WATER - Greening Household Behaviour 2014
Transcript of WATER - Greening Household Behaviour 2014
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BETTER POLICIES FOR BETTER
POLICY HIGHLIGHTS
Towardsgreener
households
Water
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Water plays a crucial role in the development,growth and sustainability of local communities. Inrecent years, water scarcity has become a globalenvironmental problem. Expanding populationsand higher demand for water, together with morevolatile supplies, have made water managementan increasingly important issue for authoritiesworldwide. Global water use has been growing at
more than twice the rate of population increasein the last century and global water demandis projected to increase by 55% by 2050, due toburgeoning needs for manufacturing, energygeneration and household use.
EPIC survey respondents were asked abouttheir water-saving behaviour, their use of water-saving devices, their primary sources of drinkingwater (straight from the tap, bottled water, etc.)and their satisfaction with their tap water. Theresponses were cross-analysed with a wide rangeof attitudinal and socio-economic data for therespondent households.
Households can do more to save water
Water and the environment
FACTFILE
34% of respondent households haveinvested in low-volume or dual-flush toilets.
41% have invested in water flow restrictortaps or low-flow shower heads. Women and older
respondents are generally more likely to save water and
to invest in water-efficient equipment.
95% of surveyed households in Korea do notdrink the tap water, while in the Netherlands and Swedenthe figure is 10%. Households with children under five
years old, home-owners, and in an urban area are less likely
to drink water straight from the tap.
40% of surveyed households never collectrainwater or recycle waste water (see figure above).
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Collectrain wateror recycle
wastewater
Watergarden in
thecoolest
part of theday
Plug thesink whenwashing
the dishesby hand
Turn offthe water
whilebrushing
teeth
Takeshowers
instead ofbaths
Pe
rcentofrespondents
Never
Occasionally
Often
Always
Not applicable
Analysing attitudes to water
Personal behaviour and choices in daily life, from whatwe eat to how we get to work or heat our homes, have asignificant and growing effect on the environment. Butwhy are some households greener than others? And whatfactors motivate green household choices?
Answering these questions is vital for helping governments
design and target policies that promote greener behaviour.The OECDs Environmental Policy and Individual BehaviourChange (EPIC) survey is designed to do just that. Drawingon observations from over 12 000 respondents in 11 OECDcountries (Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Israel, Japan,Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland), thislarge-scale household survey conducted in 2011 exploreswhat drives household environmental behaviour and howpolicies may affect household decisions. It focuses on fiveareas in which households have significant environmentalimpact: energy, food, transport, waste and water.
This policy highlights points decision makers towardsways to design well-targeted and effective policies to greenhousehold water use.
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POLICYHIGHLIGHTS
What determines green behaviour?
Water charges. Households whose bill depends on actualwater consumption are significantly more likely to savewater and buy water-efficient devices.
Environmental concern. Those respondents whoare concerned about the environment and supportenvironmental organisations are also more likely to buywater-efficient devices and to use water-efficiency labels,
and less likely to drink bottled water.
Key issues for policy makers
Implement individual water metering across the board,charging households for water based on their actualconsumption, including a clear water billing mechanismfor households outlining their water consumption and
charges.
Combine price policies with awareness campaignson the environmental impact of water consumption(including buying bottled water), how to save water athome, and how to identify water-efficient equipment.Such campaigns could target men and young adults inparticular.
Expand the use of water efficiency labelling schemes forappliances: of the 11 countries surveyed, only Australia,Israel and the Netherlands currently have such schemes.
Improve objective information for households on the
quality of tap water, for example by distributing leafletsshowing the latest water quality data.
Consider the use of targeted grants and subsidies to helplow-income households and tenants buy water-efficientappliances. Non-targeted subsidy programmes may bewasteful.
The link between water charging and
water saving investments
Attitudes matter
The OECDs Environmental Policy and Individual Behaviour
Change (EPIC) surveys explore peoples attitudes to a
wide range of issues and their influence on environmental
behaviour. Their findings are important for helping
governments encourage greener behaviour by households.
For example, did you know that
Since the global financial crisis, more people now feel
that environmental issues should mainly be dealt with
by future generations?
Women are more likely to be environmentally
motivated than men?
There is an overall willingness to be green and to pay
more for environmentally-friendly choices?
Trust in government is a more powerful factor than
levels of university education in predicting whether
people believe climate change is man-made?
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01
02
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05
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09
Low volume or dual flushtoilets
Water flow restrictortaps/low flow shower
head
Water tank to collect rainwater
Water efficiency investments
How perceptions of tap water quality affect the
use of different types of drinking water
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
%o
frespondents
Satisfaction with tap water quality (Health)
0 = Not satisfied, 10 = Very satisfied
Straight from tap
Purified/filtered
Bottled (still)
Bottled (sparkling)
Natural source
Income and ownership status. Low-income householdsmore frequently engage in water-saving behaviour, butare less likely to invest in water efficiency improvements.Tenants do less to save water and make fewer financialinvestments in water efficiency than home owners.
Perceptions of tap water quality. Those respondents whoare not satisfied with the taste and the health impacts oftap water are more likely to drink bottled water.
te: Bars indicate the level of Spearman correlation between water efficiency investments
d unit pricing. The higher the correlation the stronger the link between unit pricing and
ter efficiency investments. The Spearman correlation is similar to a standard correlation
oth measure how closely two variables move with each other), but the Sp earman correlation
often used to examine the relationships between attitudinal data.
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BETTER POLICIES FOR BETTER LIVES
This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-
General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and
arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the
official views of the Organisation or of the governments of its
member countries. This document and any map included
herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty
over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiersand boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.
December 2014
OECD (2014), Greening HouseholdBehaviour: Overview from the 2011
Survey, Revised Edition,OECD Studies
on Environmental Policy and Household
Behaviour, OECD Publishing, Paris,
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264
181373-en.
ALSO IN THIS POLICY HIGHLIGHTS SERIES:
Towards greener households: energy
Towards greener households: food
Towards greener households: transport
Towards greener households: waste
For more information:
www.oecd.org/
www.oecd.org/env/consumption-innovation/
greening-household-behaviour-2014.htm
Photos: Artisticco/Shutterstock.com
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264181373-enhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264181373-enhttp://www.oecd.org/http://www.oecd.org/env/consumption-innovation/greening-household-behaviour-2014.htmhttp://www.oecd.org/env/consumption-innovation/greening-household-behaviour-2014.htmhttp://www.oecd.org/env/consumption-innovation/greening-household-behaviour-2014.htmhttp://www.oecd.org/env/consumption-innovation/greening-household-behaviour-2014.htmhttp://www.oecd.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264181373-enhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264181373-en