You are here:

2009 Survey of public attitudes and behaviours towards the environment

National Statistics logo

STATISTICAL RELEASE

Ref: 217/09
Date: 23 September 2009

Results from the 2009 Public attitudes and behaviours towards the environment tracker survey are released today. The survey gives a representative picture of what people in England think, and how they behave, across a range of issues relevant to the environment including:

  • Knowledge of and attitudes towards the environment
  • Energy and water use in the home
  • Purchasing behaviours
  • Recycling, composting and reusing waste
  • Food and food waste
  • Travel behaviours and attitudes
  • Carbon offsetting
  • Biodiversity and green space
  • Volunteering behaviours
  • Wellbeing

The survey follows from previous environmental surveys run by Defra and its predecessors in 1986, 1989, 1993, 1996-7, 2001 and 2007. The 2009 survey was commissioned jointly by Defra and the Energy Saving Trust and consisted of 2,009 face to face interviews in people’s homes during the Spring. Additional questions were included in an omnibus survey consisting of 1,772 face to face interviews. Both the main survey and omnibus survey were administered under contract by TNS Global Market Research.

The full report can be found at:

www.defra.gov.uk/evidence/statistics/environment/pubatt/

This statistical release provides key results for each section of the survey.

1. Knowledge of and attitudes towards the environment

Overall there has been a small increase in the proportion of people willing to do things to help the environment  

  • 47 per cent of respondents said they would like to do a bit more to help the environment, compared with 43 per cent in 2007
  • 27 per cent of respondents said they were environmentally-friendly in most or everything they did, compared with 19 per cent in 2007
  •  47 per cent of respondents said they did quite a few things that are environmentally-friendly, compared with 41 per cent in 2007.

Most people say they have some knowledge of climate change and knowledge of the term ‘carbon footprint’ has increased  

  • The majority of respondents said they knew either ‘a lot’ or ‘a fair amount’ about climate change (61 per cent of respondents), global warming (65 per cent of respondents) and carbon dioxide emissions (52 per cent of respondents), at a similar level to 2007.
  • 48 per cent of respondents said they knew at least a fair amount about the term ‘carbon footprint’,  compared with 25 per cent in 2007
Values and beliefs about the environment and the challenge of climate change

Around half of people see ‘being green’ as not being a minority lifestyle, most people agree there is an environmental challenge and that it is not too late to do something about it.

However, about a quarter of people disagree that their lifestyle contributes to climate change and about a quarter of people feel climate change is too far away to worry them.

  • 51 per  cent of respondents disagreed that ‘being green is an alternative lifestyle it's not for the majority’, compared with 30 per  cent in 2007
  • 28 per  cent of respondents agreed that ‘I don’t believe my everyday behaviour and lifestyle contribute to climate change’, unchanged from 2007
  • 59 per cent of respondents agreed that ‘if things continue on their current course, we will soon experience a major environmental disaster’, compared with 63 per cent in 2007
  • 14 per cent of respondents disagreed that ‘we are close to the limit of the number of people the earth can support’, compared with 17 per  cent in 2007
  • 25 per cent of respondents agreed that ‘the so-called 'environmental crisis' facing humanity has been greatly exaggerated’, compared with 28 per  cent in 2007
  • 68 per  cent of respondents disagreed that ‘climate change is beyond control – it’s too late to do anything about it’, compared with 62 per  cent in 2007
  • 21 per  cent of respondents agreed that ‘the effects of climate change are too far in the future to really worry me’, unchanged from 2007
Attitudes towards other’s actions

A majority of people say that businesses and government should set examples in tackling climate change

  • 83 per cent of respondents agreed ‘It really disappoints me when I see big offices and public buildings with their lights on when the building is empty’
  • 58 per cent of respondents agreed ‘If government did more to tackle climate change, I’d do more too’, compared with 60 per cent in 2007
  • 58 per cent of respondents agreed ‘If business did more to tackle climate change, I would too’
  • 55 per cent disagreed with ‘it's not worth Britain trying to combat climate change, because other countries will just cancel out what we do’, compared with  46 per  cent in 2007
  • 65 per cent disagreed with ‘it's not worth me doing things to help the environment if others don't do the same’ compared with 56  cent in 2007
Lifestyle and the environment

A majority say that it is worth doing environmentally friendly things and a majority say they feel guilty when they do things that harm the environment. 

