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• Eriksson, O
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Sustainability 2012, 4(6), 1292-1308; doi:10.3390/su4061292

Article

The Effects of Environmental Management Systems on Source Separation in the Work and Home Settings

Maria Andersson ¹ , Ola Eriksson ²  and Chris von Borgstede ^1,*

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, P.O. Box 100, 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden ² Department of Building, Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Gävle, 801 76 Gävle, Sweden

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 27 March 2012; in revised form: 12 June 2012 / Accepted: 12 June 2012 / Published: 15 June 2012

Download PDF Full-Text [217 KB, uploaded 15 June 2012 16:35 CEST]

Abstract: Measures that challenge the generation of waste are needed to address the global problem of the increasing volumes of waste that are generated in both private homes and workplaces. Source separation at the workplace is commonly implemented by environmental management systems (EMS). In the present study, the relationship between source separation at work and at home was investigated. A questionnaire that maps psychological and behavioural predictors of source separation was distributed to employees at different workplaces. The results show that respondents with awareness of EMS report higher levels of source separation at work, stronger environmental concern, personal and social norms, and perceive source separation to be less difficult. Furthermore, the results support the notion that after the adoption of EMS at the workplace, source separation at work spills over into source separation in the household. The potential implications for environmental management systems are discussed.

Keywords: source separation; attitudes; spill-over effect; environmental management; norms

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