Understanding Society survey reveals favourite green behaviours among Brits

Initial results from 1,500 survey respondents reveal that 83 per cent of those who live in their own house are likely to separate their trash, while only 59 per cent of those who rent the property practice recycling. The study also shows that less than 100 households own solar energy panels.

Green attitudes costing the least effort and money are at present the most popular among the UK residents. The preliminary findings expose that 82 per cent of the surveyed Brits switch off the lights when not in use, 67 per cent of the respondents turn off the television when nobody is watching, and 55 per cent of them do not keep the tap on while brushing their teeth and they take their own recycled bag when shopping.

Professor Nick Buck of the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex, who is leading the new ‘Understanding Society’ research, informed that they interviewed the same groups of people each year to easily see how their attitudes and behaviours change over time.

He said that the environment is expected to remain a hot issue, with the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference just two weeks away. The information collected from the survey will be vital for the ongoing arguments about environmental issues.

The Understanding Society study, funded by ISER, the Economic and Social Research Council, and the National Centre for Social Research, shows the environmental behaviours and attitudes of 100,000 Brits from 40,000 households. A fuller print of the annual survey will be released at a later date.