Study of Green Behavior with a Focus on Mexican Individuals

Studies of green behavior have awakened a growing interest, since the accelerated environmental degradation is partly attributed to a lack of such behavior. However it is not an easy task to modify consumer habits and influence the behavior of individuals. The review of literature regarding green behavior reveals preference for variables related to values or attitudes (or changes in attitudes) or external variables of the individuals, mainly the situational, that occupy a prominent position in these studies. Studies focus especially on social standards and the physical environment where specific behaviors occur, observing how these are fomented or obstructed by the conditions of the environment. This paper summarizes variables extracted from four models of green behavior in five core groups: orientation man-nature, perceived control, ecological knowledge, personal consequences and environmental consequences, which are described below, with a special focus on the Mexican individuals as an example of application of environmental marketing strategies.

The revision of the variables of the green behavior from the perspective of Mexican individuals shows the relevance of adding aspects of development and social justice in the environmental speech that promotes in Mexico the preservation of the natural environment. The existence of environmental values in sectors that are still struggling for achieving decent standard of living, show that those values are not superfluous components in the vision of the future, but it seems that the connection between a better future and the environmental responsibility is not yet clear to most of Mexicans. It is therefore necessary to expand the interest on environmental issues among Mexicans and generate values in the particular context of different population sectors, so that they can acquire consistency and gain a real sense. It is indeed perceived that in the case of Mexicans, the importance of the environmental component in the quality of life in the short and long term has not been achieved yet. This situation is probably due to the scarcity of economical resources to implement campaigns and projects focused towards the environmental sustainability beyond the local context, but it is maybe also due to the kind of environmentalist speeches that are being publicized that have a strong ecological bias, i.e. they pandurate environmental conservation and the links between the development and the quality of life. Whereas the search for solving more basic and immediate problems, such as acquiring food, maintaining health and keeping a job, or survival issues, should find its sustain in predominant environmental speeches, worried so far essentially for the protection of species and the simple no alteration of the ecosystems.

Article by Eva CONRAUD-KOELLNER and Arturo RIVAS-TOVAR,from Universidad de Guanajuato and Instituto Politecnico Nacional

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Image by Ian & Kate Bruce,from Flickr-cc.