• Energy Research

This theoretical paper clarifies the concept of sustainability learning and specifically analyzes motivational aspects. Mastering the challenges of sustainability requires individual learning as well as learning processes on different levels of human systems ranging from groups and organizations to human societies, and mankind as a whole. Learning processes of individuals play a fundamental role, since individuals constitute and shape the larger social aggregates. Learning processes on the level of social aggregates are important since social systems embed and influence individuals. Therefore, sustainability learning needs to be understood as a multi-level concept, comprising individual learning as well as learning processes of human systems. Transdisciplinarity and mutual learning between science and society are considered fundamental approaches of sustainability learning, and hence increase the capacity of mankind to manage human-environment systems in sustainable ways. Based on systemic considerations, the two-fold role, in which motivations act as determinants and targeted outcomes of sustainability learning processes, is explained together with the outstanding role that cooperation, hence cooperative motivation, plays for sustainable development. Finally, the multifaceted, controversial discourses on what sustainability ultimately means (for the scientific community, for a given cultural or political entity, organization, or individual person) are considered.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing may foster sustainability synergistically by saving resources, reducing costs and promoting satisfaction of consumer needs and social connectivity. A survey of Swiss and Swedish consumers (N = 1522) was conducted to analyze drivers and barriers for P2P sharing of household products as taker and/or provider in a complementary way referring to social exchange theory. More than two-thirds (69.1%) of the participants took or provided shared household products during the previous 12 months. The traditional mode of sharing was more prevalent (53.5%) than sharing on online platforms (14.5%). Nearly half of the participants (44.5%) both took and provided shared products, 18.1% exclusively took and 6.5% exclusively provided them, and 30.1% were non-sharers. The traditional mode of sharing involved more reciprocal sharers (66.7%), who both took and provided products, compared to online sharing. Reciprocal sharers were on average younger and had higher income and education levels than non-sharers. Furthermore, their ecological, social, and economic value orientations were stronger, and they rated the benefits of sharing higher than non-sharers. Knowledge about sharing and experience of positive emotions when sharing were consistently positively related to both the number of products taken and provided. To promote the sharing economy, online sharing platforms should enhance consumer's knowledge and trust through information campaigns and review or insurance systems. Marketing activities should communicate easy access and application of platforms, and the ecological, socio-emotional and economic benefits. A meaningful social interaction between takers and providers should be promoted to promote social connectivity and emotionally positive experiences.

Energy options for the future are investigated in relation to attitudinal dimensions to obtain insights important for policy making and risk communication. Using a questionnaire, the study derives four pertinent attitude-linked factors, namely: 1) technology-oriented, 2) society-oriented, 3) social-economically oriented, and 4) nature-oriented inclinations. Another part of the same questionnaire assesses judgements of environmental and societal hazards, as well as the ingenuity of novel technologies, and the overall support for future energy supply options. Significant relationships between the four inclination factors and the ratings in these items emerged. As observed by positive or negative judgements of the ingenuity of given technologies, the technology- and society-oriented inclinations corresponded to a positive attitude towards novelty, whereas the social-economically oriented and nature-oriented inclinations partially tallied with a negative attitude towards novelty. Except for the nature-orientated inclination, all inclinations corresponded to a positive attitude towards a future supply option with mixed energy technologies including nuclear energy. Instead, the nature-oriented inclination corresponded positively with the support of a renewables-only option, and in particular supported solar energy. It also conformed to significantly higher ratings of future vulnerabilities and environmental risks in general. The society-oriented inclination also matched with high ratings of the future socio-economic vulnerabilities but rather opposed the high ratings of future socio-environmental risks. This inclination also opposed the low ratings of negative environmental impacts from the energy technologies photovoltaics and biomass. It appeared that a stronger orientation towards society tends to balance some of the high and low average dread ratings without strongly affecting the attitude towards novelty. The technology-oriented inclination clearly paralleled high risk ratings of climate change and population growth whereas the other risk and vulnerability items corresponded to low ratings. The social-economic inclination showed no significant correspondence to these risk issues. This inclination however, exposed a negative judgement of long-term technology issues. The observed ratings did not support a presumption that higher dread ratings are generally associated with negative attitudes towards novelty. On the opposite, a social-economic orientation had a more conservative attitude towards novelty while having rather insignificant systematic influences on dread ratings. Only the orientation towards nature consistently showed a conservative, negative attitude towards novelty, and a high dread rating attitude. The results imply that the rating behaviour is influenced by the inclinations of the participants. The four inclinations are thus helpful to predict perceived dread and novelty as well as the support for future energy options. Their consideration could contribute to the improvement of risk communication, and help to clarify how to inform on new benefits or hazards affecting risk perception.

