Green Nudges

#GreenNudge: Cutting eCommerce Returns: Reducing the Cost of Convenience Today's nudge comes from Dr. Thilo Pfrang (Founder & CEO) and Wiebke Brinner (Behavioural Scientist) at behamics, a Swiss software company specialising in optimising #eCommerce through Causal AI and behavioural science. 👉 What unsustainable behaviour needs to change:   The ease of online returns is fueling an environmental crisis, with about 30% of online purchases being returned. This contributes to rising CO2 emissions and waste. In the fashion industry, return rates can reach as high as 50%. This seamless process encourages unsustainable behaviours such as impulse buying, overconsumption, and neglecting accurate sizing. Many customers order multiple sizes, unaware of the significant environmental toll, while fatigue and poor use of sizing guides exacerbates the problem. 👉 The Green Nudge:  To help fashion retailers reduce the rate of their returns, behamics developed green nudges that promote conscious decision-making. These nudges help to reduce unnecessary returns by encouraging customers to use size guides and product information to select the appropriate size. Powered by AI, behamics predicts which psychological factors, such as ‘social norms’ or ‘loss aversion,’ will resonate with each customer and accordingly delivers personalised pop-ups. For instance, when multiple sizes of the same product are detected in the cart, the following nudge appears: “Do you really want to order two sizes? By consciously selecting your size using our guide, we can avoid extra transport mileage for returns. Together, we protect the environment and climate. Thank you for your support!” ➡ The result: By leveraging over 40 psychological mechanisms, such as ‘loss aversion’ and ‘social norms,’ these nudges align customers with sustainable behaviour. They emphasise the negative impact of ordering two sizes (extra transport), motivating customers to choose the right size upfront, and thereby reducing returns by up to 18%. Variations of this nudge focus on factors like time loss and environmental impact, tailored to different behavioural patterns. As environmental awareness grows, these nudges are expected to become even more effective. Are you aware of any other nudges that help to reduce returns? Feel free to comment or get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com

#GreenNudge: Empowering Mexican Rural Women to Protect Forests Today's nudge comes from Sainsna Demizike, an Associate Consultant at Behave, a behavioural consultancy focused on helping companies achieve sustainable growth by understanding people. Sainsna holds a dual Bachelor's degree in Economics from Universitas Indonesia and the University of Birmingham, where she first explored Behavioral Economics. Recently, she has started using her expertise in Behavioral Science for social change through volunteer work. 👉 What unsustainable behaviour needs to change:   Natural Resource Management (NRM) initiatives are vital for economic recovery and environmental resilience. In Mexico, where many of the 12 million forest dwellers belong to marginalised communities, NRM programs have been implemented. However, in 2020, only 1.15% of forest sector funds went to women-led projects, with most funds managed by men. A 2017 World Bank behavioural diagnostic identified barriers to women's participation, including: ⛔ Time, financial, and aspirational scarcity: Women's dual roles in household and agricultural duties, combined with limited resources, cause them to miss opportunities to improve income and explore beyond immediate needs, such as government programs. ⛔ Gender norms and social identity: Cultural norms assign men to labour and income generation, while women are expected to focus on domestic tasks, ultimately discouraging their involvement in economic and environmental activities. 👉 The Green Nudge:  The World Bank, Rainforest Alliance, Climate Investment Fund, and Mexico’s National Lab for Public Policies conducted a Randomised Control Trial in 113 localities, by testing a specific communication strategy to explore what motivates rural women to join NRM initiatives. One treatment group used behavioural science-informed posters that: 💡 Addressed gender norms by showing women who had already applied and worked on similar projects, thus normalising their involvement. 💡 Created urgency with action-oriented messages like "Now fill sections C and D!" and leveraged loss aversion with phrases like "Don't miss this opportunity!" WhatsApp reminders and a simple one-page application checklist were also provided. ➡ The result: Localities using this strategy saw a significant increase in women applicants, showing that challenging gender norms and using targeted decision-making cues boosted participation in forestry initiatives.   By challenging traditional gender norms and employing the right decision-making cues, more rural women were motivated to participate in forestry initiatives. Are you aware of any other nudges that help marginalised communities to participate in pro-environmental behaviour? Feel free to comment or get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com

