Engaging Hairdressers in Pro-Environmental Behaviours

尽管人们努力提高对可持续发展和环境问题（如石油储备枯竭、有毒废物、气候变化和水资源短缺）挑战的认识，但个人行为的变化一直很缓慢。拟议的研究探讨了一种创新的自下而上的社会营销方法的功效，这种方法鼓励亲环境行为（PEB），利用理发师作为“催化个体”，在他们的社会网络中传播与负责任的化学品、能源和水使用有关的知识和实践。美发师使用大量的能源、水和化学品，但我们去年的研究（Baden, 2010）表明，尽管对可持续发展重要性的关注和公开声明越来越多，但很少有意识渗透到美发行业。发型师对环境问题的不重视构成了一种社会规范，与可持续发展意识相抵触，特别是在家里也可以进行的洗头发、吹头发和染发活动。因此，这项研究的目的是让美发师参与其中，既发展他们自己的peb，又作为“催化个体”，帮助在他们的社交网络中实施更多亲环境的社会规范。建议的研究将以行动研究的形式进行：行动：选定的发型师将接受采访，以评估他们目前的可持续性实践，以及他们通过实践或与客户的对话提供peb模型的程度（例如，降低头发产品的毒性，节约用水，在干燥和造型方面降低能源使用）。我们的试点研究没有发现这种环保意识的例子，但他们愿意进一步参与这个话题。届时，25位美发师将被邀请参加一个活动，以提高他们在工作中对环境问题的认识，并鼓励他们提出自己的想法来减少对环境的影响。我们计划通过让活动变得有趣，提供优质的茶点和鼓舞人心的演讲者，并提供免费的环保产品样品，来创造对该项目的积极态度。四个月后将举行后续活动，分享有效和无效的做法，并让理发师参与制定行业最佳实践基准，并使他们能够获得环境管理步骤（STEM）认证。我们计划举办两场活动和两场后续活动，总样本量为50名理发师。行动研究的研究部分将着眼于如何利用美发师向公众传播有关peb的信息。社会网络理论提出，信息最好通过弱关系传播（Granovetter, 1973）。创新扩散理论探讨社会网络及其在影响新思想和实践传播方面的作用。在所有职业中，美发师通常花最多的时间与各种各样的人聊天，对许多人来说，这是一个弱关系。这项研究计划探索参与制定环境基准的理发师在多大程度上与他们的顾客和其他同事谈论可持续性，并在与水、电和化学品使用有关的领域传播有关环境影响因素的信息和实践。这是一个跨学科的建议，它带来了一些来自网络建模不同领域的理论见解（社会网络理论，扩散理论）；社会心理学（如自决理论、社会学习理论、社会规范）、市场营销（口碑营销、社会营销、催化个体）和可持续性管理在一个项目中结合在一起，具有真正的潜力，既可以改变一个特定的部门，也可以测试开发一种更具创新性和自下而上的社会营销方法的有效性，以解决我们向低碳经济过渡的迫切需要。

Despite efforts to raise awareness of the challenges of sustainable development and environmental issues, such as depleting oil reserves, toxic waste, climate change and water shortages, individual behaviour has been slow to change.The proposed study explores the efficacy of an innovative bottom-up social marketing approach to encourage pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) using hairdressers as 'catalytic individuals' to diffuse knowledge and practices relating to responsible chemical, energy and water use across their social networks. Hairdressers use a lot of energy, water and chemicals, but our research last year (Baden, 2010) indicated that, despite the increased concerns and public pronouncements on the importance of sustainability, little awareness has filtered into the hairdressing sector. This lack of attention to environmental issues by hairdressers then constitutes a social norm that is antagonistic to sustainability awareness, especially hair-washing, drying and colouring, which are activities that are also carried out at home. Thus the study aims to engage hairdressers, both in developing their own PEBs, and as 'catalytic individuals' to help perpetrate more pro-environmental social norms across their social networks. The proposed study will be in the form of action research:Action: Selected hairdressers will be interviewed to assess their current sustainability practices and extent to which they provide a model of PEBs (e.g. reduced toxicity of hair products, water conservation, low use of energy in terms of drying and style) either through their practices or through their conversations with customers. Our pilot research found zero examples of such environmental awareness, but a willingness to engage with the topic further. Twenty five hairdressers will then be invited to an event to raise awareness of environmental issues in their work and encouraged to come up with their own ideas to reduce environmental impacts. We plan to create positive attitudes towards the project by making the event fun, with good refreshments and inspirational speakers, and offering free samples of eco-friendly products. A follow up event will be held four months later to share what worked and what didn't and engage the hairdressers in developing best practice benchmarks for their industry, and to enable them to attain the Steps Towards Environmental Management (STEM) certification. We plan to hold two events and two follow-up events, with a total sample size of 50 hairdressers. The research part of the action research will look at how hairdressers can be used to disseminate information about PEBs to the general public. Social networking theory proposes that information is best disseminated by weak ties (Granovetter, 1973). Diffusion of Innovations theory explores social networks and their role in influencing the spread of new ideas and practices. Of all occupations, hairdressers spend the most time generally chatting to a wide variety of people and comprise a weak tie for many. The research plans to explore the extent to which hairdressers involved in the development of environmental benchmarks talk to their customers and other colleagues about sustainability and act as a diffuser of information and practice on PEBs in areas related to the use of water, electricity and chemicals. This is a cross disciplinary proposal which brings some of the theoretical insights from the disparate areas of network modeling (social network theory, diffusion theory); social psychology (e.g. self-determination theory, social learning theory, social norms) and marketing (word of mouth marketing, social marketing, catalytic individuals) and sustainability management together in one project that has real potential, both to transform a particular sector, and to test the efficacy of developing a more innovative and bottom-up approach to social marketing to address our urgent need for a transition to a low carbon economy.