Abstract
Three types of interventions have been implemented to promote water conservation behaviours: feedback, social norms, and sensitivity campaigns. The aim of this review is to assess methodological aspects and to estimate the efficacy of these interventions. We selected 31 articles through a systematic literature search. For each strategy, we analysed 6 essential methodological variables and we calculated the average effect size. We found a noticeable lack of control group and pre-post measures. The effect size was medium in feedback interventions and small in social norms and sensitivity interventions. Feedback strategies reported better methodological conditions. However, it is necessary to improve these essential methodological aspects and to report statistics which allow a more reliable estimation of efficacy. Despite this, there is a positive tendency of the three strategies, with feedback interventions having a greater effect.
Arroyo, E., Bonanni, L., & Selker, T. (2005). Waterbot: Exploring feedback and persuasive techniques at the sink. Actas de la SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 631-639) Portland, OG: ACM. https://www.doi.org/10.1145/1054972.1055059
Beal, C., Stewart, R. A., Spinks, A., & Fielding, K. (2011). Using smart meters to identify social and technological impacts on residential water consumption. Water Science and Technology: Water Supply, 11(5), 527-533. https://www.doi.org/10.2166/ws.2011.088
Cialdini, R. B., Reno, R. R., & Kallgren, C. A. (1990). A focus theory of normative conduct: Recycling the concept of norms to reduce littering in public places. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(6), 1015-1026. https://www.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.58.6.1015
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioural sciences (2ª ed.). Nueva York, NY: Academic Press.
Corral-Verdugo, V., Frías-Armenta, M., Pérez-Urias, F., Orduña-Cabrera, V., & Espinoza-Gallego, N. (2002). Residential water consumption, motivation for conserving water and the continuing tragedy of the commons. Environmental Management, 30(4), 527-535. https://www.doi.org/10.1007/s00267-002-2599-5
*Davies, K., Doolan, C., van den Honert, R., & Shi, R. (2014). Water-saving impacts of Smart Meter technology: An empirical 5 years, whole-of-community study in Sydney, Australia. Water Resources Research, 50(9), 7348-7358. https://www.doi.org/10.1002/2014WR015812
Dean, A. J., Fielding, K. S., & Newton, F. J. (2016). Community knowledge about water: Who has better knowledge and is this associated with water-related behaviors and support for water-related policies? Plos One, 11(7), 1-18. https://www.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159063
*Fang, Y. M., & Sun, M. S. (2016). Applying eco-visualisations of different interface formats to evoke sustainable behaviours towards household water saving. Behaviour & Information Technology, 35(9), 748-757. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2016.1189965
*Ferraro, P. J., & Price, M. K. (2013). Using non-pecuniary strategies to influence behaviour: Evidence from a large scale field experiment. Review of Economics and Statistics, 95(1), 64-73. https://www.doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00344
Fielding, K. S., & Hornsey, M. J. (2016). A social identity analysis of climate change and environmental attitudes and behaviors: Insights and opportunities. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1-12. https://www.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00121
*Fielding, K. S., Spinks, A., Russell, S., McCrea, R., Stewart, R., & Gardner, J. (2013). An experimental test of voluntary strategies to promote urban water demand management. Journal of Environmental Management, 114, 343-351. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.10.027
*Fuss, N., Bornkessel, S., Mattern, T., & Stamminger, R. (2011). Are resource savings in manual dishwashing possible? Consumers applying Best Practice Tips. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 35(2), 194-200. https://www.doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2010.00972.x
*Goldstein, N. J., Cialdini, R. B., & Griskevicius, V. (2008). A room with a viewpoint: Using social norms to motivate environmental conservation in hotels. Journal of Consumer Research, 35(3), 472-482. https://www.doi.org/10.1086/586910
Hurlimann, A., Hemphill, E., McKay, J., & Geursen, G. (2008). Establishing components of community satisfaction with recycled water use through a structural equation model. Journal of Environmental Management, 88(4), 1221-1232. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2007.06.002
Inman, D., & Jeffrey, P. (2006). A review of residential demand-side management tool performance and influences on implementation effectiveness. Urban Water Journal, 3(3), 127-143. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/15730620600961288
*Jeong, S. H., Gulbinas, R., Jain, R. K., & Taylor, J. E. (2014). The impact of combined water and energy consumption eco-feedback on conservation. Energy and Buildings, 80, 114-119. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2014.05.013
Jorgensen, B., Graymore, M., & O’Toole, K. (2009). Household water use behavior: An integrated model. Journal of Environmental Management, 91(1), 227-236. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.08.009
*Kappel, K., & Grechenig, T. (2009). Show-me: Water consumption at a glance to promote water conservation in the shower. Actas del 4th International Conference on Persuasive Technology. Claremont, CA: ACM https://www.doi.org/10.1145/1541948.1541984
*Katz, D., Grinstein, A., Kronrod, A., & Nisan, U. (2016). Evaluating the effectiveness of a water conservation campaign: Combining experimental and field methods. Journal of Environmental Management, 180, 335-343. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.05.049
