Understanding Sustainability
at Elon University
FIELDING DETAILS: SAMPLE: 100 Elon University students from all grade levels and of both genders (for each survey). METHODOLOGY: A 10-question survey hosted on Surveymonkey.com, distributed via e-mail and Facebook. DATA COLLECTED: General questions regarding student behaviors, attitudes and influencing factors in relation to sustainability. FINDINGS:
STUDY OVERVIEW: Sustainability is a topic that is drawing a lot of media attention in today’s society. Over the past several years, Elon University has been working toward making its campus more sustainable. The purpose of this study was to determine the awareness level, current attitudes and behaviors of Elon students towards sustainability efforts on Elon’s campus. This information could be used by the Elon University administration to implement more effective policies that encourage student participation.
• 90.9% of students considered sustainability to be very important or somewhat important. • 67.7% of students listed “cost” as the most influential factor in determining whether or not they are sustainable. • 81.8% of students said they would be willing to live more sustainably. • Approximately 48% of students said they always recycle bottles and cans. • 53% of students said there are not enough recycling receptacles available on campus. • 62.6% of students viewed sustainability issues as both a political issue and an environmental issue. • Democrats turned off the lights and recycled cans and bottles more often than Republicans, but Republicans turned off their computers and recycled paper more often than Democrats. • 88% of students agreed or strongly agreed that they turned off their lights when not in use.
Understanding Sustainability
at Elon University
IMPLICATIONS AND RESEARCH: 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. 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 important to understanding how to encourage students to participate in sustainable behaviors. An overwhelming majority of students are willing to live more sustainably. However, students want Elon to implement more policies for students to take part in.