Sandrine Gombert-Courvoisier

Citizens’ environmental awareness and responsibility at local level

Citizens have a key role to play in preserving the quality of their local environment. In this article, we examine the relationship between the perception of local ecological risks linked with consumption activities – what we call local ecological awareness – and recognition of a shared environmental responsibility. This study is based on the results of a survey (n = 107) carried out in a peri-urban area close to Bordeaux (South West France). Results show that citizens are able to identify to some extent the local ecological risks linked with household consumption and that they are somewhat distrustful of the environmental commitment of their fellow citizens. The ‘aware’ group (44% of those surveyed) attributes a greater responsibility for local environmental management to households than the ‘optimists’ (27%) and the ‘suspicious’ (29%) groups. Recommendations are made to encourage better involvement on the part of citizens in local environmental management, adapted to the different levels of awareness.

How Do Households Perceive Risks at the Scale of the Environment in Their Own Home

Improving housing performance in ecological terms is a major objective of sustainable development policies. This paper looks at the perception that households have of their environment in their homes, in terms of diagnosis, damages and control. Based on a survey of 107 households, it shows that their environmental concerns only partly reflect current ecological and health risks and that people are finding it difficult to reduce these risks. In order to increase environmental awareness at the level of their homes, the authors highlight the importance of providing support on an individual basis and suggest several courses of action, which should be adapted to the four levels of awareness that were identified by the study.

An analysis of viewpoints on education for responsible consumption in higher education

Purpose – This paper aims to present the authors’ views on education for responsible consumption (ERC) in higher education, and deals with major components to be considered to educate students for responsible consumption. Design/methodology/approach – There are three components that seem relevant for ERC in higher education: taught courses should be closely linked with research being carried out into responsible consumption, ERC should focus on a global approach to reducing ecological impacts by changing consumption behaviour and the diversity of situations in terms of specific characteristics of local administrative areas and populations must be properly understood to adapt ERC messages and actions to significant local features. Findings – The diversity of modes of consumption and the complexity inherent in responsible consumption mean that the issue of ERC has to be considered from a global, cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspective. In the educational context, the wide variety of students, although creating some difficulties in terms of teaching, is nevertheless a positive factor, as it provides a cultural mix and encourages the appropriation of responsible consumption issues by all. Regarding the effectiveness of this type of ERC in achieving the expected outcome of reducing ecological impacts, assessment tools have to be introduced from student level to the level of the local authority as a whole. Originality/value – To reinforce these concepts and recommendations, this article highlights the master’s degree in “Human ecology: environmental challenges of the activities of production and consumption” (University of Bordeaux, France). This course is the only one in France to cover the issues involved in responsible consumption using a cross-disciplinary approach.