"How do we bring them in?" A Typology of Relevant Characteristics and Communication Habits for Developing Communication Strategies promoting Environmentally Sustainable Behaviour

Environmental sustainability and relevant behaviour patterns are determined by a number of aspects; some of them are knowledge about environmental issues and attitudes towards the environment; personal ethic values; as well as ideas about self-efficacy regarding one's own behaviour. Aiming to gain a complex understanding of this set of characteristics with regard to different social groups, I employed a cluster analysis of 486 participants and arranged them by their age, gender and formal education. The results indicate that six different 'eco-types' can be found. In a second step, I examined the six eco-type groups in terms of their specific media preferences and communicative behaviour. The resulting typology can aid the planning of communicational campaigns on environmental topics, for it offers insights into different social environments; each with a specific media repertoire, communicational habits and environmentally relevant engagement. Adapted from the source document.