1 Measuring Subjective Behaviour in Social Marketing: the Case of Household Energy Consumption Dave A. Webb. University of Western Australia. dave.webb@uwa.edu.au Geoffrey N. Soutar*. University of Western Australia. geoff.soutar@uwa.edu.au Jillian C. Sweeney. University of Western Australia. jill.sweeney@uwa.edu.au Tim Mazzarol University of Western Australia. tim.mazzarol@uwa.edu.au This research is conducted with the support of an Australian Research Council Linkage grant. Our linkage partners are the Public Utilities Office, Western Australia and Synergy, Western Australia Keywords: energy saving behaviour, social marketing, measurement. Abstract This paper examines the energy saving behaviour of a sample of householders in Western Australia. It uses a correspondence analysis to examine their existing energy saving activities as measured against a well-recognised set of common household related activities. For many social marketing campaigns the desired end-result is to achieve sustainable behaviour change. However, there are “easy” and “hard” behaviours that require attention. Knowing what to measure and the trade-offs between cost and accessibility is also important. This study sought to better define the measures associated with household energy conservation behaviour, particularly where it was not possible to secure access to actual consumption data. The paper discusses the approach taken and demonstrates the usefulness of correspondence analysis in developing a valid subjective measure of energy-saving behaviour. We highlight the potential value of the approach in other settings. Background For both economic and the environmental reasons energy conservation is becoming an increasingly important issue for governments, suppliers and consumers. Australia’s energy sector is heavily dependent on non-renewable resources, such as coal, oil and natural gas. Further, energy production from these sources releases harmful greenhouse gases that impact negatively on the environment (Living Greener 2012). These trends have meant that environmental issues have become increasingly important. For consumers, the rising cost of household energy remains a key concern, especially in Western Australia, where electricity charges have increased by more than 60% in recent years and substantial increases are expected in the near future. Discussions about climate change and energy reduction often suggest consumers feel they have little control and a sense of helplessness, as individual or household actions are not seen