The global transition toward a sustainable built environment necessitates fundamental shifts in user behaviour. While institutional policies and green infrastructure provide the framework, the critical challenge remains translating individual pro-environmental intent into measurable CO2e reductions within daily routines. This study addresses this gap by introducing the Sustainable Behaviour Goals (SBGs) framework, an integrated approach that links individual aspirations to environmental impact within the microcosm of the university campus.
Drawing on Social Practice Theory (SPT), Goal-Framing Theory, and Spatial-Temporal Analysis (STA), we conducted a mixed-methods case study across three Swedish university campuses. We mapped the daily activities of students and co-created self-set SBGs, subsequently quantifying the environmental impact of their actual versus intended behaviours using Scope 1, 2, and 3 carbon emission analysis.
Key findings reveal a misalignment between students' personal sustainability goals, which prioritise well-being, leisure, and productivity, and the most carbon-intensive activities in their lives. For instance, the most impactful behavioural areas—food choices, mobility, and energy-intensive hygiene (e.g., warm showers, 3.83 kg CO2e/hr)—are often overlooked in self-set goals. Furthermore, the analysis, particularly of Scope 2 and 3 emissions, highlights the reliance of high-impact behaviours on the built environment’s infrastructure (e.g., campus energy systems, public transport networks). The temporal distribution of these high-emission activities, such as cooking and leisure in the evening, underscores the value of STA for identifying critical intervention points.
The study concludes that SBGs offer a reliable, evidence-based tool to design context-specific interventions. By aligning physical infrastructure and policy with behavioural science, the property owners, especially high education institutions, can bridge the individual intention-action gap and drive systemic change, ensuring that sustainability efforts within the built environment are both behaviourally realistic and environmentally impactful. This framework provides a scalable model for fostering sustainable cultures in educational and urban settings worldwide.