Contexte et objectif : Les partenariats sont un mécanisme clé dans la planification, la prestation et la gestion de la foresterie urbaine (FU) et des infrastructures vertes (IG). Ils peuvent faciliter la cogestion ancrée localement et la gouvernance polycentrique. Ils peuvent également réaliser des synergies en combinant les ressources, l'engagement et l'expertise de divers groupes de parties prenantes afin de générer des résultats précieux et de construire un capital social. Néanmoins, le terme « partenariats » n'est pas utilisé de manière cohérente dans la littérature et nécessite une clarification. Les caractéristiques qui distinguent une approche de partenariat des autres modes de coopération sont identifiées et décrites. La diversité des partenariats existants axés sur la FU et les IG est décrite, en référence à leurs parties prenantes, moteurs, activités et objectifs, ainsi que les avantages potentiels de l'approche de partenariat. Les considérations à faire dans leur évaluation sont dérivées de cette analyse de fond et les facteurs de réussite possibles sont discutés. Matériels et méthodes :La diversité, les objectifs et les caractéristiques d'une approche de partenariat sont basés sur une analyse documentaire approfondie.Résultats : Les partenariats se concentrent sur divers aspects et phases de prestation de l'UF, allant de la planification, de la conception et de la création de forêts urbaines et d'IG à leur gestion et utilisation.Les avantages fournis par de tels partenariats comprennent les services environnementaux et économiques ainsi que les services sociaux et culturels tels que l'éducation environnementale, la santé, les loisirs et le tourisme.Générer des services précieux tout en entretenant des relations entre les parties prenantes contribue à développer le capital social et à renforcer les capacités.En plus des avantages environnementaux, économiques et sociaux, l'évaluation des partenariats peut également aborder des variables de processus internes telles que l'apprentissage social, la relation entre les partenaires et les résultats de motivation qui peuvent influencer la coopération future.conclusions : Les partenariats coopératifs offrent une approche prometteuse pour la prestation de l'UF.Le développement des relations entre les partenaires maximise le potentiel de développement d'une coopération efficace à long terme et de renforcement du capital social en tant qu'aide à la promotion du développement durable. Antecedentes y propósito: Las asociaciones son un mecanismo clave en la planificación, entrega y gestión de la silvicultura urbana (UF) y la infraestructura verde (GI). Pueden facilitar la cogestión arraigada localmente y la gobernanza policéntrica. También pueden lograr sinergias combinando los recursos, el compromiso y la experiencia de diversos grupos de partes interesadas para generar resultados valiosos y construir capital social. Desafortunadamente, el término "asociaciones" no se usa de manera consistente en la literatura y requiere aclaración. Se identifican y describen las características que distinguen un enfoque de asociación de otros modos de cooperación. Se describe la diversidad de las asociaciones orientadas a UF y GI existentes, con referencia a sus partes interesadas, impulsores, actividades y objetivos, junto con las posibles ventajas del enfoque de asociación. Las consideraciones que se deben hacer en su evaluación se derivan de este análisis de antecedentes y se discuten los posibles factores de éxito. Materiales y métodos:La diversidad, los objetivos y las características definitorias de un enfoque de asociación se basan en una extensa revisión de la literatura. Resultados: Las asociaciones se centran en diversos aspectos y fases de entrega de UF, que van desde la planificación, el diseño y la creación de bosques urbanos e IG hasta su gestión y uso. Los beneficios obtenidos por dichas asociaciones incluyen servicios ambientales y económicos, así como servicios sociales y culturales como la educación ambiental, la salud, el ocio y el turismo. La generación de servicios valiosos y, al mismo