Fewer people, compared with two years ago, say they find it hard to change their habits to be more environmentally friendly.

However, over a quarter of people regard the environment as a low priority compared with other things in their lives.

  • 61 per cent of respondents disagreed ‘It's only worth doing environmentally-friendly things if they save you money’, unchanged from 2007
  • 55 per cent of respondents agreed ‘I sometimes feel guilty about doing things that harm the environment’, compared with 59 per cent in 2007
  • 54 per cent disagreed with ‘I find it hard to change my habits to be more environmentally-friendly’, compared with 42 per  cent in 2007
  • 48 per cent agreed that ‘any changes I make to help the environment need to fit in with my lifestyle’, compared with 46 per  cent in 2007
  • 28 per cent agreed that ‘the environment is a low priority compared with other things in my life’, compared with 27 per  cent  in 2007
  • 55 per cent agreed with ‘I need more information on what I could do to be more environmentally friendly’, compared with 63 per  cent in 2007
Influencing others

Between a third and a half of respondents say they try to influence others to do things for the environment

  • 45 per cent of respondents agreed ‘I’ve suggested improvements at my workplace/the place where I study to make it more environmentally friendly’
  • 43 per cent of respondents agreed ‘I try to persuade people I know to be more environmentally friendly’
  • 37 per cent of respondents agreed  ‘I often talk to friends and family about the things they can do to help the environment’ although 36 per cent disagreed with the statement.

(For each of the three statements around a quarter of respondents said they neither agreed nor disagreed.)

Issues the Government should be dealing with

The economy, unemployment and the environment/pollution are the most often mentioned by people, without prompting, as the  ‘most important issues the Government should be dealing with’

  • 57 per cent of respondents mentioned ‘the economy’ compared with  8 per cent in 2007
  • 37 per cent of respondents mentioned ‘unemployment’ compared with 9 per cent in 2007
  • 35 per cent of respondents mentioned ‘environment /pollution’  compared with 20 per cent in 2007
  • 41 per cent of respondents mentioned, unprompted, at least one environmental issue as being an important issue, compared with 26 per cent in 2007.

2. Energy and water use in the home

Attitudes to saving energy in the home

More people, compared with two years ago, say they have thought about saving energy in the home

  • 77 per cent of respondents disagreed with the statement ‘I don’t really give much thought to saving energy in the home’, compared with 62 per cent in 2007
  • 14 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement, compared with 23 per cent in 2007. 
Energy saving behaviours at home

The majority of people say  they have adopted energy saving behaviours in the home, with an overall increase in those cutting down on energy use, compared with two years ago

  • 76 per cent of respondents said they were cutting down on the use of gas and electricity at home, compared with 58 per cent in 2007
  • 84 per cent of respondents said they were only boiling the kettle with as much water as they need
  • 77 per cent of respondents said they were washing clothes at 40 degrees or less
  • 66 per cent of respondents said they were turning down thermostats
  • For all of these, relatively small numbers of respondents reported having tried the behaviour but stopped doing it – 5 per cent or less of respondents for each behaviour.
Insulating / draught-proofing the home

The large majority of people say they have double glazing and or loft insulation in their homes

  • 89 per cent of respondents said they had double glazing in their homes; 76 per cent had all windows double-glazed; 5 per cent said that they were contemplating installing double glazing
  • 82 per cent of respondents said they had loft insulation / top-up loft insulation; 10 per cent said they were contemplating installing it
  • 57 per cent of respondents whose homes were constructed with cavity walls said they had cavity wall insulation; 11 per cent said they were contemplating installing it
  • 19 per cent of respondents with some single-glazed windows said that all of their windows and doors were draught-proofed; 35 per cent said most were; however 40 per cent said none were.
Home heating

The proportion of people who say they have a condensing heating boiler has increased, compared with two years ago

  • 31 per cent of respondents with a central heating system said they had a condensing boiler, compared with 29 per cent in 2007
  • 14 per cent said they were thinking of installing one
  • 29 per cent said they had never heard of this type of boiler or had never thought about installing one.
Generating own electricity

