Fun environmentalism! Potential contributions of autonomy supportive psychology to sustainable lifestyles

Purpose – This paper seeks to outline a theoretical argument for movement towards a positive, holistic approach to environmentalism, one aspect of which is to make environmental action more satisfying, interesting, and fun. The paper aims to identify new approaches and techniques for individual behaviour change that can explain and promote the broad lifestyle change needed. Design/methodology/approach – Self-determination theory was applied to the problem of unsustainable resource consumption by Australian households. To achieve sustainable levels of Australian household carbon emissions, individuals will have to adopt and maintain high impact pro-environmental behaviours across a number of behavioural domains. Findings – It is hypothesised that motivation type will be a critical factor in bringing about personally sustainable changes. In particular, self-determined (autonomous) motivation will be essential for generalisation of pro-environmental behaviour. It is also proposed that supporting other psychological needs of relatedness and competence for environmental action will further enhance self-determination for pro-environmental behaviour. If these hypotheses are supported, the next challenge is to identify optimal ways of promoting autonomous behaviour change, drawing on, and expanding from self-determination theory. Initial proposals for autonomy, competence, and relatedness supporting interventions are presented. Practical implications – Changes achieved through the motivational approach have the potential to significantly impact household carbon footprints. Originality/value – The paper moves away from incentive/punishment based approaches to changing pro-environmental behaviour and provides a rationale for a new approach that focuses on supporting optimal motivation types for maintained and generalised pro-environmental behaviour