“Mum, did you just leave that tap running?!” The role of positive pester power in prompting sustainable consumption

This paper offers novel insights on the socio-structural factors that sustain (or break) everyday behaviours in the home. Specifically, the adoption of sustainable consumption in the home as influenced by Green-School children is explored. The findings presented are derived from surveys with Green-School (Eco-School) children and in-depth interviews with their parents. The process of sustainable consumption adoption in the home, in the context of the Green-Schools programme, is explored with an aim to understand if, and how, Green-School children affect behaviours in the home. The findings enlighten our understanding of not only how environmental education programmes are reconciling the Dominant Social Paradigm with the New Environmental Paradigm, but also in terms of how sustainable consumption in the home, such as recycling and water and energy conservation, are initiated and reinforced by children through their use of positive pester power.