Email this article 
Green curriculum, green campaigns, and financial rewards: limited impact on students’ pro-environmental awareness in higher education
(1) Magister Manajemen, Universitas Dr Soetomo, Surabaya, Indonesia.
(2) Magister Manajemen, Universitas Dr Soetomo, Surabaya, Indonesia.
(*) Corresponding Author
Abstract
Higher education plays a crucial role in shaping future generations’ environmental awareness and actions. This study examines whether common university strategies, such green curriculum, green campaigns, and financial rewards, effectively encourage students’ pro-environmental behavior. Using survey data from 124 accounting students at a private university in Surabaya, Indonesia, we applied Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the relationships among these variables. The findings suggest that both green curriculum and green campaigns show positive yet statistically insignificant effects on students’ pro-environmental behavior. It indicates that exposure to sustainability concepts and awareness initiatives alone do not guarantee behavioral change. In contrast, financial rewards demonstrate a strong and significant positive effect. It means that tangible incentives can effectively motivate students to adopt and maintain eco-friendly habits. These results highlight the importance of combining intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, as well as embedding sustainability values into campus culture through practical engagement and institutional support. We believe that our study contributes to the ongoing debate on sustainability education by showing that well-designed reward systems can encourage pro-environmental behavior.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Abd Rahim, M. H., Zukni, R. Z. J. A., Ahmad, F., & Lyndon, N. (2012). Green advertising and environmentally responsible consumer behavior: The level of awareness and perception of Malaysian youth. Asian social science, 8(5), 46.
Ajaps, S., & McLellan, R. (2015). “We don’t know enough”: Environmental education and pro-environmental behaviour perceptions. Cogent education, 2(1), 1124490.
Al Adwan, M. N., Hegazy, A., Basha, S. E., Mamdouh, A., El hAjji, M., Alketbi, B., & Fayez, H. (2025). Investigating the Role of Public Relations Campaigns in Environment Awareness Among University Students. Sustainability, 17(13), 5675.
Ávila, L. V., Leal Filho, W., Brandli, L., Macgregor, C. J., Molthan-Hill, P., Özuyar, P. G., & Moreira, R. M. (2017). Barriers to innovation and sustainability at universities around the world. Journal of cleaner production, 164, 1268-1278.
Chakraborty, A., Singh, M. P., & Roy, M. (2017). A study of goal frames shaping pro-environmental behaviour in university students. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 18(7), 1291-1310.
Blok, V., Wesselink, R., Studynka, O., & Kemp, R. (2015). Encouraging sustainability in the workplace: A survey on the pro-environmental behaviour of university employees. Journal of cleaner production, 106, 55-67.
Dagiliūtė, R., Liobikienė, G., & Minelgaitė, A. (2018). Sustainability at universities: Students’ perceptions from Green and Non-Green universities. Journal of Cleaner Production, 181, 473-482.
Djokic, N., Milicevic, N., Kalas, B., Djokic, I., & Mirovic, V. (2023). E-bicycle as a green and physically active mode of transport from the aspect of students: TPB and financial incentives. International journal of environmental research and public health, 20(3), 2495.
Dixon, G. N., Deline, M. B., McComas, K., Chambliss, L., & Hoffmann, M. (2015). Using comparative feedback to influence workplace energy conservation: A case study of a university campaign. Environment and Behavior, 47(6), 667-693.
Djuwita, R., & Benyamin, A. (2019). Teaching pro-environmental behavior: A challenge in Indonesian schools. Psychological Research on Urban Society, 2(1), 26.
Ercantan, O., & Eyupoglu, S. (2022). How do green human resource management practices encourage employees to engage in green behavior? Perceptions of university students as prospective employees. Sustainability, 14(3), 1718.
Fang, S. C. (2021). The pro-environmental behavior patterns of college students adapting to climate change. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 20(5), 700-715.
Filho, W. L., Shiel, C., & Paço, A. D. (2015). Integrative approaches to environmental sustainability at universities: an overview of challenges and priorities. Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences, 12(1), 1-14.
Fissi, S., Romolini, A., Gori, E., & Contri, M. (2021). The path toward a sustainable green university: The case of the University of Florence. Journal of Cleaner Production, 279, 123655.
Fytopoulou, E., Karasmanaki, E., Tampakis, S., & Tsantopoulos, G. (2023). Effects of curriculum on environmental attitudes: a comparative analysis of environmental and non-environmental disciplines. Education Sciences, 13(6), 554.
Godfrey, D. M., & Feng, P. (2017). Communicating sustainability: student perceptions of a behavior change campaign. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 18(1), 2-22.
Hosseinpour, M., Mohamed, Z., Rezai, G., Shamsudin, M. N., & AbdLatif, I. (2015). How go green campaign effects on Malaysian intention towards green behaviour. Journal of applied sciences, 15(6), 929-933.
Kacperski, C., & Kutzner, F. (2020). Financial and symbolic incentives promote ‘green’charging choices. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 69, 151-158.
Manika, D., Gregory-Smith, D., Wells, V. K., & Trombetti, E. (2019). ‘Student Switch Off!’: how do university students respond to a corporate-sponsored pro-environmental social marketing campaign?. Studies in Higher Education, 44(9), 1691-1706.
Maresi, S. R. P., & Basoeki, A. D. (2024). Upaya meningkatkan kepedulian peserta didik terhadap keberlangsungan lingkungan. Journal of Character and Environment, 1(2), 113-125.
Moggi, S. (2023). Sustainability reporting, universities and global reporting initiative applicability: a still open issue. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 14(4), 699-742.
Odhiambo, G. M., Waiganjo, E. W., & Simiyu, A. N. (2023). Incentivizing employee pro-environmental behaviour: Harnessing the potential of green rewards. African Journal of Empirical Research, 4(2), 601-611.
Ralph, M., & Stubbs, W. (2014). Integrating environmental sustainability into universities. Higher Education, 67(1), 71-90.
Saeed, B. B., Afsar, B., Hafeez, S., Khan, I., Tahir, M., & Afridi, M. A. (2019). Promoting employee's proenvironmental behavior through green human resource management practices. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 26(2), 424-438.
Sammalisto, K., Sundström, A., & Holm, T. (2015). Implementation of sustainability in universities as perceived by faculty and staff–a model from a Swedish university. Journal of Cleaner Production, 106, 45-54.
Tampubolon, M. S. A., Purba, B., Sembiring, C. A. B., Manurung, M. P., & Harahap, I. (2024). Analisis Kesadaran Dan Perilaku Ramah Lingkungan Mahasiswa di Universitas Negeri Medan. EKOMA: Jurnal Ekonomi, Manajemen, Akuntansi, 4(1), 51-63.
Triyandana, A., Ibrohim, I., Yanuwiyadi, B., Amin, M., & Hajar, M. U. (2024). Strategies to Enhance Eco-Friendly Culture and Environmental Awareness by Green Curriculum Integration in Indonesian Elementary Science Classroom. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 17(1), 217-231.
Tsai, S. P. (2018). Innovative behaviour of knowledge workers and social exchange attributes of financial incentive: implications for knowledge management. Journal of knowledge management, 22(8), 1712-1735.
Yang, Z., He, L., & Huang, T. (2024). Powering Pro-Environment Behavior: The Impact of Unlocking Reward Strategy on Pro-Environmental Behavior. Sustainability (2071-1050), 16(21).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24123/mabis.v24i2.989
Article Metrics
Abstract view : 0 timesPDF - 0 times
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2025 Ach. Syaiful Rizal, Sri Utami Ady
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. ISSN: 1412-3789. e-ISSN: 2477-1783.
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |