Curriculum Neuroscience, Technology and Society, XXXVII series  Grant sponsor Electrolux, PON Supervisor s Luciano Gamberini Contact gabriellafrancescaamalia.pernice@studenti.unipd.it

Project description

The European Green Deal aims at reducing climate change by adopting a recovery plan to reduce global warming by 2030. One of the interventions planned concerns the optimization of production chains, which today are one of the main responsible for global pollution. In particular, the household appliances sector has a significant impact on carbon emissions. Household appliances have indeed an environmental impact through their entire life cycle (life-cycle appliance; LCA), from raw materials extraction and transport, to manufacture, daily use, and, eventually recycling or disposal. While new home appliances ensure greater energy efficiency, the end-user may still not be educated to make environmentally compatible choices during purchase and daily use. Household consumers are responsible for 70% of carbon dioxide emissions, and without a responsible use, even the most efficient power-saving machine cannot achieve the expected standards. It is therefore of paramount importance to address human behaviour. This project aims at investigating the green intention-behaviour gap by addressing both pre- and post-purchase phases. Specifically, this project will address the factors that are involved in the process of choosing household appliances (i.e., understandability of eco-labels, and value placed to remanufactured appliances), and the behavioural practice related to their everyday use and the management of usage-related feedbacks. By doing so, this project intends to increase knowledge and awareness of end-users about the tools that are under their control to make a sustainable purchase choice and mindfully manage the everyday usage of household appliances.