The power of the neighbourhood: investigating the potential of environmental community initiatives

This project studies environmental behaviour in the context of environmental community initiatives, such as community energy initiatives. We are specifically interested in whether these community initiatives are an effective approach in promoting their members’ pro-environmental behaviour. Thus, does the group context these initiatives provide add an extra motivation to behave pro-environmentally beyond individual factors? Furthermore, we investigate the spread and development of community initiatives: Why do people decide to join a community initiative? For example, what role do social processes in the community play in encouraging people’s engagement in community initiatives? We examine these questions with a focus on both individual and group-level factors.