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Characterizing the Energy-Saving Behaviors, Attitudes and Awareness of University Students in Macau

Author

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  • Shujie Zhao

    (Macau Environmental Research Institute, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau 999078, China)

  • Qingbin Song

    (Macau Environmental Research Institute, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau 999078, China)

  • Chao Wang

    (Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory on Functional Soft Condensed Matter, School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China)

Abstract

Currently, energy and its usage are the primary environmental issues in all countries and regions. As a special social group, university students not only have extremely high energy consumption needs, but they have more advanced consumption concepts. Understanding their energy-saving characteristics could provide foresight for predicting the energy-saving characteristics of future residents. Using data collected from 737 valid questionnaires, from five typical universities in Macau, this study investigated university students' energy-saving behaviors, attitudes and awareness, and analyzed the possible influencing factors. The results showed that the energy-saving behaviors and attitudes of respondents from five university were nearly the same. Meanwhile, 75.98% of the respondents clearly recognized that energy-savings behaviors are closely related to their daily study and life, and 96.61% of the university students thought that it is very necessary to save energy. In addition, 92.94% of students thought it was necessary to carry out energy-saving education in universities. The regression analysis indicated that “the relationship between energy-saving awareness and daily life” and “the necessity of energy-saving education” are positively correlated with the energy-saving awareness at the significance level of 1%, whereas the energy-saving behaviors, “give priority to energy-saving products” and “shut down your computer when going out”, are positively correlated with energy-saving awareness at the significance level of 10% and 5%, respectively. Finally, we proposed effective suggestions for raising the awareness of saving energy among university students.

Suggested Citation

  • Shujie Zhao & Qingbin Song & Chao Wang, 2019. "Characterizing the Energy-Saving Behaviors, Attitudes and Awareness of University Students in Macau," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-11, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:22:p:6341-:d:286101
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    8. Yusuf Opeyemi Akinwale, 2022. "Awareness and Perceptions of University Students in the Business College towards Energy Savings and Renewable Energy Sources in Saudi Arabia," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 12(3), pages 470-476, May.
    9. Zhao, Shujie & Song, Qingbin & Zhao, Dongfeng & Wang, Yongqiang, 2023. "Identifying the spatiotemporal carbon footprint of the petroleum refining industry and its mitigation potential in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    10. Ang Li & Bo Li & Xia Liu & Ying Zhang & Haiyan Zhang & Xuyang Lei & Suxia Hou & Bin Lu, 2022. "Characteristics and Dynamics of University Students’ Awareness of Retired Mobile Phones in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-14, August.
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