The majority of people say they have not thought about or have rejected installing equipment to generate energy at home

  • 1 per cent of respondents or fewer said they had solar panels, solar water heating, wind turbines, ground  source heat pumps, or biomass heating installed in their homes.
Energy efficient appliances

The majority of people buying selected household appliances  say they look for  the  ‘Energy Saving Recommended’ logo before making their purchase

  • 71 per cent of purchasers said they had looked for the logo; 72 per cent of purchasers said the item they had bought carried the logo.
Energy saving light bulbs

The overall majority of home light bulbs people say are energy saving light bulbs

  • On average around 60 per cent of light bulbs were said to be  energy saving light bulbs in people’s home1
Water use

More people, compared with two years ago, say they pay attention to the amount of water used in the home

  • 69 per cent of respondents said they already made an effort to cut down on water usage at home; 35 per cent of respondents said they did so always; 15 per cent very often and 16 per cent quite often
  • 66 per cent of respondents disagreed with the statement ‘ I do not pay much attention to the amount of water I use at home’, compared with 53 per cent who disagreed in 2007.
  • 74 per cent of respondents said they were already only washing  full loads of laundry
  • 68 per cent of respondents said they took showers instead of a baths
  • 66 per cent of respondents said they turned the tap off whilst brushing their teeth
  • 73 per cent of respondents had not heard of, had not thought about or had rejected using a water displacement device in toilet cisterns
  • 82 per cent of respondents had not heard of, had not thought about or had rejected having an aerated shower2

3. Purchasing behaviours

To varying degrees people say they are thinking about the environment when making purchases

  • 30 per cent of respondents said they had decided not to buy things because they had too much packaging
  • 21 per cent of respondents said  they bought wood and wood products from certified sustainable sources
  • 19 per cent of respondents said they bought peat free compost
  • However, in each case a larger proportions of respondents had not given the issue any thought
  • 73 per cent of respondents agreed that they made an effort to buy things from local retailers and suppliers
  • 46 per cent of respondents agreed that they would be prepared to pay more for environmentally-friendly products.

4. Recycling,  composting and reusing waste

The proportion of people saying that they recycle waste has increased, compared with two years ago, and the majority of people say they are acting to recycle

  • 91 per cent of respondents said they ‘recycle items rather than throwing them away’, compared with 70 per cent in 2007.  56 per cent of respondents said they did so always; 19 per cent very often and 11 per cent quite often
  • 88 per cent of respondents agreed  ‘people have a duty to recycle’ representing an increase of ten percentage points since 2007
  • 66 per cent of respondents said they recycled plastic through door-step collection, compared with 47 per cent in 2007
  • 71 per cent of respondents said they recycled cardboard through door-step collection, compared with 53 per cent in 2007
  • 80 per cent of respondents said they recycled tins/cans through door-step collection,  compared with 63 per cent in 2007
  • 76 per cent of respondents said they recycled glass through door-step collection, compared with 59 per cent in 2007
  • 84 per cent of respondents said they were already taking their own shopping bag. 56 per cent of respondents said they did so always; 14 per cent very often and 6 per cent quite often.
  • 43 per cent of respondents said they were already composting household  food or garden waste’.  28 per cent of respondents said they did so always; 8 per cent very often and 4 per cent quite often.  However 20 per cent had thought about doing this but had rejected the idea.

People say they tend not to check whether items can be recycled before they purchasing them

  • 63 per cent of respondents said they did not check whether an item could be recycled before purchasing.

5. Food and food waste

The majority of people say they are conscious about wasting food and are making efforts to reduce the amounts thrown away

  • 88 per cent of respondents said that they were making efforts to waste less food, compared with 63 per cent in 2007
  • 49 per cent of respondents said they threw away no or hardly any amounts of  food.

