Program on the Environment

Encouraging pro-environment behavior is an issue that has become much more topical in recent years, and will have a large impact on the outcome of climate change. The motivation of this study was to determine what programs incentivize individuals to increase pro-environmental behaviors in the hope of decreasing individuals environmental impact. The purpose of this study was to determine whether incentive based programs have an influence on an individual’s proenvironment behaviors. The case study being considered was through an internship with Sustainable Ballard with their RainWise Outreach Team. A survey was administered to homeowners with existing RainWise systems (rain garden or cistern) that tried to determine whether joining the program had any influence on their behavior. The survey assessed behaviors and motivations before and after individuals became involved in the program. Although majority of the homeowners showed signs of pro-environment behavior before becoming involved in the program, there was a subgroup of households that were motivated most by the financial incentive. This subgroup showed the largest signs of increasing pro-environment behavior. The significance of this research is that we now know more about how incentive based programs can help to influence individual’s behavior to act more environmentally conscious. Encouraging this behavior is an important factor in helping mitigate climate change. Through determining what influences individuals to become more environmentally conscious, we can target individuals that are motivated by financial incentives to increase the amount of pro-environment behaviors they partake in.