Digital feedback and waste separation behaviour in university sport venues: a multi-method investigation of environmental innovation in higher education infrastructure

Purpose This study aims to examine whether digital feedback interventions can change spectator waste separation behaviour in university sport venues and how social influence processes amplify these effects, contributing to the broader understanding of environmental management innovations within higher education institutions. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from 4,847 spectators at a university arena in Shanghai across 312 events over 18 months (September 2023 to February 2025). The intervention consisted of a mobile application and digital displays providing real-time waste separation feedback. Agent-based modelling simulated social influence processes within spectator populations. Findings Waste separation rates increased from 22.3% to 61.2% (p < 0.001, d = 1.82). Environmental identity scores rose 11.9% (p < 0.001, d = 0.48). Undergraduate students showed the largest improvement (+219%) despite lowest baseline rates. Agent-based simulations revealed that 54% of total effects resulted from social influence rather than direct feedback exposure, with each environmentally engaged spectator influencing 2.3 additional individuals. Originality/value University sport venues can function as effective sites for environmental behaviour change within the broader context of green campus infrastructure development. Digital feedback systems represent low-cost innovations that leverage social dynamics within spectator populations. Sport facility managers should design interventions making pro-environmental behaviour visible to amplify peer influence effects, contributing to institutional sustainability goals and SDG targets.