John Barrett
Environmental Consultant

A growing awareness of environmental issues and the ideas encompassed within sustainability, should led to increasing public concern, but there is still, as yet, little consensus about how the environment can best be protected while allowing for further social and economic development at national and local scales. As Axelrod & Lehman (1993) have suggested the importance of investigating the psychological antecedents of individuals’ reactions to environmental concerns is vital, as we attempt to better understand the factors that guide individual choice regarding environmentally responsible behaviour.

The Case Study: Dingle, Liverpool

Liverpool City Council ‘Sustainable Development Team’ believed it was important to understand the needs and desires of the community and their relationship with their environment. Steven Lindfield (Local Agenda 21 Officer) approached myself to conduct a public consultation exercise in an area of Liverpool (Dingle). He believed that the ecological footprint was an excellent communicator of sustainability and should be used within the exercise.

The ecological footprint was made an integral part of this public consultation process, helping to communicate the advantages of sustainable development to a community. The aim of the process was not solely to understand public perceptions of sustainability, but also to raise awareness of Local Agenda 21 initiatives, empower the people and explain what sustainable development is all about.

The methodology of focus groups was selected for this project to examine public responses to sustainability and sustainable indicators. In the focus group approach group interaction is employed to generate data and as a source of data for analysis (Templeton, 1994). Group forces or dynamics become an integral part of the procedure with participants engaged in discussion with each other rather than directing their comments solely to the moderator.

The focus group opens with a simple exercise that introduces the participants to a number of environmental concerns, entitled the Global Steps Game™. The participants were then given a short presentation explaining sustainability through the eyes of the ecological footprint. The ecological footprint provided a powerful medium for associating their lifestyle choices with the corresponding environmental degradation. For most of the participants it was the first time they truly understood the effect they were having on the environment.

Interestingly, sustainable development was not seen as barrier to progress, but as a sensible solution to many of the problems in Dingle.

The participants are asked what is required for them to turn their Global Step cards over from the unsustainable side to the other, i.e. (for example, to use their car less, choosing public transport or cycling instead). The use of the ecological footprint within this process of the focus group helped highlight key issues concerned with :-

• A lack of sustainable choices within Dingle
• Problems of social exclusion within Dingle
• The cultural significance of car ownership
• What they desire from a public transport system
• Fears of safety concerning transport

The participants clearly highlighted that it is not easy being green and that, for the first time, have understood the relevance of sustainable development to their own individual lifestyles. They highlights barriers that they felt were in place that made being sustainable difficult from them.

The ecological footprint also highlighted the other side to sustainability, concerned with the quality of life. The footprint demonstrated the vast difference between the developed and developing world, focusing on the issue that sustainable development is not merely about living within the means of nature.

Conclusions

To summarise the achievements of the ecological footprint within the focus group approach :-

• Helps communities understand the relevance of sustainable development to their own individual lifestyle choices
• Helps the community understand the main tenants of sustainable development, linking quality to life to ecological capacity
• This means a more informed, caring and empowered public ready to except the ideas of sustainability
• Helps the City Council understand the needs of the community
• Helps to City Council understand what their contribution should be to achieve a sustainable community
• Helps the City Council to understand the success of their past sustainable initiatives
• Helps the Council to understand the feasibility of their policy decisions (how the community will react to change)

The ecological footprint has helped to bring the science of the environment to the public domain. It has proved that sustainability can be understood by everyone when using a clear and comprehensive tool such as the ecological footprint.

For further information please contact :-

John Barrett

Email: bltjbarr@livjm.ac.uk