UBC Study Shows Green Buildings Inspire Eco-Friendly Behavior

April 26, 2013- A study by psychology students at the University of British Columbia suggests that green architecture and design can have ongoing environmental benefits – beyond the brick-and-mortar. The students found that green buildings encourage people to act in a more eco-friendly manner.

The study, led by UBC psychology department head Alan Kingstone with students David Wu and Alessandra DiGiacomo, studied the recycling habits in cafeterias at two UBC Vancouver campus buildings: the sustainably-designed Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) and the outdated Student Union Building, a concrete building built in the 1960s.

Hidden cameras were used to track people in both buildings. Students at the CIRS cafeteria were shown to recycle waste far more than students at the Student Union. At the CIRS cafeteria, about 86 percent of students were recorded properly disposing of recyclables compared to only 58 percent at the Student Union Building. Both buildings offered similar opportunities for recycling and waste disposal.

The findings suggest that the greener, sustainable context induced pro-environmental behavior. Researchers surveyed users of both buildings to ensure those in the CIRS building were not more predisposed to recycling due to other factors. They credited the results to the cognition effect, which suggests that the environment affects how people feel and act.

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