People say they are to varying degrees thinking about where their food comes from

  • 60 per cent of respondents said they were buying seasonal3 food; 19 per cent had never thought about it or had never heard of it
  • 33 per cent of respondents said that they were growing their own fruit and vegetables
  • 26 per cent of respondents said they were buying fish from sustainable sources

People say they are already making changes to the food they buy to reduce the impact on the environment, or would make changes if they had a better understanding of the environmental impacts of how food is produced

  • 24 per cent of respondents have made changes to the food they buy to reduce their impact on the environment
  • 50 per cent of respondents would make changes if they had a better understanding of the impacts of how food is produced
  • However, 23 per  cent of respondents said if they had a better understanding of the impacts  they would still buy the same food they usually buy

6. Travel behaviours and attitudes

Car driving

Most drivers say they are driving in a fuel efficient way, and some say they have switched to other modes for some regular journeys

The majority of people say they disagree with higher taxes for car users for the sake of the environment

  • 78 per cent of drivers said they were driving in a fuel efficient way
  • 62 per cent of drivers said they had switched to walking or cycling instead of driving for short, regular journeys
  • 26 per cent of drivers said they had switched to public transport instead of driving for regular journeys; however 47 per cent  had thought about and had rejected doing so
  • 55 per cent of all respondents disagreed with the statement ‘for the sake of the environment car users should pay higher taxes’; 25 per cent of respondents agreed.
Air travel

Around one quarter of people say they are reducing their air travel

  • 23 per cent of all respondents and 25 per cent of those who had flown in the previous twelve months said they were already taking fewer flights
  • However, 36 per cent of those who had flown in the previous twelve months said they had considered taking fewer flights but had rejected the idea
  • 44 per cent of all respondents agreed that ‘people who fly should bear the cost of the environmental damage that air travel causes’; 27 per cent  disagreed

7. Carbon offsetting

The majority of people say they have no knowledge about carbon offsetting

  • 37 per cent of respondents said they knew at least a little about carbon offsetting compared with 43 per cent in 2007. However, 59 per cent had either only heard the name or had never heard of it 
  • 6 per cent of those who knew at least a little about carbon offsetting said they had paid into a scheme personally, compared with 3 per cent in 2007.

8. Biodiversity and green space

Fewer people, compared with two years ago,  say they have given thought to the ‘loss of biodiversity’4, but when prompted the majority say they are concerned about the natural environment

  • 45 per cent of respondents said they had given some thought to the loss of biodiversity in the UK and in the world , compared with in 2007,  67 per cent having given some thought to loss in the UK and 70 per cent having given some thought to loss in the world
  • However, 85 per cent of respondents agreed that ‘I do worry about the loss of species of animals and plants in the world’
  • 91 per cent of respondents agreed that ‘there are many natural places that I may never visit but I am  glad they exist’
  • 80 per cent of respondents agreed that they worried about changes to the countryside in the UK and loss of native animals and plants
  • 26 per cent of respondents agreed that there is nothing they could do personally to help protect the UK’s biodiversity, compared with 22 per cent in 2007
  • However, 67 per cent of respondents agreed that they ‘actively encouraged wildlife in their garden (e.g. through feeding areas, or planting etc.)’
  • 63 per cent of respondents agreed that climate change had a direct impact on biodiversity; 19 per cent neither agreed nor disagreed.
Use of green spaces

Fewer people, compared with two years ago, say that they use public green spaces at least once a week

  • 48 per cent of respondents said they used public gardens, parks, commons and other green spaces at least once a week, compared with 54 per cent in 2007
  • 26 per cent  of respondents said they used green spaces less than once a month or never

9. Volunteering behaviours

Fewer people, compared with two years ago, say that they support or are involved with third sector (voluntary) organisations

  • 32 per cent of respondents were involved (through membership or regular donations) with at least one of 15 selected major third sector organisations concerned with the environment, compared with 42 per cent in 2007.
  • 19 per cent of respondents said that they had volunteered with or given time to groups within the last 12 months, including environmental groups, schools, religious or political groups etc., compared with 34 per cent in 2007.
  • 6 per cent of respondents reported that they volunteered with ‘a conservation group or other group helping the environment’

10. Wellbeing

There has been little change, compared with two years ago, in  people’s overall satisfaction with their lives,

All respondents were asked to indicate how satisfied they were with their own life (‘All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole nowadays?’).

Answers were recorded on a scale ranging between zero (meaning extremely dissatisfied) and ten (meaning extremely satisfied).

  • The mean score was 7.4, compared with 7.3 in 2007.
  • 83 per cent of respondents gave a response between six and ten suggesting that they were satisfied overall, compared with 82 per cent in  2007
  • 6 per cent of respondents gave a response of less than five suggesting that they were dissatisfied overall, compared with 7 per cent in 2007.

