Sustainability Survey Findings Elon Students I. Goals and Objectives A. Background Sustainability is a topic that is drawing a lot of media attention in today’s society. People are paying attention to environmental issues more than ever before. Over the past several years, Elon University has been working towards making its campus more sustainable. The sustainability efforts are a large part in response to students’ demands for Elon to be more environmentally responsible. However, student awareness on the sustainability topic seems to be low. The main focus of this study is to determine the awareness level and current attitudes and behaviors of Elon students about the sustainability plans on campus. The campus has taken many steps towards improving sustainability, yet many students are unaware of these initiatives. The purpose of our study is to determine what factors influence students to participate in sustainable behaviors in addition to understanding their current awareness level. B. Research Questions and Hypothesis
After formulating our research objective, we developed the following research questions: 1. Why do students participate in sustainability efforts? 2. Are students willing to change their behaviors regarding sustainability? 3. How aware are students of Elon’s current sustainability efforts? What are the current attitudes? 4. What factors influence participation (e.g. demographics, gender, how they view the issue, importance of the issue to them)? 5. What sustainable behaviors do students engage in?
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The research questions listed above are relevant in helping us identify students’ current awareness level, attitudes and behaviors regarding sustainability on campus. It is important to understand what factors play a role in influencing students to participate in sustainability behaviors on campus. By determining these factors, we will better understand the appropriate actions that can further be taken by the school to encourage students to participate in sustainability initiatives. We formulated five hypotheses to test with our survey. 1. If students are aware of sustainability efforts, then they are more likely to participate. 2. If students are seniors, then they will know more of Elon’s sustainability efforts. 3. If sustainability efforts are convenient to students, then they will be more likely to participate. 4. Students who view sustainability as important will be more likely to view sustainability issues as being only environmental. 5. Students who view sustainability as unimportant will be more likely to view sustainability issues as being only political. To be sure that students understood what we meant when we used the term ‘sustainable’, we conceptually defined it as referring to environmentally friendly behaviors such as recycling, reducing water consumption and reducing energy consumption. II. Methodology A. Sampling Plan 1) The population of our study consisted of 100 Elon University students. Our survey consisted of 81.4% female and 18.6% male. Students ranging from every grade level responded to the survey. 2) The sampling frame consisted of a variety of our student organizations, classes, as well as friends. The student organizations ranged from English minors to SHARE to ESTV PR.
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3) The procedure we used for drawing the sample was non-probability. This was due to the fact that not all students had an opportunity to participate in this survey since we only sent the survey to the students we were affiliated with. Our sample was a convenience sample because we chose groups that we had email lists for. 4) Our survey was emailed to a variety of on-campus organizations and sent in a message to friends via Facebook. We sent our survey to a total of 523 people. We expected about a 19 percent response rate, giving us 100 respondents. This gave us a confidence interval of 9.8 percent at a 95 percent confidence level. B. Questionnaire Administration Plan 1) All of our surveys were distributed through email via Blackboard and messages via Facebook. Blackboard is an online tool provided by the university that allows students to send mass emails to their organizations and classmates. Facebook is a social networking site that allows members to send messages to friends and groups. 2) The procedure for reducing non responses and increasing response rates were as follows: a. Telling students that the survey would only take a few minutes and it was only ten questions in length b. Assuring students of confidentiality c. Telling students that this survey was for a class project d. Emphasizing that their responses would help us complete our project III. Survey Questionnaire *Note: the colors for the questions below correspond to the colors of related survey questions in the survey questionnaire. • • •
Why do students participate in sustainability efforts? Are students willing to change their behaviors regarding sustainability? How aware are students of Elon’s current sustainability efforts? 3
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What factors influence participation (e.g. demographics, gender, how they view the issue, importance of the issue to them)? What sustainable behaviors do students engage in?
