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2013 Spring | Education & Outreach, Sustainability

Finding the Cure for Unsustainable Behaviors

Student(s):

Matthew Calantas

Program or Department(s):

  • Program on the Environment
  • University of Washington

Site supervisor(s):

Melissa Winters

Partner(s):

  • United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10

Faculty advisor(s):

Kevin Laverty, School of Business, University of Washington

My internship with the EPA offered me the opportunity to assist with a few different environmental programs designed to increase participation in sustainable behaviors. This led me to wonder: what is the most effective strategy that the federal government can use to increase sustainable behaviors? After reviewing case studies on environmental programs that utilize some sort of behavioral treatment or intervention, I established several common behavior change models that many behavioral programs tend to fall under. I evaluated each category and found that Community-Based Social Marketing was the most ideal model for the government to implement.