impact while also reducing their energy costs.
At many institutions, the efforts to influence individuals’ behavior have often not been
prioritized as highly as technical adjustments. When there have been efforts to
influence the cultural aspects of environmental sustainability, they have been neither
comprehensive nor carefully assessed. The UM’s recent initial efforts to address the
cultural and behavioral aspects of environmental sustainability thus represent a
unique approach to addressing the environmental impact of campus communities.
In this paper, the authors described how their team at the UM developed
research-based recommendations for developing – and monitoring progress towards
developing – a culture of environmental sustainability among UM students, faculty,
and staff. Whereas the culture team recommended education and training programs to
strengthen campus community members’ issue-based and procedural knowledge, they
recommended specific engagement strategies for both building campus community
members’ knowledge and provide social and material incentives to behave in

Issue Procedural Material

Method/goal knowledge knowledge Prompts Social incentives incentives

Education/ Coursework; Eco-reps; Eco-reps

training eco-certification; eco-certification;
faculty procurement
development training
Table I. Engagement Cultural liaison Cultural Cultural liaison; Competitions;
Summary liaison; competitions; unit unit initiatives
recommendations for competitions initiatives
fostering a campus Assessment/ Cultural Cultural Cultural Cultural indicators Cultural
culture of sustainability, monitoring indicators; indicators; indicators; indicators;
categorized by method alumni survey alumni survey; POE barrier
and goal POE surveys
 environmentally sustainable ways (Table I). Meanwhile, the culture team strongly Campus culture
recommended that the UM study the impact of the interventions it chooses to implement of environmental
by designing, piloting, and employing assessments to measure cultural change.
The authors expect that the UM will pursue several of the team’s recommendations as it sustainability
selects among the numerous recommendations (in various categories, such as food
purchasing and new construction policies) of the entire IA.
When institutions consider how to become more environmentally sustainable, it is 375
important that they consider the cultural aspects of environmental sustainability.
Whereas technical adjustments can help to reduce energy costs in the short term,
widespread awareness of and engagement in environmental sustainability may lead to
ongoing progress towards reducing waste, energy use, and resource depletion. The
authors believe that the work of the culture team at the UM can serve as a guide for
how institutions interested in fostering a culture of environmental sustainability might
Downloaded by MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY At 06:10 30 January 2015 (PT)

approach this potential transition. Because of their recommendations’ grounding in

research, these or similar recommendations may be useful at other institutions of
higher learning or perhaps in other educational or corporate contexts. Such institutions
must first consider their existing capacity, needs, and programs, and then can explore
how to leverage those resources to support cultural change. If institutions worldwide
were to undertake this cultural challenge, we may witness the vital long-term progress
necessary for environmental sustainability.

