Policies, Environmental Norms and Household Characteristics

Projections indicate that households’ impacts on the environment are likely to increase in the future. As governments develop environmental policies to promote greener behaviour, the OECD survey offers insight into what affects our decisions and what really works in five areas: water use, energy use, personal transport choices, organic food consumption, and waste generation and recycling. Before turning to the presentation of the main results, this introductory chapter reviews some of the main factors that are likely to have an impact on households’ environmental practices and behaviour. The political context is first examined with the wide range of policy measures used by OECD countries to influence decision-making. Particular attention is also paid to the role of environmental attitudes and norms, improving our understanding of how policy makers can choose instruments to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of policies.