TITLE:
College Students’ Perceptions of Sustainability: A Regional Survey
AUTHORS:
Michael Myung Jeong, Younghan Jung, Dan Daehyun Koo
KEYWORDS:
Greener Product, Sustainability, Purchase Behavior, Involuntary Use, Sustainable Education
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Building Construction and Planning Research,
Vol.3 No.4,
December
21,
2015
ABSTRACT: Understanding college students’ perception of sustainability is paramount as today’s students will
soon be driving our economy and taking on the responsibility of maintaining a sustainable society.
This study conducted a survey of college students attending two regional universities in the United
States to capture their current experience levels, expectations, and perceptions with regard to
various aspects of sustainability utilizing a questionnaire consisting of structured questions about
sustainability knowledge/familiarity levels, green product purchase behavior, attitude-behavior
relationship, and sustainability education. The results reveal useful insights into the students’
views on these topics and the demographic data collected were further analyzed to identify any
differences due to educational background, academic standing, and gender. The study’s findings
support the growing importance of encouraging sustainable behavior among college students and
provide a benchmark against which to measure the effectiveness of future efforts to improve sustainability
education and foster sustainable behaviors.