References
Abrahamse, W., Steg, L., Vlek, C. and Rothengatter, T. (2005), “A review of intervention studies
aimed at household energy conservation”, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 25,
pp. 273-91.
Aronson, E. and O’Leary, M. (1982-1983), “The relative effectiveness of models and prompts on
energy conservation: a field experiment in a shower room”, Journal of Environmental
Systems, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 219-24.
Ayotte, I., Charette, C., Cordone, J., Cote, K., Gallant, J., Hayes, W., Kornstadt, D. and Nappi, K.
(2006), Flip It, Switch It, Turn It Off: USM Marketing Students Launch Social Marketing
Pilot Campaign to Reduce Campus Electricity Use and Carbon Emissions, University of
Southern Maine, Portland.
Brio, J.A.D., Junquera, B. and Ordiz, M. (2008), “Human resources in advanced environmental
approaches: a case analysis”, International Journal of Production Research, Vol. 46 No. 21,
pp. 6029-53.
Cialdini, R. (2003), “Crafting normative messages to protect the environment”, Current Directions
in Psychological Science, Vol. 12, pp. 105-9.
Daily, B.F. and Huang, S. (2001), “Achieving sustainability through attention to human resource
factors in environmental management”, International Journal of Operations & Production
Management, Vol. 21 No. 12, pp. 1539-52.
De Young, R. (1989-1990), “Promoting conservation behavior in shared spaces: the role of energy
monitors”, Journal of Environmental Systems, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 265-73.
De Young, R. (2000), “Expanding and evaluating motives for environmentally responsible
behavior”, in Zelezny, L. and Schultz, P. (Eds.), Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 56, pp. 509-26.
Edelstein, J., Marans, R.W., Strong, E., Huang, K. and Lu, T. (2011), “Attitudes, intentions,
& energy conservation behavior: case study of faculty and staff at the University of
Michigan”, unpublished manuscript.
 IJSHE Fishbein, M. and Ajzen, I. (2010), Predicting and Changing Behavior: The Reasoned Action
Approach, Psychology Press, New York, NY.
13,4 Geller, E.S. (1989), “Applied behavior analysis and social marketing: an integration for
environmental preservation”, Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 45 No. 1, pp. 17-36.
Harris, L.C. and Crane, A. (2000), “The greening of organizational culture: management views on
the depth, degree, and diffusion of change”, Journal of Organizational Change and
376 Management, Vol. 15 No. 3, pp. 214-34.
Hines, J., Hungerford, H. and Tomera, A. (1986-1987), “Analysis and synthesis of research on
environmental behavior: a meta-analysis”, Journal of Environmental Education, Vol. 18,
pp. 1-8.
Hopper, J.R. and Nielsen, J.M. (1991), “Recycling as altruistic behavior: normative and behavioral
strategies to expand participation in a community recycling program”, Environment
& Behavior, Vol. 23 No. 2, pp. 195-220.
Downloaded by MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY At 06:10 30 January 2015 (PT)

Irvine, K.N. and Kaplan, S. (2001), “Coping with change: the small experiment as a strategic
approach to environmental sustainability”, Environmental Management, Vol. 28 No. 6,
pp. 713-25.
Jabbour, C.J.C. (2010), “Greening of business schools: a systemic view”, International Journal of
Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 49-60.
Jabbour, C.J.C., Santos, F.C.A. and Nagano, M.S. (2008), “Environmental management system and
human resource practices: is there a link between them in four Brazilian companies?”,
Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 16, pp. 1922-5.
Katzev, R.D. and Mishima, H. (1992), “The use of posted feedback to promote recycling”,
Psychological Reports, Vol. 71, pp. 259-64.
Katzev, R.D. and Pardini, A.U. (1987), “The comparative effectiveness of reward and
commitment approaches in motivating community recycling”, Journal of Environmental
Systems, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 93-110.
McMakin, A. (2002), “Motivating residents to conserve energy without financial incentives”,
Environment & Behavior, Vol. 34, pp. 848-63.
Marans, R.W. and Edelstein, J.Y. (2010), “Human dimensions of energy conservation and
sustainability: a case study of the University of Michigan’s energy conservation program”,
International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 6-18.
Parnell, R. and Larsen, O.P. (2005), “Informing the development of domestic energy efficiency
initiatives: an everyday householder-centered framework”, Environment & Behavior,
Vol. 37, pp. 787-807.
Ramsey, C. and Rickson, R. (1977), “Environmental knowledge and attitudes”, Journal of
Environmental Education, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 24-9.
Recyclemania (2011), Recyclemania General Overview, available at: www.recyclemania.com
(accessed 6 April 2011).
Renwick, D., Redman, T. and Maguire, S. (2008), “Green HRM: a review, process model, and
research agenda”, Discussion Paper Series, University of Sheffield Management School.
Ryan, R. and Deci, E. (2000), “When rewards compete with nature: the undermining of intrinsic
motivation and self-regulation”, in Sansone, C. and Harackiewicz, J. (Eds), Intrinsic and
Extrinsic Motivation: The Search for Optimal Motivation and Performance, Academic
Press, San Diego, CA, pp. 13-54.
Scavia, D. (2010), “The gulf of Mexico dead zone: mess, problem, or puzzle?”, in Perry, I.W.H. and
Day, F. (Eds), Issues of the Day: 1000 Commentaries on Climate, Energy, the Environment,
Transportation, and Public Health Policy, RFF Press, Washington, DC.
 Staats, H., Harland, P. and Wilke, H. (2004), “Effecting durable change: a team approach to Campus culture
improve environmental behavior in the household”, Environment & Behavior, Vol. 36 No. 3,
pp. 341-67. of environmental
UC Berkeley (2010), The Green Initiative Fund Website, available at: http://tgif.berkeley.edu/ sustainability
drupal-6.4/?q¼node/18 (accessed 16 May 2010).
UM (2007), Annual Environmental Report, University of Michigan, available at: www.oseh.
umich.edu/pdf/2007AER.pdf (accessed 14 April 2011). 377
Further reading
Castle, B. (2005), Introduction to Web Services for Remote Portlets, available at: www-128.ibm.
com/developerworks/library/ws-wsrp/ (accessed 12 November 2007).
Grand Valley State University (2008), Sustainability Indicator Report, available at: www.
Downloaded by MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY At 06:10 30 January 2015 (PT)