tiempo, el fomento de las relaciones entre las partes interesadas ayuda a desarrollar el capital social y a desarrollar la capacidad. Además de los beneficios ambientales, económicos y sociales, la evaluación de las asociaciones también puede abordar variables de procesos internos como el aprendizaje social, la relación entre los socios y los resultados motivacionales que pueden influir en la cooperación futura. Conclusiones: Las asociaciones cooperativas ofrecen un enfoque prometedor para la entrega en UF. El desarrollo de las relaciones entre los socios maximiza el potencial para desarrollar una cooperación efectiva a largo plazo y para construir capital social como una ayuda para la promoción del desarrollo sostenible. Background and Purpose: Partnerships are a key mechanism in the planning, delivery and management of urban forestry (UF) and green infrastructure (GI).They can facilitate locally rooted co-management and polycentric governance.They can also achieve synergies by combining the resources, commitment and expertise of diverse stakeholder groups in order to generate valuable outcomes and build social capital.Unfortunately, the term "partnerships" is not used consistently in literature and requires clarification.The characteristics which distinguish a partnership approach from other modes of cooperation are identified and described.The diversity of existing UF and GI oriented partnerships is outlined, with reference to their stakeholders, drivers, activities and goals, together with potential advantages of the partnership approach.Considerations to be made in their evaluation are derived from this background analysis and possible success factors are discussed. Materials and Methods:The diversity, aims and defining characteristics of a partnership approach are based on an extensive literature review.Results: Partnerships focus on diverse aspects and delivery phases of UF, ranging from the planning, design and creation of urban forests and GI to their management and use.Benefits delivered by such partnerships include environmental and economic services as well as social and cultural services such as environmental education, health, leisure and tourism.Generating valuable services whilst at the same time nurturing relationships between stakeholders helps to develop social capital and build capacity.In addition to environmental, economic and social benefits, the evaluation of partnerships may also address internal process variables such as social learning, the relationship between partners, and motivational outcomes that can influence future co-operation.conclusions: Co-operative partnerships offer a promising approach for delivery in UF.The development of relationships between partners maximises the potential for developing effective long term co-operation and for building social capital as an aid to the promotion of sustainable development. الخلفية والغرض: الشراكات هي آلية رئيسية في تخطيط وتسليم وإدارة الحراجة الحضرية (UF) والبنية التحتية الخضراء (GI). يمكن أن تسهل الإدارة المشتركة ذات الجذور المحلية والحوكمة متعددة المراكز. كما يمكنها تحقيق التآزر من خلال الجمع بين الموارد والالتزام والخبرة لمجموعات أصحاب المصلحة المتنوعة من أجل توليد نتائج قيمة وبناء رأس المال الاجتماعي. لسوء الحظ، لا يتم استخدام مصطلح "الشراكات" باستمرار في الأدبيات ويتطلب توضيحًا. يتم تحديد ووصف الخصائص التي تميز نهج الشراكة عن أساليب التعاون الأخرى. يتم تحديد تنوع الشراكات الحالية الموجهة نحو UF و GI، مع الإشارة إلى أصحاب المصلحة والدوافع والأنشطة والأهداف، جنبًا إلى جنب مع المزايا المحتملة لنهج الشراكة. يتم استخلاص الاعتبارات التي يجب مراعاتها في تقييمها من هذا التحليل الأساسي وتتم مناقشة عوامل النجاح المحتملة. المواد والأساليب:يعتمد التنوع والأهداف والخصائص المميزة لنهج الشراكة على مراجعة شاملة للأدبيات .النتائج: تركز الشراكات على جوانب متنوعة ومراحل تسليم UF، بدءًا من تخطيط وتصميم وإنشاء الغابات الحضرية و GI إلى إدارتها واستخدامها. وتشمل الفوائد التي تقدمها هذه الشراكات الخدمات البيئية والاقتصادية بالإضافة إلى الخدمات الاجتماعية والثقافية مثل التعليم البيئي والصحة والترفيه والسياحة .توليد خدمات قيمة وفي الوقت نفسه رعاية العلاقات بين أصحاب المصلحة يساعد على تطوير رأس المال الاجتماعي وبناء القدرات .بالإضافة إلى الفوائد البيئية والاقتصادية والاجتماعية، قد يعالج تقييم الشراكات أيضًا متغيرات العملية الداخلية مثل التعلم الاجتماعي، والعلاقة بين الشركاء، والنتائج التحفيزية التي يمكن أن تؤثر على التعاون في المستقبل .الاستنتاجات: تقدم الشراكات التعاونية نهجًا واعدًا للتسليم في UF .إن تطوير العلاقات بين الشركاء يزيد من إمكانات تطوير التعاون الفعال طويل الأجل وبناء رأس المال الاجتماعي كمساعدة لتعزيز التنمية المستدامة.