*Keramitsoglou, K. M., & Tsagarakis, K. P. (2011). Raising effective awareness for domestic water saving: Evidence from an environmental educational programme in Greece. Water Policy, 13(6), 828-844. https://www.doi.org/10.2166/wp.2011.103
*Kurz, T., Donaghue, N., & Walker, I. (2005). Utillizing a social-ecological framework to promote water and energy conservation: A field experiment. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 35(6), 1281-1300. https://www.doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2005.tb02171.x
*Lawrence, K., & McManus, K. (2008). Towards household sustainability in Sydney? Impacts of two sustainable lifestyle workshop programs on water consumption in existing homes. Greographical Research, 46(3), 314-332. https://www.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-5871.2008.00526.x
Liu, A., Giurco, D., & Mukheibir, P. (2015). Motivating metrics for household water-use feedback. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 103, 29-46. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2015.05.008
*Liu, A., Giurco, D., & Mukheibir, P. (2016). Urban water conservation through customised water and end-use information. Journal of Cleaner Production, 112(4), 3164-3175. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.10.002
Maas, A., Goemans, C., Manning, D., Kroll, S., Arabi, M., & Rodríguez-McGoffin, M. (2017). Evaluating the effect of conservation motivations on residential water demand. Journal of Environmental Management, 196, 394-401. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.03.008
*Mair, J., & Bergin-Seers, S. (2010). The effect of interventions on the environmental behavior of Australian motel guests. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 10(4), 255-268. https://www.doi.org/10.1057/thr.2010.9
*Middlestadt, S., Grieser, M., Hernández, O., Tubaishat, K., Sanchack, J., Southwell, B., & Schwartz, R. (2001). Turning minds on and faucets off: Water conservation education in Jordanian schools. The Journal of Environmental Education, 32(2), 37-45. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/00958960109599136
*Miller, L. L. (2010). Measuring the efficacy of an energy and environmental awareness campaign to effectively reduce water consumption (Disertación doctoral). State College, PA: Pennsylvania State University. Recuperado de https://etda.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/11337
*Morgan, M., & Chompreeda, K. (2015). The relative effect of message-based appeals to promote water conservation at a tourist resort in the gulf of Thailand. Environmental Communication, 9(1), 20-36. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2014.917689
Naciones Unidas. (2016). Water and Jobs. París: Unesco. Recuperado de http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002439/243938e.pdf
Nguyen, K. A., Stewart, R. A., & Zhang, H. (2013). An intelligent pattern recognition model to automate the categorisation of residential water end-use events. Environmental Modelling & Software, 47, 108-127. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2013.05.002
Olmstead, S. M., & Stavins, R. N. (2009). Comparing price and non-price approaches to urban water conservation. Water Resources Research, 45(4), 1-10. https://www.doi.org/10.1029/2008WR007075
Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económicos. (2016). Water, growth and finance: Policy perspectives. Recuperado de https://www.oecd.org/environment/resources/Water-Growth-and-Finance-policy-perspectives.pdf
*Otaki, Y., Ueda, K., & Sakura, O. (2017). Effects of feedback about community water consumption on residential water conservation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 143, 719-730. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.051
Renwick, M. E., & Archibald, S. O. (1998). Demand side management policies for residential water use: Who bears the conservation burden? Land Economics, 74(3), 343-359. https://www.doi.org/10.2307/3147117
*Richetin, J., Perugini, M., Mondini, D., & Hurling, R. (2016). Conserving water while washing hands: the immediate and durable impacts of descriptive norms. Environment and Behavior, 48(2), 343-364. https://www.doi.org/10.1177/0013916514543683
Sarabia-Sánchez, F. J., Rodríguez-Sánchez, C., & Hyder, A. (2014). The role of personal involvement, credibility and efficacy of conduct in reported water conservation behaviour. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 38, 206-216. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2014.02.003
*Schultz, P. W., Khazian, A. M., & Zaleski, A. C. (2008). Using normative social influence to promote conservation among hotel guests. Social Influence, 3(1), 4-23. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/15534510701755614
*Schultz, P. W., Messina, A., Tronu, G., Limas, E. F., Gupta, R., & Estrada, M. (2016). Personalized normative feedback and the moderating role of personal norms: A field experiment to reduce residential water consumption. Environment and Behavior, 48(5), 686-710. https://www.doi.org/10.1177/0013916514553835
*Serna, V. F. (2014). Effects of a water conservation education program on water use in single-family homes in Dallas, Texas. (Disertación Doctoral). Denton, TX: Universidad del Norte de Texas. Recuperado de https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc699967/
*Seyranian, V., Sinatra, G. M., & Polikoff, M. S. (2015). Comparing communication strategies for reducing residential water consumption. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 41, 81-90. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2014.11.009
Skinner, B. F. (1974). About Behaviorism. Nueva York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.