*Note: When we use the term ‘sustainable’ in this survey, we are referring to environmentally friendly behaviors such as recycling, reducing water consumption and reducing energy consumption. 1. How important is being sustainable to you? ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Very important Somewhat important Not very important Not at all important No opinion
2. How would you rate Elon’s current efforts of being sustainable? ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Excellent Good Average Fair Poor
3. Which of the following sustainability facts are you aware of on Elon’s campus? Check all that apply: ___ Elon plans to reduce energy usage by 6% this year. ___ 85% of the water used for irrigation on campus is from the lakes on our campus. All of this water is recycled – only 15% of the water used for irrigation comes from the city. ___ Elon has reduced its CO2 emissions by 62% in the past year by employing eco-friendly vehicles on campus. ___ Implementation of the print management system last year cut printer use by 70%. ___ There are over 200 places to recycle on campus. ___ As a part of RecycleMania last year, 14,610 lbs of waste was recycled in just eight weeks. ___ Surplus of food in our campus dining facilities will now be donated to the needy in our community. 4. How frequently do you participate in the following behaviors? Never Rarely Sometimes Usually Always I recycle/reuse paper I recycle cans/bottles I recycle batteries, print cartridges, cell phones, etc. I turn off the lights when I leave the room I turn off my computer when not in use 4
I limit the amount of water I use I take the bus, carpool, bike or walk to school I park on campus after 5:30 because I don’t feel like walking/taking the bus I throw away food I don’t eat at campus dining facilities 5. How much influence do the following factors have in determining whether or not you will be sustainable? Not influential at all
Somewhat influential
Very influential
Not sure
Convenience Cost (ex. gas prices, water bill, etc.) Personal habits Personal Values Guilt Family/upbringing Behaviors of others Campus policies Peer encouragement Elon encouragement Media encouragement Other________ 6. Would you be willing to live more sustainably? ___ Yes ___ No ___ Maybe Why? (state reason) 7. Which of the following policies do you feel would be reasonable for Elon to implement in order to encourage environmentally-friendly behaviors among students? (Yes or No) ___ Setting a limit on the amount of water students can consume and charging extra after they exceed that limit. ___ Offering more recycling options on campus (e.g. cardboard, plastic bags, Styrofoam, etc.) ___ Allowing students to serve themselves at all-you-can-eat dining halls, so that they are not given more food than they can consume ___ Implementing recyclable packaging at quick-eat dining facilities such as Octagon and Acorn 5
___ Pushing back the hours of on campus student parking to 7:30pm in order to encourage more environmentally-friendly means of traveling ___ Charging/punishing students when they throw away recyclable items ___ Employing a sustainability section in health/wellness classes to inform students about the harmful effects of non-sustainable behavior ___ Requiring professors to only accept papers electronically ___ Offering rewards/incentives to students who exhibit sustainable behavior
8. How do you view sustainability issues? ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
As a political issue As an environmental issue Both Neither Other – please specify
9. What is your gender? ___ Male ___ Female 10. What is your class rank? ___ ___ ___ ___
Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior
IV. Data Analysis/Detailed Findings Overall, our survey found that the majority of students (90.9%) consider being sustainable somewhat important or very important. Only two percent of students surveyed considered being sustainable not important at all. The next question in the survey asked students to rate how they viewed Elon’s current sustainability efforts. The majority of students (64.6%) consider Elon’s current efforts to be good. The second highest answer was average with 22.2 percent. Only one person ranked Elon’s sustainability efforts as being poor. Therefore, according to the data, a majority of the students ranked Elon’s current sustainability efforts as being good or excellent. 6
Respondents were then asked to identify sustainability facts that they were aware of on Elon’s campus. The fact students were most aware of (82.1%) was that 85 percent of the water used for irrigation comes from lakes on campus. The second most identified fact (77.9%) was that the print management system reduced printer use by 70 percent last year. We believe that this is likely due to the fact that Elon has recently taken steps to promote this information, either though email or posts on E-net.
In addition to presenting students with six facts, we also included a fake fact. This choice was made up by us to see if students would check answers that sounded correct. The fake fact that we included was that “Elon is recognized as a ‘Green Campus’ by the ACUPCC.” 7
Surprisingly, 32.6 percent of respondents identified this choice. Ironically enough, it was the forth most identified fact from the list of seven choices. This makes us question whether or not respondents really knew about the other facts presented.
