Examining the Environmentally Responsible Consumption Behaviour of University Students

Abstract

Worldwide, increasing awareness of global warming and adverse climate conditions are prompting everyone's interest towards environmental protection and sustainable development. A shift towards more sustainable consumption patterns is required for improving the current state of the environment. This research attempts to investigate the environmentally responsible consumption behaviour of university students because to date, this paradigm has not been studied in context of India. The empirical analysis used data from 250 students of a private university based in Northern India were surveyed in March-April 2013. Validity and reliability of survey instrument were assessed and exploratory factor analysis along with t-statistics were employed to test the hypothesis for examining differences among male and female university students towards their environmentally responsible consumption behaviour (ECRB). Total eight factors emerged including 26 items to represent the ERCB of university students. While t-statistics revealed significant differences existing among male and female university students towards their understanding about environmental preservation and green buying decisions but remaining environmentally responsible towards consumption behaviour items did not prove statistical differences among them, thus gender does not influence ERCB of university students.