Evaluation of Environmental Behavior Change Methods at Duke University

Abstract

Duke University is a leader in initiating programs geared towards campus sustainability. This project aims to conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of several campus sustainability programs including Green Devil Challenges and Eco-Olympics run by Sustainable Duke and related student groups in creating sustained environmental behavior change in the areas of energy, waste and water management. There are three analysis contained in this report. First, results from Green Devil Challenges were assessed statistically to quantify the actual behavior change achieved by these programs. Second, a three-part survey and a thorough qualitative analysis were used to see if freshman students improved their personal environmental behaviors after participating in a month long energy, waste, and water reduction Eco-Olympics competition. Third, we deployed a quantitative analysis and econometric program evaluation techniques to analyze students’ historical electricity consumption data from 2001 to 2010 to illustrate the effectiveness of Eco-Olympics competition. The analysis of Green Devil Challenges answers Sustainable Duke’s specific questions in Challenges design and implementation. The key findings from Eco-Olympics evaluation indicate that assessed initiatives have been successful in creating an overall positive behavior around campus towards sustainability, but also identify areas which need attention for an all-round focus towards environment and an effective implementation of sustainability.