What unsustainable behavior needs to change:

Imagine you’re buying a new washing machine. Even if you wanted to choose the most energy-efficient one, you typically can’t – for the simple reason that appliances are labelled purely with the energy class they fall into (both here in the EU and the US). Put another way, we as consumers cannot “choose” the most energy-efficient appliance. Instead, we “have to pick” one (and hope for the best). This distinction between choosing and picking may sound like semantics, but it’s crucial.

We cannot expect consumers to make green choices when they aren’t able to make a choice at all. The Enervee team decided this conundrum was wrong, and wanted to enable consumers to make a greener purchasing decision. 

The Green Nudge:

The obvious question however, is whether we as consumers would move to choose the most efficient, if we could. Put another way, do we tend to pick because we cannot choose, or do we pick because we cannot be bothered to choose? 

To get to an answer, the team at Enervee combined behavioural and data science, to study every single product in the market, and to develop the “Enervee Score.” The Enervee Score ranks every product in a category, scoring between 0 and 100 – the higher the score, the more efficient the product compared to other similar products. By introducing this score, they turned what had been a “shrouded” attribute into an “actionable” attribute. 

The result: In randomised controlled studies they saw a 20% increase in efficiency for products chosen when the score was shown. This result is crucial, regardless of shoppers’ interest in sustainability or the climate. 

This simple nudge secured innovation awards and has been held-up as an example of ‘market transformation,’ moving US policymakers away from expensive product rebates. And nudging consumers to buy a more efficient product means there are energy savings every time that product is then turned-on, by virtue of it being more efficient than the average product in that category. This is an example of a single nudge, used one time, that can deliver energy savings across the lifetime of the product. 

Do you know of any other nudges that promote better, sustainable decision-making? Feel free to get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com

What unsustainable behavior needs to change:

Residential buildings are responsible for more than a quarter of total energy consumption in the US (EIA, 2020); and given that the majority of US and global residential properties still rely on fossil fuels, this takes a significant toll on the environment. While certain structural and mechanical measures have been taken to increase energy efficiency of residential structures, the occupants’ behaviour is also a great contributor to this high number. 

Two of the main barriers are occupants’ lack of awareness of their energy usage, along with a lack of information on how they could optimise it while maintaining personal comfort. Additionally, even if residents are aware and informed, they may not remember or have the opportunity to carry out the necessary actions. Considering the increasingly popular use of smart home assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa, and interconnected systems of smart home appliances; herein exists an opportunity for nudging towards optimising energy efficiency within homes.

Research into how smart home assistants can help reduce the environmental impact of residential energy use, via “bidirectional dialogue,” was conducted by a small team of engineering and communications academics from Virginia Tech and Florida State University respectively.

The Green Nudge:

The proactive smart home assistant aims to optimise energy efficiency by proactively making homeowners aware of their energy usage via: informative, conversational prompts, and autonomous actuation; that would reduce the effort required of homeowners to carry out the optimising actions (ie., Alexa would turn down the heating automatically, rather than the homeowner needing to do so). 

This was tested via an interactive online experiment with 307 US participants, who were provided a context-based scenario and an initial suggestion to increase energy efficiency. If participants’ responses were neutral or negative leaning to the initial suggestion (but not completely negatory), they were provided more information and tips, and their responses to this second suggestion were recorded as final. 

The result: a statistically significant increase by 16% of recommendation acceptances in response to the final suggestions compared to the initial suggestions. Conclusively, this outcome creates an opening for further “bidirectional human-building interaction” research towards sustainability.

What unsustainable behavior needs to change:

Reducing our collective consumption of animal products is an important shift to help mitigate the climate crisis. Despite this, meals containing meat are often presented as the default, rather than more environmentally sustainable vegetarian or vegan options. This is a particularly critical issue in the US, where per capita meat consumption is among the highest in the world.

The Green Nudge:

What unsustainable behavior needs to change:

Despite significant technological advancements and growing environmental consciousness, carbon emissions continue to be the predominant problem in the realm of mobility. Frequently, individuals tend to prioritise convenience and speed over critical considerations such as fuel efficiency and reducing their carbon footprint when selecting transportation routes. Unfortunately, this widespread tendency can result in elevated carbon emissions– consequently posing a grave threat to our environment.

There are several psychological biases and forces underlying this unsustainable behaviour in transportation. The most prominent is “inertia,” where people tend to stick to habitual routes rather than actively seeking more eco-friendly alternatives. “Present bias” is another issue, with people favouring short-term benefits (shorter travel times) over long-term gains (reduced environmental impact). There is also a lack of awareness about the environmental impact of one’s choices, and the false perception that eco-friendly routes are less efficient; of which the latter is influenced by past experiences (anchoring bias).

The Green Nudge:

What unsustainable behavior needs to change:

In the U.S., the widespread practice of pre-rinsing dishes before using the dishwasher stems from ingrained beliefs and poses a significant concern for water conservation. Each pre-rinse consumes up to 20 gallons of water. When scaled nationally, this amounts to an alarming potential wastage of 150 billion gallons annually. In a country where 40 out of 50 states anticipate water shortages and half of the freshwater basins might struggle to meet monthly demands by 2071, such practices demand rethinking.

Several cognitive biases could potentially cloud people’s decision-making processes. Misinformation and a lack of knowledge often lead them to believe that dried-on food won’t come off without pre-rinsing. They can also be influenced by the “anchoring effect,” which causes undue importance to be given to initial information – such as the belief that pre-rinsing is necessary. Moreover, the “effort justification bias” might cause some to rationalise the additional work involved in pre-rinsing. Later, these beliefs are reinforced by the status-quo bias and social norms bias, leading many to adhere to the practice and follow perceived societal norms, thereby perpetuating this water-wasting routine.

The Green Nudge:

The dishwasher brand, “Finish” launched the „Skip the Rinse“ campaign to nudge people away from pre-rinsing. To maximise the reach and impact of their message, they partnered with influential organisations like National Geographic, WWF or The Nature Conservancy.

To debunk the pre-rinsing myth, Finish introduced a gamified approach: the ‚Finish 24-Hour Challenge.‘ Consumers were asked to cook a lasagne, leave it to dry for 24 hours, and then load it into the dishwasher. If their product didn’t completely remove 24-hour dried-on stains, the company committed to covering the cost of the meal. Through gamifying the process, they aimed to challenge existing misconceptions and engage consumers in a fun and interactive way.

The result: The „Skip the Rinse“ campaign has effectively driven behavioural change and aligns with Reckitt’s larger sustainability goals. From 2015, there’s been a 5% decline in their water usage per tonne of production, showing consistent movement towards their 2025 objective. Notably, although manufacturing accounts for less than 1% of their water footprint, a significant 94% comes from direct consumer use. This highlights how campaigns like „Skip The Rinse“ can play a key role in shaping consumer habits, leading to more substantial conservation outcomes.