Proper units for pro-environmental behavior: a review and feasibility study of private-sphere behaviors [Author Accepted Manuscript]

Greenhouse gas emissions caused by private-sphere behaviors are an important contributor to global warming. Therefore, one major focus of environmental psychology is on Pro-Environmental Behavior (PEB). Despite the importance of the topic, there is low consensus on how PEB should be measured. The present study explores whether self-reported measures of private-sphere PEB can be feasibly translated into a common metric of environmental impact (tCO2-eq). To this end, we reviewed a sample of articles published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology in 2023, analyzed how PEB was measured and assessed its impact in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. We then conducted a meta-analysis to estimate the potential CO2 savings associated with these measures. The analyses reveal high heterogeneity in PEB measurement, with a dominating role of low-impact behaviors. The results suggest that a stronger link between behavioral assessment and its measurable environmental consequences could make PEB research more rigorous, transparent and relevant for interdisciplinary collaboration and climate policy development.