*Staats, H., Harland, P., & Wilke, H. A. M. (2004). Effecting durable change: a team approach to improve environmental behavior in the household. Environment and Behaviour, 36(3), 341-367. https://www.doi.org/10.1177/0013916503260163
*Stewart, R. A., Willis, R. M., Panuwatwanich, K., & Sahin, O. (2013). Showering behavioural response to alarming visual display monitors: Longitudinal mixed method study. Behaviour & Information Technology, 32(7), 695-711. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2011.577195
*Survis, F. D. (2016). Beyond water restrictions: informing effective lawn watering behavior. (Disertación Doctoral). Boca Ratón, FL: Florida Atlantic University. Recuperado de https://fau.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/fau%3A33718
Syme, G. J., Nancarrow, B. E., & Seligman, C. (2000). The evaluation of information campaigns to promote voluntary household water conservation. Evaluation Review, 24(6), 539-578. https://www.doi.org/10.1177/0193841X0002400601
*Tijs, M. S., Karremans, J. C., Veling, H., de Lange, M. A., van Meegeren, P., & Lion, R. (2017). Saving water to save the environment: contrasting the effectiveness of environmental and monetary appeals in a residential water saving intervention. Social Influence, 12(2-3), 69-79. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/15534510.2017.1333967
Trumbo, C. W., & O’Keefe, G. J. (2005). Intention to conserve water: Environmental values,
reasoned action, and information effects across time. Society and Natural Resources, 18(6), 573-585. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/08941920590948002
*Warner, L. A., Chaudhary, A. K., & Galindo-González, S. (2016). Extension participants and nonparticipants differ in water conservation normative beliefs, intentions, and behaviors. HortTechnology, 26(6), 852-861. https://www.doi.org/10.21273/HORTTECH03484-16
*Watson, R. K., Murphy, M. H., Kilfoyle, F. E., & Moore, S. M. (1999). An opportunistic field experiment in community water conservation. Population and Environment, 20(6), 545-560. https://www.doi.org/10.1023/A:1023370100947
*Willis, R. M., Stewart, R. A., Panuwatwanich, K., Jones, S., & Kyriakides, A. (2010). Alarming visual display monitors affecting shower end use water and energy conservation in Australian residential households. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 54(12), 1117-1127. https://www.doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2010.03.004
Yazdanpanah, M., Hayati, D., Hochrainer-Stigler, S., & Zamani, G. H. (2014). Understanding farmers’ intention and behavior regarding water conservation in the Middle-East and North Africa: A case study in Iran. Journal of Environmental Management, 135, 63-72. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.01.016
This journal is registered under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License. Thus, this work may be reproduced, distributed, and publicly shared in digital format, as long as the names of the authors and Pontificia Universidad Javeriana are acknowledged. Others are allowed to quote, adapt, transform, auto-archive, republish, and create based on this material, for any purpose (even commercial ones), provided the authorship is duly acknowledged, a link to the original work is provided, and it is specified if changes have been made. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana does not hold the rights of published works and the authors are solely responsible for the contents of their works; they keep the moral, intellectual, privacy, and publicity rights. Approving the intervention of the work (review, copy-editing, translation, layout) and the following outreach, are granted through an use license and not through an assignment of rights. This means the journal and Pontificia Universidad Javeriana cannot be held responsible for any ethical malpractice by the authors. As a consequence of the protection granted by the use license, the journal is not required to publish recantations or modify information already published, unless the errata stems from the editorial management process. Publishing contents in this journal does not generate royalties for contributors.