water - greening household behaviour 2014

8/10/2019 WATER - Greening Household Behaviour 2014

1/4

BETTER POLICIES FOR BETTER

POLICY HIGHLIGHTS

Towardsgreener

households

Water


2/4 OECDTOWARDS GREENER HOUSEHOLDS: WATER

Water plays a crucial role in the development,growth and sustainability of local communities. Inrecent years, water scarcity has become a globalenvironmental problem. Expanding populationsand higher demand for water, together with morevolatile supplies, have made water managementan increasingly important issue for authoritiesworldwide. Global water use has been growing at

more than twice the rate of population increasein the last century and global water demandis projected to increase by 55% by 2050, due toburgeoning needs for manufacturing, energygeneration and household use.

EPIC survey respondents were asked abouttheir water-saving behaviour, their use of water-saving devices, their primary sources of drinkingwater (straight from the tap, bottled water, etc.)and their satisfaction with their tap water. Theresponses were cross-analysed with a wide rangeof attitudinal and socio-economic data for therespondent households.

Households can do more to save water

Water and the environment

FACTFILE

34% of respondent households haveinvested in low-volume or dual-flush toilets.

41% have invested in water flow restrictortaps or low-flow shower heads. Women and older

respondents are generally more likely to save water and

to invest in water-efficient equipment.

95% of surveyed households in Korea do notdrink the tap water, while in the Netherlands and Swedenthe figure is 10%. Households with children under five

years old, home-owners, and in an urban area are less likely

to drink water straight from the tap.

40% of surveyed households never collectrainwater or recycle waste water (see figure above).

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Collectrain wateror recycle

wastewater

Watergarden in

thecoolest

part of theday

Plug thesink whenwashing

the dishesby hand

Turn offthe water

whilebrushing

teeth

Takeshowers

instead ofbaths

Pe

rcentofrespondents

Never

Occasionally

Often

Always

Not applicable

Analysing attitudes to water

Personal behaviour and choices in daily life, from whatwe eat to how we get to work or heat our homes, have asignificant and growing effect on the environment. Butwhy are some households greener than others? And whatfactors motivate green household choices?

Answering these questions is vital for helping governments

design and target policies that promote greener behaviour.The OECDs Environmental Policy and Individual BehaviourChange (EPIC) survey is designed to do just that. Drawingon observations from over 12 000 respondents in 11 OECDcountries (Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Israel, Japan,Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland), thislarge-scale household survey conducted in 2011 exploreswhat drives household environmental behaviour and howpolicies may affect household decisions. It focuses on fiveareas in which households have significant environmentalimpact: energy, food, transport, waste and water.

This policy highlights points decision makers towardsways to design well-targeted and effective policies to greenhousehold water use.


3/4 OECDTOWARDS GREENER HOUSEHOLDS: WATER

POLICYHIGHLIGHTS

What determines green behaviour?

Water charges. Households whose bill depends on actualwater consumption are significantly more likely to savewater and buy water-efficient devices.

Environmental concern. Those respondents whoare concerned about the environment and supportenvironmental organisations are also more likely to buywater-efficient devices and to use water-efficiency labels,

and less likely to drink bottled water.

Key issues for policy makers

Implement individual water metering across the board,charging households for water based on their actualconsumption, including a clear water billing mechanismfor households outlining their water consumption and

charges.

Combine price policies with awareness campaignson the environmental impact of water consumption(including buying bottled water), how to save water athome, and how to identify water-efficient equipment.Such campaigns could target men and young adults inparticular.

Expand the use of water efficiency labelling schemes forappliances: of the 11 countries surveyed, only Australia,Israel and the Netherlands currently have such schemes.

Improve objective information for households on the

quality of tap water, for example by distributing leafletsshowing the latest water quality data.

Consider the use of targeted grants and subsidies to helplow-income households and tenants buy water-efficientappliances. Non-targeted subsidy programmes may bewasteful.

The link between water charging and

water saving investments

Attitudes matter

The OECDs Environmental Policy and Individual Behaviour

Change (EPIC) surveys explore peoples attitudes to a

wide range of issues and their influence on environmental

behaviour. Their findings are important for helping

governments encourage greener behaviour by households.

For example, did you know that

Since the global financial crisis, more people now feel

that environmental issues should mainly be dealt with

by future generations?

Women are more likely to be environmentally

motivated than men?

There is an overall willingness to be green and to pay

more for environmentally-friendly choices?

Trust in government is a more powerful factor than

levels of university education in predicting whether

people believe climate change is man-made?

0

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

Low volume or dual flushtoilets

Water flow restrictortaps/low flow shower

head

Water tank to collect rainwater

Water efficiency investments

How perceptions of tap water quality affect the

use of different types of drinking water

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

%o

frespondents

Satisfaction with tap water quality (Health)

0 = Not satisfied, 10 = Very satisfied

Straight from tap

Purified/filtered

Bottled (still)

Bottled (sparkling)

Natural source

Income and ownership status. Low-income householdsmore frequently engage in water-saving behaviour, butare less likely to invest in water efficiency improvements.Tenants do less to save water and make fewer financialinvestments in water efficiency than home owners.

Perceptions of tap water quality. Those respondents whoare not satisfied with the taste and the health impacts oftap water are more likely to drink bottled water.

te: Bars indicate the level of Spearman correlation between water efficiency investments

d unit pricing. The higher the correlation the stronger the link between unit pricing and

ter efficiency investments. The Spearman correlation is similar to a standard correlation

oth measure how closely two variables move with each other), but the Sp earman correlation

often used to examine the relationships between attitudinal data.


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BETTER POLICIES FOR BETTER LIVES

This work is published on the responsibility of the Secretary-

General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and

arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the

official views of the Organisation or of the governments of its

member countries. This document and any map included

herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty

over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiersand boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.

December 2014

OECD (2014), Greening HouseholdBehaviour: Overview from the 2011

Survey, Revised Edition,OECD Studies

on Environmental Policy and Household

Behaviour, OECD Publishing, Paris,

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264

181373-en.

ALSO IN THIS POLICY HIGHLIGHTS SERIES:

Towards greener households: energy

Towards greener households: food

Towards greener households: transport

Towards greener households: waste

For more information:

www.oecd.org/

www.oecd.org/env/consumption-innovation/

greening-household-behaviour-2014.htm

Photos: Artisticco/Shutterstock.com
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264181373-enhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264181373-enhttp://www.oecd.org/http://www.oecd.org/env/consumption-innovation/greening-household-behaviour-2014.htmhttp://www.oecd.org/env/consumption-innovation/greening-household-behaviour-2014.htmhttp://www.oecd.org/env/consumption-innovation/greening-household-behaviour-2014.htmhttp://www.oecd.org/env/consumption-innovation/greening-household-behaviour-2014.htmhttp://www.oecd.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264181373-enhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264181373-en

water - greening household behaviour 2014

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