Taking its primary interest in active environmental citizenship, this paper aims at evaluating a case of an educational intervention designed to foster environmental citizenship among undergraduate students at a technological university. The study employs a survey methodology implementing a recently validated environmental citizenship questionnaire. A randomized pre-group –post-group quasi-experimental survey design explores students’ environmental citizenship attributes before and after the intervention course, ‘Sustainable Development’, in comparison to students who participated in a general elective course, ‘Media Philosophy’. The results show that the participation in the intervention course induced positive change in students’ environmental citizenship in comparison to the control group. Additional analysis indicates that environmental citizenship is significantly related to environmental attitudes, nature experiences during childhood and adolescence, and gender. The article provides a timely contribution shedding light on how specific pedagogical approaches in higher education can foster environmental citizenship.

This paper reports on a sustainability outreach study based on an assessment of human and social capital. The aim was to capture the national sustainability outreach of twenty years of Environmental Sciences education, centered at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. The study contained two lines of research, one being a human capital assessment with a survey among graduates from the years 1992 to 2005 (n = 542) and the other being a social capital analysis based on interviews with institutions that represent the Swiss social systems of economy, politics/public administration and civil society (20 institutions). Our analyses reveal several functional forms of both human capital (specialists, pioneers, leaders) and social capital (qualification profile, internalization, networks, standardization, professionalization) that trigger and channel sustainability outreach.

With increasing urbanisation, new approaches such as the Circular Economy (CE) are needed to reduce resource consumption. In Switzerland, Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste accounts for the largest portion of waste (84%). Beyond limiting the depletion of primary resources, implementing recycling strategies for C&D waste (such as using recycled aggregates to produce recycled concrete (RC)), can also decrease the amount of landfilled C&D waste. The use of RC still faces adoption barriers. In this research, we examined the factors driving the adoption of recycled products for a CE in the C&D sector by focusing on RC for structural applications. We developed a behavioural framework to understand the determinants of architects’ decisions to recommend RC. We collected and analysed survey data from 727 respondents. The analyses focused on architects’ a priori beliefs about RC, behavioural factors affecting their recommendations of RC, and project-specific contextual factors that might play a role in the recommendation of RC. Our results show that the factors that mainly facilitate the recommendation of RC by architects are: a senior position, a high level of RC knowledge and of the Minergie label, beliefs about the reduced environmental impact of RC, as well as favourable prescriptive social norms expressed by clients and other architects. We emphasise the importance of a holistic theoretical framework in approaching decision-making processes related to the adoption of innovation, and the importance of the agency of each involved actor for a transition towards a circular construction sector.