gvsu.edu/cms3/assets/1ACDDEF0-A15A-67B1-F268BE06B2416593/documents/2008-
sustainability-indicator-report.pdf (accessed 13 October 2010).
Sustainable Endowments Institute (2008), College Sustainability Report Card 2009,
Sustainable Endowments Institute, Cambridge, MA.
Tilman, D., Cassman, K., Matson, P., Naylor, R. and Polasky, S. (2002), “Agricultural
sustainability and intensive production practices”, Nature, Vol. 418, pp. 671-7.
United Nations (2009), The United Nations World Water Development Report, available at: www.
unesco.org/water/wwap/wwdr/ (accessed 10 September 2010).
University of Michigan Student Sustainability Initiative (2010), Small Grant Funding, available
at: www.umich.edu/, umssi/funding.html (accessed 13 March 2010).

About the authors

Brett L.M. Levy recently earned his doctorate in Educational Studies at the University of
Michigan and is currently a visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
His research examines how educational programs and institutions can support individuals’ and
communities’ environmental and civic engagement, and he has worked on environmental and
civic education programs in Michigan, California and other parts of the USA. Brett L.M. Levy is
the corresponding author and can be contacted at: bmlevy@wisc.edu
Dr Robert W. Marans is a Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research and a
Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Urban Planning in the Taubman College of Architecture
and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan. He is the author or co-author of eight books
and more than 100 articles and technical reports. He currently serves on the editorial boards of
several professional journals and has lectured extensively throughout the USA and in Europe,
Asia, South Africa, South America, Australia, and the Middle East.

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com

Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints
 This article has been cited by:

1. K. Ceulemans, I. Molderez, L. Van Liedekerke. 2014. Sustainability reporting in higher education: a

comprehensive review of the recent literature and paths for further research. Journal of Cleaner Production
. [CrossRef]
2. Clemens Mader, Geoffrey Scott and Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, Miklós Antal. 2013. The “Greenest
Department Competition”: an exemplary student-led project. Sustainability Accounting, Management and
Policy Journal 4:3, 366-383. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
3. Brett L.M. Levy, Michaela T. Zint. 2013. Toward fostering environmental political participation:
framing an agenda for environmental education research. Environmental Education Research 19, 553-576.
[CrossRef]
4. Kevin D. Marquardt, Merry L. Rankin, William W. Simpkins. 2013. Town Meets Gown: Creating a
Collaborative Process for Expanding a University’s Recycling Program While Supporting a City’s Waste
Downloaded by MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY At 06:10 30 January 2015 (PT)

Diversion Efforts. Sustainability: The Journal of Record 6:2, 104-114. [CrossRef]