Filtering by
- All Subjects: Sustainability
- Member of: School of Sustainability Graduate Culminating Experiences
For decades, understanding the complexity of behaviors, motivations, and values has interested researchers across various disciplines. So much so that there are numerous terms, frameworks, theories, and studies devoted to understanding these complexities and how they interact and evolve into actions. However, little research has examined how employee behaviors translate into the work environment, particularly regarding perceived organizational success. This study advances research by quantitatively assessing how a greater number of individual employees’ pro-environmental behaviors are related to the perceived success of environmentally sustainable workplace activities. We have concluded that the more pro-environmental behaviors an employee embodies, the more positively they perceive the success of their local government's sustainable purchasing policy. Additionally, other factors matter, including organizational behaviors, like training, innovation, and reduction of red tape.
BACKGROUND: The City of Phoenix initiated the HeatReady program in 2018 to prepare for extreme heat, as there was no official tool, framework, or mechanism at the city level to manage extreme heat. The current landscape of heat safety culture in schools, which are critical community hubs, has received less illumination. HeatReady Schools—a critical component of a HeatReady City—are those that are increasingly able to identify, prepare for, mitigate, track, and respond to the negative impacts of schoolgrounds heat. However, minimal attention has been given to formalize heat preparedness in schools to mitigate high temperatures and health concerns in schoolchildren, a heat-vulnerable population. This study set out to understand heat perceptions, (re)actions, and recommendations of key stakeholders and to identify critical themes around heat readiness. METHODS: An exploratory sequential mixed-methods case study approach was used. These methods focused on acquiring new insight on heat perceptions at elementary schools through semi-structured interviews using thematic analysis and the Delphi panel. Participants included public health professionals and school community members at two elementary schools—one public charter, one public—in South Phoenix, Arizona, a region that has been burdened historically with inequitable distribution of heat resources due to environmental racism and injustices. RESULTS: Findings demonstrated that 1) current heat safety resources are available but not fully utilized within the school sites, 2) expert opinions support that extreme heat readiness plans must account for site-specific needs, particularly education as a first step, and 3) students are negatively impacted by the effects of extreme heat, whether direct or indirect, both inside and outside the classroom. CONCLUSIONS: From key informant interviews and a Delphi panel, a list of 30 final recommendations were developed as important actions to be taken to become “HeatReady.” Future work will apply these recommendations in a HeatReady School Growth Tool that schools can tailor be to their individual needs to improve heat safety and protection measures at schools.
One solution to the problems of poor air quality in Phoenix, Arizona and global climate change is to alter the way the population uses transportation. In the US, around one-fifth of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are due to cars and trucks used for transportation and the increasing level of CO2 emissions is exacerbating our impact on the climate and is causing a shift in climate. By switching from combustion engine vehicles to public transportation, electric vehicles, or going entirely vehicle-less, the amount of CO2 being released into the atmosphere every day will be decreased and overall air quality within cities will improve. If public transportation, riding a bicycle or walking is not an option, electric vehicles (EVs) are ideal as a lower-carbon emitting option over traditional combustion engines when they are recharged using renewable energy sources, like solar.
To encourage the adoption of EVs, this project pushed to overcome a few of the traditional barriers to adoption – initial cost, charging station infrastructure, and education about EVs. First, charging infrastructure was installed on all four ASU campuses. Then, to discover the biggest barriers to EV adoption, a literature review was conducted to develop a general understanding of barriers which guided the creation of survey questions. This survey was distributed to all staff and faculty at ASU (over 9,500 individuals) and received over 1,400 responses. To begin building the EV program at ASU, other universities with EV programs were interviewed to learn best practices and to understand what is most effective in encouraging EV adoption on campus. The responses determined that ASU needs to:
1. Install more charging stations on campus.
2. Offer premium parking for EV/hybrid users or a discounted parking pass or free charging.
3. Add charging stations to ASU interactive map.
4. Develop an incentive program with EV dealerships.
The project built partnerships with EV dealerships to lower the initial costs associated with buying and leasing EVs. Finally, to increase awareness of EVs, the dealership partners brought EVs to campus for a demonstration day paired with Earth Day. The ASU EV program will reduce barriers to EV adoption to help reduce CO2 emissions related to transportation at the ASU campuses and improve city air quality.