What Do You Call Someone Who Cares for the Environment? A Systematic Review of Environment-Related Identity Terms

When it comes to inspiring and sustaining action for the environment, identity matters. This review examines environment-related identity terms to clarify terminology and support discourse. A literature search was conducted in Scopus for peer-reviewed articles published from 2020 through to 31 July 2025. Articles were included if they discussed one of 15 environment-related identity terms in the title, abstract, or keywords and engaged conceptually with the term. Articles were excluded if the term appeared only in searchable fields, was used in a non-individual context, or was not substantively engaged with. Drawing on 919 articles, the review maps how identity terms are defined in the literature. The result is a three-dimensional framework encompassing connection to nature, pro-environmental orientation in everyday life, and public/political environmental engagement. Findings highlight that identity terms are often inconsistently defined, with substantial overlap. Results are limited to articles with identity terms in searchable fields and explicit definitions, potentially omitting implicit or operationalised uses. To address inconsistencies, we propose three identity terms, ecological identity, environmental steward, and environmental activist, each corresponding to one of the identified dimensions above. Clarifying this language can strengthen academic discourse and help individuals locate themselves within it, keeping identities motivating amid accelerating environmental degradation.