… are interventions, big or small, that aim to influence behaviour to make people act more sustainable.
Explore over 80 global Green Nudges. 
Updated weekly, Tuesdays at 9am CET.
Inspired by food labels, university students in Argentina prototyped Eco-conscious Tags to highlight the environmental impact of fast fashion.
A social media challenge encouraging Bogotá’s citizens to adopt new shower habits in response to the city’s water crisis.
Pilot study in Dutch supermarkets shows positioning meat alternatives next to conventional meat significantly shifts consumer choices.
British pop-rock band promotes returning and reusing plastic LED wristbands on tour through social norms and reminders.
Leveraging the concept of maximising sensory pleasure from smaller portion sizes to promote healthier eating habits.
Timely and individualised text messages, encouraged active and greener travel decisions to and from work.
Nudging passengers with visual cues can reduce rail congestion and thus make public transport more attractive.
Bike interventions successfully increased cycling by providing family engagement packs and motivational prompts for women.
Tailored info about battery charge increases EV drivers‘ uptake of smart charging; easing grid stress & promoting green energy use.
The OzHarvest Use it Up Tape™ helps reduce food waste by reminding households to use up leftovers found in their fridges and pantries.
With the climate crisis, humanity faces one of the biggest challenges of all time. We simply cannot afford to keep going as we have over the last several decades. We need to change – but change in itself is hard.
If you ask people whether they support sustainable behaviour or “green(er)” choices as a means to save our planet, and thus keep it inhabitable for future generations – a majority would certainly say yes.
However, as anthropologist Margaret Mead pointed out years ago: “What people say, what people do and and what people say they do are entirely different things.” People may support the good cause, but still like their daily meat, their big combustion SUVs and their long hot showers – these (immediate) pleasures take priority over being more “green”. This is known as the “attitude-behavior-gap” or “intention-action-gap”.
The Green Nudges that we will showcase are meant to trigger real action: sometimes immediate and sometimes at a later stage when people are faced with a decision and still have that nudge in mind. Not all of them have data available to back up the effectiveness. But we understand them as inspiration for institutions, decision makers or individuals for a greater good. For real action.
The idea of nudging is not new and there are already quite a few nudges surfacing. But we have the feeling that the majority of them are hidden inside theoretical abstracts and scientific publications.
Our objective with our Green Nudges series is to make these examples more accessible to a general audience and most certainly much easier to understand.
Editor-in-chief
20 years ago, when Matthias first read Bill Buford’s book „Among the thugs“ – an impressive piece of social research about football hooligans and the power of the crowd – he was instantly hooked by the psychological phenomenons that make people tick. Ever since, he wanted to understand how people make decisions and what drives their behaviour. For many years, he tried to use this knowledge to influence purchase decisions, while working for many different companies as a marketing strategist. But increasingly, he’s interested in using that experience to influence people to make more sustainable choices.
Editor
Kassandra is a Creative Consultant, Biodesigner and Speculative Artist. With her expertise in nature-inspired social and sustainable design, she mentors start-ups and SMEs to transform their design products, services and systems. Not only does her guidance help companies generate circular designs, she also empowers them to push the boundaries of their storytelling resonance: encouraging interconnected and synergetic behaviors between people and their respective ecosystems. In her studio practice, she realizes playful and immersive experiences – ushering society towards proactive, inclusive and regenerative futures.
Illustrator
Johannes is a visual storyteller with work ranging from illustrations to design and art. His particular forté is in depicting visions of desirable futures and the roadmaps to how we could get there. As a communication designer, Johannes supports brands and stories on a mission to create a thriving planet. That’s why his core topics are sustainable and social impact, future design, and science communication. With his Green Nudges illustrations, Johannes skillfully disseminates the essence of often very theoretical behavioral insights; into accessible visual interpretations, approachable for a wide range of audiences.
You know another Green Nudge that the world needs to know about?
Feel free to send it to: hello@green-nudges.com