Chart 2: Comparison of Year in School With Number of Sustainability Facts Known
Zero
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Total
Freshma n
1 (6.25%)
3 (18.75%)
5 (31.25%)
6 (37.5%)
1 (6.25%)
0
0
16
Sopho more
3 (10.71%)
0
8 (28.57%)
7 (25%)
4 (14.29%)
4 (14.29%)
2 (7.14%)
28
Junior
0
3 (9.68%)
6 (19.35%)
9 (29.03%)
11 (35.45%)
2 (6.45%)
0
31
Senior
0
2 9.09%)
7 (31.82%)
6 (27.27%)
6 (27.27%)
0
1 (4.55%)
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In the chart above, we cross-tabulated the respondent’s year in school with the number of sustainability facts they were aware of. We were looking to see if year in school corresponded to a greater amount of facts known. We excluded the fake fact in tabulating the chart. A majority of juniors and seniors were aware of four or fewer facts and a majority of freshmen were aware of three or fewer facts. The amount of facts that sophomores were aware of were more evenly dispersed. Out of the years surveyed, the sophomores had the highest percentage of people who knew about all six facts (7.14%), but they also had the highest percentage of people who were aware of zero facts (10.71%). We believe the reason the sophomores had the highest percentage of six facts known is due to the fact that most have lived on campus for two consecutive years. During this time, Elon has worked to promote its sustainability efforts. We believe that students on campus are more likely to pay attention to changes that occur at Elon than those that live off campus. 8
Chart 3: Frequency of Sustainability Behaviors Never
Rarely
So metim es
Usually
Always
I recycle/reuse paper
1.0% (1)
6.1% (6)
25.3% (25)
47.5% (47)
20.2% (20)
I recycle cans/bottles
2.0% (2)
4.0% (4)
10.1% (10)
33.3% (33)
50.5% (50)
I recycle batteries, print cartridges, cell phones, etc.
17.2% (17)
17.2% (17)
28.3% (28)
22.2% (22)
15.2% (15)
I turn off lights when I leave the room
1.0% (1)
2.0% (2)
7.1% (7)
42.4% (42)
47.5% (47)
I turn off my computer when not in use
15.2% (15)
38.4% (38)
23.2% (23)
11.1% (11)
12.1% (12)
I put my computer in sle ep mode when not in use
11.1% (11)
17.2% (17)
12.1% (12)
32.3% (32)
27.3% (27)
I limit the a mount of water I use
4.0% (4)
15.2% (15)
40.4% (40)
28.3% (28)
12.1% (12)
I take the bus, carpool, bike, or walk to school
10.1% (10)
6.1% (6)
12.1% (12)
30.3% (30)
41.4% (41)
I drive to campus after 5 p.m. because I don't feel like walking/taking the bus
26.3% (26)
23.2% (23)
15.2% (15)
21.2% (21)
14.1% (14)
The next question the respondents were asked was about frequency of sustainability behaviors. We asked respondents to identify how often they participate in nine different sustainable behaviors. Out of the nine behaviors, respondents identified five behaviors in which they usually or always participate. The behaviors in which students sometimes or rarely participate in include turning off their computer when not in use, limiting the amount of water 9
they use and recycling batteries, print cartridges, cell phones, etc. Overall, the behavior that received the highest percentage (50.5%) of people who always participate was recycling of cans and bottles. The behavior that received the second highest percentage (47.5%) of people who always participate was turning off lights when leaving the room. One of the behaviors we asked students about was whether or not they drove to campus after 5 p.m. Surprisingly, the majority of students responded never or rarely (49.5%) to this behavior. This is likely due to the fact that the majority of students live on or around campus. Overall, six of the nine behaviors that students identified with were in favor of being sustainable. This could be due to the fact that the majority of respondents identify being sustainable as somewhat important or very important (90.9%). In the next question, respondents were asked to identify how much influence certain factors had in determining whether or not they would be sustainable. Chart 4: Influence on Sustainable Behaviors Not Influential at all
So mewhat Influential
Very Influential
Not sure
Co nvenience
5.1% (5)
37.4% (37)
56.6% (56)
1.0% (1)
Cost (e.g. gas prices, water bills, etc.)
