PEOPLE who take short showers and recycle may think they’re doing their bit for the environment, but a leading expert said they’re doing more harm than good.
Professor John Thgersen, of Aarhus University, Denmark, was a guest at two seminars late last month hosted by BehaviourWorks Australia, a joint venture between the Monash Sustainability Institute, the EPA and The Shannon Company.
He said encouraging people to make small and easy changes to help the environment gave people a false idea of the scale of their contributions: “Some evidence suggests that people who adopt one green behaviour may feel like they’ve done enough, environmentally, and not undertake any more important environmental actions,” Professor Thgersen said.
He said small steps were important, but they needed to be taken in conjunction with larger changes, such as fitting buildings with solar panels and double-glazed windows, and driving cars that use less fuel.
“It’s imperative that we understand what drives sustainable behaviour and use this knowledge to build more effective campaigns.”
Friends of the Earth campaigns co-ordinator Cam Walker agreed there was an element of “lazy environmentalism”.
“You’ve got to encourage people to do the first step and get their own house in order. It’s not the solution, but we shouldn’t dismiss it,” he said.
State government funding body Sustainability Victoria declined to comment.
