A Prospective Analysis of Factors Influencing the Pro-Environmental Behavior of Iranian Citizens: Environmental Governance and Structural Equation Modeling
Keywords:
pro-environmental behavior; environmental education; environmental awareness; environmental values; environmental ethics; partial least squares structural equation modelingAbstract
Pro-environmental behavior among citizens is a fundamental component of sustainable development and the mitigation of contemporary environmental crises. International experience indicates that environmental policies rarely produce durable outcomes without informed and responsible public participation. Understanding the determinants of pro-environmental behavior is therefore particularly important in urban communities confronted with air pollution, waste generation, excessive energy use, water scarcity, and degradation of natural resources. This study prospectively analyzed the cultural, cognitive, value-based, and ethical factors associated with the pro-environmental behavior of Iranian citizens. The theoretical framework drew on the Theory of Planned Behavior, Norm-Activation Theory, Value-Belief-Norm theory, and contemporary explanations of the knowledge-action gap. The study was applied in purpose and descriptive-correlational in design. The population consisted of residents of District 12 of Tehran, and data were collected from 390 participants using a researcher-developed questionnaire. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used for data analysis. Environmental education, environmental awareness and knowledge, environmental values, and environmental ethics all had positive and statistically significant effects on pro-environmental behavior. Environmental ethics showed the strongest direct effect and significantly mediated the relationships of education, awareness, and values with behavior. The model explained 71% of the variance in pro-environmental behavior. These findings indicate that increasing general knowledge alone is insufficient. Effective policy requires the reinforcement of biocentric values, the internalization of moral responsibility toward nature, and educational and cultural programs adapted to citizens' social context.
Downloads
References
Ardoin, N. M., Bowers, A. W., & Gaillard, E. (2020). Environmental education outcomes for conservation: A systematic review. Biological Conservation, 241, 108224.
Convention on Biological Diversity. (2020). Global Biodiversity Outlook 5. Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Creutzig, F., Niamir, L., Bai, X., Callaghan, M., Cullen, J., Díaz-José, J., Figueroa, M., Grubler, A., Lamb, W. F., Leip, A., Masanet, E., Mata, É., Mattauch, L., Minx, J. C., Mirasgedis, S., Mulugetta, Y., Nugroho, S. B., Pathak, M., Perkins, P., ... Ürge-Vorsatz, D. (2022). Demand-side solutions to climate change mitigation consistent with high levels of well-being. Nature Climate Change, 12, 36–46.
Díaz, M. F., Charry, A., Sellitti, S., Ruzzante, M., Enciso, K., & Burkart, S. (2020). Psychological factors influencing pro-environmental behavior in developing countries: Evidence from Colombian and Nicaraguan students. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 580730.
FAO. (2022). The State of the World's Forests 2022: Forest pathways for green recovery and building inclusive, resilient and sustainable economies. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (2nd ed.). SAGE.
IPCC. (2023). Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Karimi, S., & Mohammadimehr, S. (2022). Socio-psychological antecedents of pro-environmental intentions and behaviors among Iranian rural women: An integrative framework. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 10, 979728.
Li, X., Liu, Z., & Wuyun, T. (2022). Environmental value and pro-environmental behavior among young adults: The mediating role of risk perception and moral anger. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 771421.
Lou, X., & Li, L. M. W. (2023). The relationship of environmental concern with public and private pro-environmental behaviours: A pre-registered meta-analysis. European Journal of Social Psychology, 53(1), 1–14.
Meng, Y., Chung, D., & Zhang, A. (2023). The effect of social media environmental information exposure on the intention to participate in pro-environmental behavior. PLOS ONE, 18(11), e0294577.
Miller, L. B., & Rice, R. E. (2024). (Mis)matched direct and moderating relationships among pro-environmental attitudes, environmental efficacy, and pro-environmental behaviors across and within 11 countries. PLOS ONE, 19(6), e0304945.
Niu, N., Fan, W., Ren, M., Li, M., & Zhong, Y. (2023). The role of social norms and personal costs on pro-environmental behavior: The mediating role of personal norms. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 16, 2059–2069.
Piao, X., & Managi, S. (2024). Determinants of pro-environmental behaviour: Effects of socioeconomic, subjective, and psychological well-being factors from 37 countries. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11, 1–17.
Saracevic, S., & Schlegelmilch, B. B. (2021). The impact of social norms on pro-environmental behavior: A systematic literature review of the role of culture and self-construal. Sustainability, 13(9), 5156.
Schwartz, S. H. (1977). Normative influences on altruism. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 10, pp. 221–279). Academic Press.
Shen, J., & Zhang, H. (2024). Individuals' social identity and pro-environmental behaviors: Cross-cultural evidence from 48 regions. Sustainability, 16(24), 11299.
Shipley, N. J., & van Riper, C. J. (2022). Pride and guilt predict pro-environmental behavior: A meta-analysis of correlational and experimental evidence. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 79, 101753.
Shrestha, R., et al. (2025). Ethical discourse on pro-environmental behavior: A systematic review. Discover Sustainability.
Stern, P. C., Dietz, T., Abel, T., Guagnano, G. A., & Kalof, L. (1999). A value-belief-norm theory of support for social movements: The case of environmentalism. Human Ecology Review, 6(2), 81–97.
Tamar, M., Wirawan, H., Arfah, T., & Putri, R. P. S. (2021). Predicting pro-environmental behaviours: The role of environmental values, attitudes and knowledge. Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, 32(2), 328–343.
Tian, H., & Liu, X. (2022). Pro-environmental behavior research: Theoretical progress and future directions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(11), 6721.
UNDP Iran. (2025). Strengthening Iran's national capacity to address air quality challenges. United Nations Development Programme.
UNEP. (2021). Making Peace with Nature: A scientific blueprint to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution emergencies. United Nations Environment Programme.
UNEP. (2024a). Global Resources Outlook 2024: Bend the trend—pathways to a liveable planet as resource use spikes. United Nations Environment Programme.
UNEP. (2024b). Global Waste Management Outlook 2024: Beyond an age of waste. United Nations Environment Programme.
UNESCO. (2020). Education for Sustainable Development: A roadmap. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
UN-Water. (2024). The United Nations World Water Development Report 2024: Water for prosperity and peace. UNESCO.
WHO. (2024). Ambient outdoor air pollution. World Health Organization.
WMO. (2024). State of the Global Climate 2023. World Meteorological Organization.
Zhao, Y., Liu, X., & Han, X. (2024). Enhancing pro-environmental behavior through nature-contact environmental education: An empirical analysis based on randomized controlled experiment design. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 12, 1491780.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mehran Nasr (Author); Mojtaba Shahnoushi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
