From environmental awareness to sustainable action and social impact in the age of AI: a mixed-methods study in Abu Dhabi, Dr Rakan Alhrahsheh, Dr Ganka Ivanova, Dr Mostafa Mohamad
Dr Rakan Alhrahsheh
Applied Sociology Programme
Al Ain University
Abu Dhabi
UAE
ORCID: 000-0002-9255-4240
Dr Ganka Ivanova
College of Interdisciplinary Studies
Zayed University
Abu Dhabi
UAE
ORCID: 0000-0001-5847-3087
Dr Mostafa Mohamad
College of Interdisciplinary Studies
Zayed University
Abu Dhabi
UAE
ORCID: 0000-0001-7172-1110
Paper Type: Research
Received: 2025 / Revised: 2025 / Accepted: 2025 / Published: 2026
DOI: 10.47556/J.WJSTSD.21.3.2026.2
Purpose: The study examines how environmental awareness relates to sustainable practices in Abu Dhabi and how age, income, and education shape this relationship.
Design/Methodology/Approach: The design adopted was a mixed-methods, consisting of a survey of 350 people, ten in-depth interviews and the combination of the two strands to increase validity and provide social insight.
Findings: The study showed high environmental awareness reflected in organic buying, water saving, reduced plastic use, and waste sorting, with weak links to demographics but a strong positive link between awareness and sustainable behaviour (B = 0.669, p = 0.001).
Practical Implications: The study contributes to the development of a social policy related to sustainable environmental development by developing behavioural programmes and interventions based on artificial intelligence (AI).
Originality/Value: The paper presents a new AI-powered-behavioural model and seals a significant knowledge gap in the region by empirically correlating environmental awareness with sustainable behaviour in the Arab Gulf.
Keywords: Environmental Awareness; Sustainability; Artificial Intelligence; Abu Dhabi.
Right hand header: From Environmental Awareness to Sustainable Action and Social Impact in the age of AI
Citation: Alhrahsheh, R., Ivanova, G. and Mohamad, M. (2026): From Environmental Awareness to Sustainable Action and Social Impact in the age of AI: A Mixed-Methods Study in Abu Dhabi. World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development (WJSTSD), Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. xx-xx.