Exploring the role of environmental awareness in shaping consumer behaviour towards sustainable practices

Environmental awareness plays a pivotal role in influencing consumer behaviour towards sustainable practices, making it a critical area of study in sustainability research. This paper presents a structured narrative review to consolidate existing knowledge and build a theoretical foundation for understanding how environmental awareness shapes sustainable consumption. Using a qualitative conceptual approach, the review synthesises evidence from high-quality secondary sources, including peer-reviewed journals indexed in Scopus and Web of Science, institutional reports, and global sustainability frameworks. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the analysis focuses on the interaction between environmental awareness and the core TPB components, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control in shaping behavioural intentions. The review employs thematic analysis and narrative synthesis to map relational pathways among these constructs and identify theoretical gaps for future research. By consolidating current knowledge, the paper contributes to academic discourse on sustainable consumer behaviour. It provides insights for guiding empirical investigations, policy formulation, and strategic marketing initiatives aligned with global sustainability goals.