Micro-level Contributions Towards SDG Target 12.3: Identifying the Behavioural Drivers of Household Food Waste Reduction

In many Western countries, household food waste is by far the largest contributor to the overall total food waste and threatens the sustainability of the food system. In order to identify the factors that influence households’ food waste decisions and to predict behaviour towards food waste, the paper employs perspectives from the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the expectation, motivation and attitude (EMA) model. This paper extends the TPB model by adding the construct of affective states, since there is strong empirical support for this. Data from respondents in the UK who were responsible for purchasing household food and making food-related decisions were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that for the TPB, an individual’s attitude, PBC and affect had a statistically significant direct association with consumers’ intention to reduce food waste. In addition, the results show a direct positive association between intentions to reduce food waste and actual food waste behaviour. For the EMA, expectation influences motivation and attitude. Compared to the EMA, the TPB proves to be relatively good predictive models for understanding determinants of food waste reduction. The TBP also supports incorporating elements such as affective states, considering that the additional construct in the model contributes to improving understanding of consumers’ intention to reduce food waste. Collectively, household food waste can be reduced by avenues that influence individuals’ positive attitudes, increases the expectation that food waste reduction behaviour is within one’s control and evokes a positive affective state when food waste is reduced in households.

JEL Classification: D1, D12, F64, Q53