PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present the findings of research that aimed to determine what university students living in accommodation provided by The UNITE Group Plc., in the UK, understand about the concept of sustainable living. It considers what barriers they perceive to be standing in the way of following sustainable living practices. In particular the research aimed to explore any value-action gap for the student population with a view to informing future actions to help close any gap. Design / methodologyThe study was completed through an online questionnaire survey of students living in halls of residence operated by UNITE. The survey informed focus groups that explored the issues raised in greater detail. FindingsIt was found that students living in properties provided by UNITE believed sustainable living to be important, yet levels of understanding were very low and there appeared to be a wide value-action gap. Reasons for this are varied, however an unexpected theme emerged around the association of effort and importance. There was a very strong association between sustainable living and recycling, which therefore saw the lack of adequate recycling facilities as a significant barrier to sustainable living. There were also issues around a lack of information, cost and respondents' flatmates as further barriers. However, the most significant barrier was the displacement of responsibility for sustainable living to other people or organisations. Originality / valueGaining an insight into the complexity of attitude and behaviour of students with the sustainability agenda will enable understanding that can be applied to activities that promote sustainability.

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