Colour changing shower head lights nudge Disney Hotel guests to use less water, whilst showing real-time usage.
What unsustainable behavior needs to change:
Water waste in hotels resulting from showering is a significant problem, especially when guests do not concern themselves with the extra costs. On average, hotel guests likely shower for 8-10 minutes, a significantly increased use of water as compared to a more economical 5-minute shower when at home.
This behaviour is simply bad for the environment and contributes to unnecessary water depletion. And moreover, because hotels consume thousands of litres of water on a daily basis to accommodate this increased demand, hotel operational costs are also inflated.
The Green Nudge:
As part of its ongoing mission to reduce water usage, Disneyland Paris is testing special water-saving shower heads at Disney Sequoia Lodge. These illuminated showers start with a soothing blue for the first 10 litres; switch to an encouraging green up to 20 litres; then shift to a reflective purple when the guest uses up to 30 litres; and finally signal with a bold red, when guest usage exceeds 30 litres. This clever use of universally recognized colours not only promotes shorter showers, but also merges significant behavioural change with enjoyment.
The result: The „Hydrao shower heads“ have successfully reduced water use in showers by 22% at the testing lodge. Pending their continued effectiveness, the resort plans to expand the installation of these efficient shower heads and water-saving toilets in all of Disneyland-Paris hotel rooms.
To boost conservation efforts even further, Disney-Paris ought to consider enhancing the water-light system by activating the red light earlier.
Are you aware of any other nudges that help to save water? Feel free to comment or get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com
From Sanne Reijnen, a behavioural psychologist and founder of Behaviour & Beyond. She passionately transforms scientific insights into practical applications; one of which led to creating one of the 1st behavioural teams at de Volksbank in all of the Netherlands. Driven by the belief in lasting organisational impact through behavioural understanding, she established Behaviour & Beyond to help organisations systematically apply behavioural science.
Nudging passengers with visual cues can reduce rail congestion and thus make public transport more attractive.