Students’ Awareness Regarding Environment Protection in Campus Life: Evidence from Romania

Mariana Cernicova-Buca (), Gabriel-Mugurel Dragomir, Vasile Gherheș and Adina Palea
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Mariana Cernicova-Buca: Department of Communication and Foreign Languages, Interdisciplinary Research Center for Communication and Sustainability (PoliCom), Politehnica University of Timisoara, 300006 Timisoara, Romania
Gabriel-Mugurel Dragomir: Department of Teaching Training, Interdisciplinary Research Center for Communication and Sustainability (PoliCom), Politehnica University of Timisoara, 300006 Timisoara, Romania
Vasile Gherheș: Department of Communication and Foreign Languages, Interdisciplinary Research Center for Communication and Sustainability (PoliCom), Politehnica University of Timisoara, 300006 Timisoara, Romania
Adina Palea: Department of Communication and Foreign Languages, Interdisciplinary Research Center for Communication and Sustainability (PoliCom), Politehnica University of Timisoara, 300006 Timisoara, Romania

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 23, 1-18

Abstract: Climate awareness is a major topic of concern, and the Green Deal in Europe attempts to turn states, communities, and local actors towards more environmentally conscious action to reduce, by 2030, the net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55%. Universities voluntarily adhered to the 2030 Agenda, displaying a wide variety of approaches to respond to sustainability goals and calls for greening. The purpose of the present study is to establish the students’ readiness for action as sustainability promoters, starting with their awareness of environmental issues. Upon focusing on the perceptions of students from the oldest university in western Romania gathered via an online questionnaire in 2023, the research showed that 95.6% of respondents consider climate issues as important or very important to them, even though less than 50% of the sample evaluate their own knowledge of environmental protection as good or very good. The results show that of the parameters that differentiate student awareness and actions, gender and place of residence (on campus/off campus) play a significant role, helping shape tailored strategies and projects to capitalize on students’ predispositions to engage (or not) in environment-related activities.

Keywords: sustainability; environmental awareness; sustainability awareness; environment protection; on-campus resident; student (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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