How Green is Household Behaviour?
Sustainable Choices in a Time of Interlocking Crises
Household choices – such as what to eat, how to get to work and how to heat our homes
– have significant implications for the environment. With the urgency of environmental
action and the need to shift to more sustainable consumption patterns, making more
sustainable choices holds great potential to reduce environmental impacts. Yet in
the context of interlocking crises, governments face challenges in supporting households
with policies that realise this potential.
How Green is Household Behaviour? presents an overview of results from the 2022 OECD
Survey on Environmental Policies and Individual Behaviour Change. The survey investigates
household attitudes and behaviour with respect to energy, transport, waste and food
systems. It was carried out across more than 17 000 households in 9 countries, including
Belgium, Canada, Israel, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United
Kingdom and the United States. The data collected also include information on self-reported
motivations and barriers to change, providing a unique source of empirical evidence
to inform policy efforts to shift to more sustainable consumption patterns.
Published on June 13, 2023Also available in: French
In series:OECD Studies on Environmental Policy and Household Behaviourview more titles