4.0% (4)
28.3% (28)
67.7% (67)
0.0% (0)
Personal Habits (e.g. always recycle, etc.)
3.0% (3)
30.3% (30)
64.6% (64)
2.0% (2)
Personal Values
2.0% (2)
30.6% (30)
66.3% (65)
1.0% (1)
Guilt
20.2% (20)
52.5% (52)
25.3% (25)
2.0% (2)
Family/Upbringing
9.1% (9)
46.5% (46)
43.4% (43)
1.0% (1)
Behaviors of Others
23.2% (23)
58.6% (58)
18.2% (18)
0.0% (0)
Ca mpus Policies
25.3% (25)
59.6% (59)
14.1% (14)
1.0% (1)
Peer Encouragem ent
13.1% (13)
54.5% (54)
30.3% (30)
2.0% (2)
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Elon Encouragem ent
21.2% (21)
55.6% (55)
21.2% (21)
2.0% (2)
Media Encourageme nt
17.3% (17)
60.2% (59)
20.4% (20)
2.0% (2)
Other
22.2% (8)
25.0% (9)
0.0% (0)
52.8% (19)
The most influential factor was cost (67.7%). Convenience at 56.6 percent, personal habits at 64.6 percent and personal values at 66.3 percent were among the top rated factors for influencing sustainable behaviors. We had hypothesized that convenience would be one of the most influential factors. Campus policies ranked the lowest for being very influential at 14.1 percent. The category that ranked the highest for being not influential at all was also campus policies at 25.3 percent. The highest ranking factor that was somewhat influential was media at 60.2 percent. Other factors that ranked high as being somewhat influential included guilt, family/upbringing, behavior of others, campus policies, peer encouragement, Elon encouragement and media encouragement. In regards to the three types of encouragement, peer encouragement ranked the highest in the category of very influential (30.3%). The next highest was Elon encouragement with 21.2 percent and a close third was media encouragement at 20.4 percent. The next question asked whether students would be willing to live more sustainably. The majority of students (81.8%) responded that they would be willing to live more sustainably. Only two percent of students responded that they would not be more willing to live sustainably. Students who answered maybe made up 16.2 percent. We received 26 explanations from students in the why section of this question. Many of the explanations referenced the fact that being sustainable is for the betterment of the earth and future generations. 11
The next question asked students to identify hypothetical policies that the school could implement to encourage sustainable behavior.
A majority of the respondents identified that having more recycling options would encourage them to participate in more environmentally friendly behavior (89.8%). Our results show that 88.8 percent of students would like to see more recyclable packaging at places such as Octagon and Acorn. The hypothetical policies that received the lowest support were setting a limit on the amount of water students could consume and charging extra after a student exceeded the limit 12
(15.3%) and pushing back the hours for on-campus parking (22.4%). Overall, five of the seven possible policies received more than a majority of student support.
