This study aims to investigate US college students’ values, perceptions and knowledge regarding the conservation of food, energy and water (FEW) resources at the household level. It aims to understand how students’ environmental identities and beliefs influence attitudes toward resource use and climate change mitigation.
A survey of 539 students from multiple US universities was conducted, with 320 respondents completing all sections. The instrument included measures of values and norms derived from the Value–Belief–Norm (VBN) framework, attitudes toward climate change, perceptions of the relative importance of FEW sectors and knowledge of cost-effective conservation actions. Analytical methods included descriptive statistics, the Analytical Hierarchy Process for ranking FEW priorities and analysis of variance tests for differences across resource domains.
Students ranked food as the most important FEW sector, while energy was consistently ranked least important. Although students expressed strong pro-environmental values and moral obligation toward conservation, knowledge gaps were evident – particularly in linking water conservation to greenhouse gas reductions. Respondents demonstrated relatively accurate perceptions of cost-effective household actions but underestimated the climate relevance of water-saving behaviors.
The results highlight opportunities for targeted educational interventions in higher education. Curriculum integration of the FEW nexus, experiential learning and tools such as serious gaming can strengthen students’ systems thinking and address knowledge gaps. Universities can leverage these insights to design programs that connect personal household behaviors to broader sustainability outcomes.
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to apply the FEW nexus lens to US college students’ household behaviors. By combining VBN theory with empirical evidence, it advances understanding of how higher education institutions can foster pro-environmental identities and promote actionable strategies for resource conservation and climate mitigation.
