Exploring the Socio-cultural Factors, Other Barriers and Facilitators of Pro-Environmental Behaviour among Singaporeans: A Qualitative Approach

Abstract

Despite the plethora of pro-environmental behaviour studies, a review of literature revealed a dearth of studies on pro-environmental behaviour in urban cities in Asia. Given the escalating rate of economic growth in Asian cities, environmental needs have taken a backseat prompting an urgent need to understand better how pro-environmental behaviour can be facilitated among Asian city dwellers. Secondly, there is a lack of studies exploring lay public’s perceptions of existing pro-environmental campaigns. Thirdly, there is an over-reliance on quantitative research methods in pro-environmental behaviour studies. Based on these gaps, the purpose for this research was to; firstly, explore in-depth the barriers and facilitators of pro-environmental behaviour in Singapore, an urban city in Asia. Secondly, this research aimed to understand directly from the lay public on their perceptions of pro-environmental campaigns. Thirty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with Singaporeans aged 18 years and above. The primary findings for this study were; family lays the foundation for pro-environmental behaviour to occur, environmental concern facilitates pro-environmental behaviour and infrastructure systems and work centric culture inhibit pro-environmental behaviour. In relation to pro-environmental campaign perceptions, participants were mostly found to be not in favour of pro-environmental campaigns with no personal impact on their behaviours.