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Chart 6: Comparison of Sustainability Importance and View of Sustainability Very Important
So mewhat Important
Not Very Important
Not At All Important
No Opinion
0
0
1 (14.29%)
1 (50%)
0
Environmental
9 (27.27%)
21 (37.5%)
1 (14.29%)
0
0
Both
23 (69.7%)
35 (62.5%)
3 (42.86%)
1 (50%)
0
1 (3%)
1 (1.79%)
2 (28.57%)
0
0
33 (100%)
57 (100%)
7 (100%)
2 (100%)
0
Political
Neither Total
In the chart above, we cross-tabulated the importance of sustainability to the respondent with the respondent’s view of sustainability. In the survey, the majority (62.6%) of respondents viewed sustainability issues as both a political issue and an environmental issue. Only two percent of respondents viewed it as solely a political issue, while 31.3 percent viewed it as solely an environmental issue and four percent viewed sustainability as neither. Of those that viewed sustainability as very important, 69.7 percent viewed it as both a political and environmental issue. Not one respondent who viewed sustainability as very important or somewhat important thought it was solely a political issue. However, 27.27 percent of respondents who viewed it as very important and 35.7 percent of respondents who viewed it as somewhat important saw it as solely an environmental issue. The majority of people who viewed it as somewhat important (62.5%) and not very important (42.86%) also saw it as both a political and environmental issue. Respondents were also asked to fill in basic demographic information. The percentage of respondents that were female was 81.4 percent, while only 18.6 percent of respondents were males. This discrepancy could be due in large part to the organizations that we sent our survey to since a majority of the members are females. 14
We also asked respondents to identify their year in school. The percentage of freshmen that responded was 16.5 percent; the percentage of sophomores that responded was 28.9 percent; the percentage of juniors that responded was 32 percent; the percentage of seniors that responded was 22.7 percent. Unlike gender, year in school was very dispersed among respondents. V. Implications/Knowledge Gained Our main objective with this study was to understand what factors influence students to participate in sustainable behavior as well as to understand their current awareness levels of sustainability efforts on campus. The information we gained from this survey provided us with data on both of these objectives. Overall, we learned that students view sustainability as an important issue and are generally aware of sustainability efforts on campus. A number of factors influence whether or not students participate in sustainable behaviors, but the most influential seem to be convenience, cost, personal habits and personal values. An overwhelming majority of students are willing to live more sustainably. However, respondents want Elon to implement more policies for students to take part in. The findings from our survey support the fact that a majority of students are already living sustainably. There are a number of actions they take on a daily basis that save energy, water and reduce waste. These actions include recycling, turning off lights and walking to campus. The primary motivator for students to participate in sustainable behaviors is cost. The majority of respondents view sustainability as both a political and environmental issue. This is an important concept to understanding how to encourage students to participate more often in sustainable behaviors. We found that an overwhelming majority of students are willing to live more sustainably. Our survey indicates that there are several steps Elon could take to improve its 15
sustainability efforts on campus. These include offering more recycling options, implementing recyclable packaging, allowing students to serve themselves at dining halls, offering rewards/incentives to students who exhibit sustainable behavior and requiring professors to accept papers electronically. If Elon really wants to reach its goal of reducing energy use on campus by 6 percent, it is important for them to have the support of the student body in these efforts. By implementing these suggested policies and promoting their current policies better, it is possible for students to develop a better attitude towards Elon and its sustainability efforts. Once students have adapted a more positive attitude, they are more likely to participate in the desired behaviors. VI. Shortcomings/Future Research One of the major limitations of our survey was that it was a non-probability sample, so the results cannot be generalized to the population. We only had access to email addresses of organizations and classes that we are currently members of. Therefore, all Elon students did not have a fair opportunity to participate in our survey. Also, our survey was limited to only 100 responses, so the sample size is small in relation to the entire Elon population. In the future, we would need to create a survey that would give every Elon student the opportunity to participate and a survey that could be taken by more than 100 people. Another problem with our research was that we had a much larger female response rate than male response rate to the survey. Elon’s female to male ratio is 60:40; however, approximately 80 percent of our responses were from females and only 20 percent were from males. This probably occurred because we sent the survey to organizations in groups that are predominately female. If we had sent the survey to the entire Elon population, our results would have likely been more representative of the female to male ratio on campus.
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Another limitation was providing students with a variety of facts and asking them to check all that they were aware of. By providing the facts for respondents to check, we could have been assisting them in their answers. Respondents may have also checked facts that simply sounded good and not ones they were already aware of. This is evidenced by the number of respondents who picked the fake fact on the survey. A way to correct this problem would have been to ask respondents to list the sustainability facts and/or efforts that they were aware of. However, by leaving the question open-ended, students may be more likely to skip the question since they do not want to spend the time answering it, or may be unclear on what the question is asking. In the future, research should focus on how to better promote sustainability efforts to students since the support of students is crucial to the success of any effort taken to promote sustainability. While our survey had a variety of limitations, we feel that we accomplished what we intended from the beginning and accumulated many relevant findings on Elon students and sustainability.
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