Recent events involving climate change, environmental degradation, and biodiversity loss have made clear that conserving natural resources and changing individual behavior are urgent issues. However, although we are learning more and more about the importance of sustainability, there are numerous psychological barriers that prevent people from taking action to the extent necessary to secure sustainable development.
This line of research focuses on identifying and devising strategies to address the barriers to sustainable action on three fronts:
- Exploring whether people have an accurate view of the social groups and practices most responsible for the environmental degradation.
- Examining how to increase the salience and relevance of sustainability during consumption.
- Investigating current practices adopted by companies and policymakers such as green labels and carbon offsetting.