1 Based on the average number of light fittings people said were in their homes and the average number of low energy light bulbs people said were in their homes

2Aerated shower heads mix air in with the water and as a result use less water,

3 Seasonal food is that which is grown outdoors or produced during the natural growing/production period for the country or region where it is produced. It need not necessarily be consumed locally. As a result less energy is likely to have been used in its production.

4 Biodiversity is defined ‘as the variety of living things and the natural environments that support’. This definition was given to respondents.

 National Statistics publication

National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference.

 

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. National Statistics publication

This statistical release is a Defra National Statistics publication. The survey was administered by TNS Global Market Research who have provided a  full report to Defra and the Energy Saving Trust.  The report has been quality assured by Government Statistical Service staff, and others from Defra and the Energy Saving Trust but as an external contractor report is not itself classed as National Statistics.  The TNS report, and the headline results and data are all available on the Defra statistics website.

2. Energy Saving Trust

The Energy Saving Trust is an independent organisation focused on promoting action that leads to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.  It provides free advice and information on saving energy, conserving water and reducing waste.

3. Basic Quality Information

Relevance: These results are relevant to Defra and Government policy in many areas.  They provide data that will allow assessment of current levels of behaviour in different environmental subject areas, particularly transport, energy efficiency and recycling.  The data also give an insight into people’s attitudes, and are being used to cluster the population into segments that will facilitate better targeting of information and publicity.

Accuracy: These data were collected by TNS on behalf of Defra and the Energy Saving Trust. The project consisted of two elements. The first element consisted interviews with a sample of 2,009 adults in England. TNS also administered around 70 additional questions to a sample of 1,772 adults in England as part of an omnibus survey.

Both surveys involved face-to-face, computer-assisted (CAPI) interviews of adults (16+) in England, at home using the sample design detailed below. 

Sampling: TNS utilised ‘random location’ sampling using ‘Census output areas’ as sampling units. Census output areas are relatively small, homogeneous areas, comprising 125-150 households and interviewers had to obtain interviews within these designated sampling units. Interviewers were required to carry out 5 or 6 interviews per output area on adults aged 16 or over and quotas were set on sex, working status and presence of children in the household to control for likelihood of being at home. This approach ensures a high quality sampling that minimises biases that can be introduced by interviewers selecting the areas they work in. Output areas were stratified by socio-economic variables within region to ensure a representative sample of areas across the UK. The same random location sampling method was used for the omnibus survey to ensure comparability of results between the two elements of the project.

Weighting: Rim weighting was applied to correct for minor demographic imbalances within the survey sample. Data was weighted based on demographic data taken from Census and BARB sources. Weights were applied for Age, Sex, Government Office Region, urbanisation and social grade.

Timeliness: The fieldwork was completed by 31st March 2009.  Analysis and quality assurance were completed in the intervening period to ensure accuracy and accessibility of the results.

Accessibility: The data being released in this news release can be found on the statistics section of the Defra website.

Statistical Significance: The size of confidence intervals and the robustness of findings are determined by the size of the sample and the percentage figure for any given result. Confidence intervals are largest for percentage figures of 50 per cent. For the sample size of 2,009, the 95 per cent confidence intervals for percentage figures of 50 per cent, 30/70 per cent and 10/90 per cent are 2.2 per cent, 2.0 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively.

Questionnaire design: This research was based on the 2007 Defra survey and tracker surveys carried out by the Energy Saving Trust between 2005 and 2008 in order to maintain comparability between key measures. New questions were added in order to cover issues that had been identified as key for Defra and the Energy Saving Trust with particular regard to energy efficiency and food consumption.  Questions were designed collaboratively between Defra, the Energy Saving Trust and TNS.

Comparability and coherence: The survey itself can be found on the statistics section of the Defra website so that the wording of a particular question can be compared with questions used to collect similar data on other surveys.  For example, the National Travel Survey administered by the Department for Transport includes questions on method / frequency of travel.

 

End

Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR
Out of hours telephone 020 7270 8960

Public enquiries: 08459 335577
News releases available on our website:
www.defra.gov.uk
Defra's aim is sustainable development

Page published: 23 September 2009