… are interventions, big or small, that aim to influence behaviour to make people act more sustainable.
Classic study from 2008 demonstrated that placing a card with social norms in the guest’s room triggers towel reuse
Reckitt Benckiser’s dishwasher tablet brand debunks pre-rinsing myths with the “Finish 24-Hour Challenge“
An interactive online tool designed to encourage waste prevention and recycling on Irish university campuses
Unilever’s Lifebuoy employed roti stamps to reinforce hand washing before eating meals in India
Pilot at Dutch University: nudge when flushing a dual-flush toilet to prevent excessive toilet water consumption
Colombian changemakers predict a six-day extension in the life of fruits and vegetables through the implementation of stickers with serving meal suggestions
An US study that tested first-person communication on biscuit packaging demonstrated better recycling behaviour
Energy displays for tenants act as constant reminders, offering immediate feedback and insight into their energy usage behaviour
Dutch field experiment: Online supermarkets can deliver timely nudges that encourage people to make healthier and more sustainable food choices
The quiz-like bins effectively engage people with buzzing questions, preventing cigarette butts from causing harm to wildlife and aquatic ecosystems
Using a simple prompt, a Beirut restaurant successfully reduced the use of plastic cutlery among customers placing food orders
Making the vegetarian option more appealing to the mainstream by reframing it from a functional choice to an enjoyable one.
We have biassed perceptions of paper used in packaging. A “minimal packaging” sticker on a recyclable plastic-only option changes that.
The Canadian municipality implemented see-through bin bags which helped reduce the city’s overall solid waste as well as increase recycling rates.
German „Deutsche See“ reduces fish refrigeration unit energy waste by 20% with smiley-face feedback system
As part of the „Clean India Campaign,“ India is fighting the problem of open defecation. At the 2019 festival, they tackled this issue using behavioural nudges
Singapore designer Tommy Cheong tackles recycling contamination by creating bins that activate your conscious “System 2”
New research highlights how sound can nudge us towards more sustainable food choices and promote planet-friendly eating habits
This Dutch reciprocity intervention offers a simple trade-off: easy meal ordering and delivery in exchange for a cleaner park.
An experiment at a hotel buffet showed that reducing plate size and providing social cues can reduce food waste by approximately 20%
Danish approach: heat-sensitive paint on radiators signals when to turn off, potentially reducing heating consumption in public buildings
Norwegian online supermarket, Oda, promotes sustainable shopping with a climate receipt displaying CO2 emissions alongside product prices.
A Dutch study finds a sticker on a kettle is an effective nudge to promote the use of hot water instead of vinegar as a “green” herbicide.
An Austrian field experiment identified the most effective interventions to reduce littering in common waste disposal areas, testing four different methods.
An innovative campaign makes the future consequences of climate change tangible by showcasing its impact on one of France’s most famous cultural icons.
Adding human-like features – such as eyes – in conservation campaigns can enhance intentional pro-environmental behaviours.
Adding carbon labels next to food items on restaurant menus can decrease “high climate impact” meat orders.
The City of Christchurch introduced a public reward and shaming scheme motivating citizens to better sort their garbage.
An experimental study in the Netherlands showed that social imitation inlays in shopping trolleys can promote vegetable purchases.
Many people don’t actually know how much water and energy they use during their often daily shower. A field experiment in 6 Swiss hotels showed that smart shower meters with real-time feedback can reduce energy and water consumption.
Customers at one of the largest cafeterias in Munich ordered food from a menu that gave them additional information on the sustainability of their choices. When faced with the negative cost, the individuals daily CO2 budget, and the amount of CO2 emission that each food option presented, buying behaviour changed. Customers bought less CO2 intensive choices, like less meat and fish, resulting in almost 10% less CO2 emission.
Every year we waste tons of food because the expiry date on the packaging says so. Mimica wants to change that with a temperature-sensitive, dynamic expiry label that provides accurate, real-time feedback of the product’s freshness.
When our peers take actions to live more sustainable, we’re more likely to follow suit. Our social imitation was nudged by Utility companies by comparing our own energy consumption with that of our neighbours.
Most often, people don’t care much about abstract, future consequences. To create awareness for what may come, some benches in Copenhagen have been elevated to match a realistic sea-level rise in the year 2100.
Burger King makes the plant-based option the new normal. People who want the meat version deliberately have to opt-out.
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