Abstract | What motivates environmental behaviour change

The capacity of environment practitioners to effectively contribute to actions that preserve and restore the environment has long been debated. A range of factors may be responsible for the current divide that exists between environmental planning, conservation research and action. Part of the problem may be a lack of active involvement by suppliers and their contractors due to a lack of resources to implement concrete actions. More prescriptive environmental mitigation and monitoring measures to implement proposed measures are required. A conceptual paradigm shift should take place towards more commitment to turn environment planning into conservation action. Practical implementation should be regarded as an integrated part of conservation activity, as it constitutes the ultimate assessment of the effectiveness of the recommended conservation guidelines, and could be rewarded as such. Individual supplier or consumer incentives could be established, such as improved learning and development programs, the container deposit schemes is a good example of this. Further incentives for infrastructure operators/maintainers to actively engage with environment practitioners to determine best practice and innovation. Publication of case studies is sometimes limited to practitioners and this knowledge sharing could be further enhanced by industry forums, publication on company websites, incorporation into training programs and further internal communication.

Consumers could also be called to action by tackling the national consciousness, campaigns such as 'Don’t be a tosser’, ‘Keep Australia Beautiful’ and more recently the ABC’s Craig Reucassel’s ‘War on Waste’ are all a call to action to do the right thing to create a cleaner less wasteful society. Co-benefits such as transitioning to new jobs through job training, or government incentives to establish new jobs e.g. building wind or solar farms can all motivate the public to act on environmental issues. The feel-good factor of creating a more caring society can itself be incentive enough.

Bio | Lana Assaf MEIANZ

Lana currently works at RPS, an international consultancy providing world-class, local solutions in energy, infrastructure, urban growth and natural resource management. In July 2012, RPS acquired Manidis Roberts, a respected consultancy delivering communications, environmental, creative and project management services to support urban infrastructure projects. Lana has over 15 years’ experience in the environmental industry, with over 12 years’ environmental planning experience within Transport for NSW and has worked on major infrastructure projects for rail, roads and ports. Lana has had extensive involvement in the planning, design, delivery and operational phases of passenger transport projects. Working closely with clients, regulators and engineering teams to establish and deliver project environmental objectives, including legislative requirements. Prior to that Lana was the National Safety and Environment Manager for Infigen Energy, an ASX listed utility scale renewable energy company, which is a developer, owner and operator of renewable energy assets. Lana is an Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia Accredited Verifier and holds an MSc and BSc (Hons).