Influence of Environmental Awareness on Sustainable Consumption Behaviour in Urban Sindh, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Increasing urbanisation in Sindh province of Pakistan is a major environmental challenge, but the connection between the environmental awareness of residents and their sustainable consumption behaviour (SCB) has not been studied at the urban scale. Purpose: This research examines how environmental awareness (environmental knowledge, attitude and concern) affects sustainable consumption behaviour among urban dwellers of five major cities in Sindh. Methods: Three hundred and twenty purposely selected participants in Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Mirpurkhas and Nawabshah were given a structured questionnaire. The Environmental Awareness Score (EAS) and three sub-dimensions of the SCB, green buying, energy saving, and waste reduction were measured using Likert-scale instruments. Simple linear regression and Pearson correlation were used to analyze. Results: EAS and SCB showed a strong positive correlation (r = 0.623, p < 0.001). The regression coefficient (β = 0.558) was such that every one unit change in EAS resulted on the effect of 0.558 units change in SCB. The strongest predictor was environmental concern (r = 0.563) then environmental attitude (r = 0.545) and environmental knowledge (r = 0.541). The level of gender and education moderated SCB results. Conclusion: Sustainable consumption behavior in urban Sindh is a strong predictor of environmental awareness. Investment in specific environmental education and community outreach on the part of policymakers should be used to reinforce the level of awareness and convert it into quantifiable behavioral change.

Keywords: Environmental awareness; sustainable consumption; urban Sindh; Pakistan; green behaviour; environmental education; pro-environmental behaviour