A STUDY ON LIFESTYLES PROMOTING ENERGY-SAVING

Focusing on people's values, energy-cognition and energy consumption among two-generation families in Tokyo Metropolitan Region

Abstract

 The dissemination of energy-saving lifestyles is a policy agenda under Japanese strategic energy plans. Increased importance has also been placed on household sector in terms of tackling global warming. With an aim to understand lifestyles promoting energy-saving, the effects of people’s values and energy cognition on energy-saving behavior and energy consumption were analyzed in this study. Specifically, this study follows the authors’ previous work whereby the conceptual framework states that socially oriented values are related to factors that form energy-attitude and therefore a higher level of behavioral intention and actual behaviors taken, whereas personally oriented values form behavioral intention without a corresponding development of energy-attitude and are thus more energy consuming.

 An internet-based questionnaire was conducted in February 2019, targeting two-generation families residing in Tokyo Metropolitan region. A two-phased approach - a screening process before the main survey- to ensure the aimed target would be recruited. The screening conditions included Place of residence, family member constructs (i.e. two generations family), opinion on future energy choice for Japan as according to the national debate in 2012 after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima Nuclear accident, and finally availability of electricity / gas bills in 2018. The main survey asked 20 items on people’s values, 30 items on energy cognition, behavioral intention and the level of action on 19 specific energy-saving behaviors, energy consumption data for 2018 (separately for electricity and gas), other questions related to energy/Earthquake, etc., and demographic facts. Factor scores and sub-scale points were used for comparison by value clusters, where IBM SPSS 25 was used for statistical analyses.

 The results show that effects of social, namely self-transcendent, values was evident for formation of behavioral intention, but this was not the case when dependent variables were changed to action, then to energy consumption. Instead, more personally oriented values, namely openness to change, was influencing on people to take actions, whereby no “value” variables were noted to be influencing energy consumption. This in all suggest that the influence of people’s values were limited, as compared to other factors known to be influencing energy-saving behavior and especially energy consumption. Having social values per se does not lead to taking action, whereas “openness to change” values, a construct of personal values with tendency to be open to new ideas and to behave according to one’s own thoughts, are likely to influence people to take actions, providing implications for environmental education and policy.