#GreenNudge: “The Great Cable Challenge”: Promoting E-Waste Recycling Today's nudge comes from Material Focus, a not-for-profit organisation tackling the issue of #ewaste. Through their UK-wide campaign, “Recycle Your Electricals,” they aim to transform how we deal with old electrical items by revealing the hidden value of these products and making it easier for everyone to recycle, repair, or donate unused electricals.    👉 What unsustainable behaviour needs to change:   Many people accumulate cables at home, unaware of the environmental benefits of recycling them. 💡 Lack of awareness: 44% of people didn’t realise that cables contain copper, a material essential for everyday items like phones and medical equipment. 💡 Inconvenience: Without easy access to information on where to recycle, people are less likely to take action. Recycle Your Electricals research shows that while 76% of people in the UK believe recycling electricals is the right thing to do, less than half (42%) think it's easy to do so. 💡 Stashing away behaviour: The tendency to hold onto unused cables for potential future use prevents timely recycling. These factors lead people to delay recycling, while also contributing to the rapid growth of e-waste in the UK. 👉 The Green Nudge:  To address the barriers to recycling electrical cables, Recycle Your Electricals is launching the "Great Cable Challenge" for International E-Waste Day 2024. The campaign employs several behavioural science techniques to drive sustainable behaviour: 🔌 Simplifying the Task: The challenge encourages participants to recycle just one cable, turning the daunting issue of e-waste into an easy, actionable step. 🔌 Leveraging Social Influence: The campaign sets a goal of recycling 1 million cables, building social responsibility through a multi-channel approach involving retailers, brands, communities, local authorities, social media, celebrity ambassadors, and a nationwide TV campaign to drive participation. This collective goal creates social pressure, motivating individuals to join others in the effort. 🔌 Positive Reinforcement: The campaign highlights the environmental benefit of saving 5,000 kg of copper, offering participants a clear, tangible reward for their actions. 🔌 Removing Friction: “The Recycle Your Electricals Locator” tool makes it easy to find nearby repair, donation, and recycling points, removing logistical barriers to recycling. With over 26,000 drop-off points nationwide, recycling electricals is more convenient than ever. ▶ The result: The Great Cable Challenge is running throughout October, marking International E-Waste Day on October 14th, 2024. Therefore, results are still yet to come. Stay tuned for more! Are you aware of any other nudges that help to reduce e-waste? Feel free to comment or get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com

#GreenNudge: “Everyone Plant One” campaign: promoting tree planting on private property  Today's nudge comes from Mike Daniels, founder of The Behavioural Architects, a global behavioural change agency that applies the latest insights from behavioural science to understand and influence behaviour. 👉 What unsustainable behaviour needs to change:   Sydney suffers from the “Heat Island Effect,” where heat retained by human-made infrastructure increases temperatures. To address this, the New South Wales Government aimed to encourage people to plant one million trees on private property by 2022, as part of a broader goal to plant five million trees by 2030. However, many residents viewed trees as inconvenient, messy, and dangerous.   Despite awareness of trees' environmental benefits, interest in planting them on private land was low. Research by The Behavioural Architects (2020) explored the barriers and drivers to encourage tree planting. Key findings included: ⛔ Tree Stereotype: The word "tree" evoked images of large, inconvenient park trees, discouraging private planting. ⛔ Social Norms: Tree removal was more common than planting, making the latter socially unusual. ⛔ Process Barriers: Even when motivated, people found the steps of choosing, planting, and maintaining trees too difficult and off-putting. However, three drivers for planting emerged: 🌳 Problem-solving: People plant trees to address garden needs (e.g., privacy or flowers) rather than from a desire for trees themselves. 🌳 Suggestibility: People respond well to free tree giveaways or prompts from councils or neighbours. 🌳 Timely Advice: Simple, actionable advice at the right time makes tree planting easier. Efforts focused on changing perceptions and simplifying the process. 👉 The Green Nudge:  The “Everyone Plant One” campaign launched in October 2021. Participants could either pledge to plant a tree or register an already planted tree, reinforcing engagement through psychological principles like ‘commitment’ and ‘endowment bias’. Promotion included social media ads, digital media partnerships, and influencer outreach, where 20 influencers in Greater Sydney received finger lime trees from IndigiGrow. Messaging focused on tree benefits while avoiding the word "tree" to sidestep negative associations. The phrase “Everyone Plant one” was used instead. The Sydney Film Festival also highlighted tree registration numbers, promoting a growing social norm. ➡ The result: The campaign led to a significant increase in tree registrations, with a notable rise from 29% to 43%. By the end of 2022, more than one million trees had been planted. Are you aware of any other nudges that help to improve biodiversity? Feel free to get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com

#GreenNudge: Fewer boxes, fewer trips - Amazon's smart shipping option  Today's nudge comes from Yael Mark, a Product Manager who uses behavioural science to improve user engagement and retention. Yael writes for The Decision Lab, focusing on how cognitive biases shape our interactions with technology and how to design products that align with these behaviours.   👉 What unsustainable behaviour needs to change:   Amazon Prime membership has transformed global consumer behaviour by addressing the two main drawbacks of online shopping: waiting time and the inability to physically inspect products. The promise of free two-day delivery and free returns has significantly boosted the popularity of online shopping. However, this convenience has reduced the incentive for users to consolidate their orders, leading to frequent deliveries to the same address, sometimes even on the same day. This behaviour, driven by “present bias”—the preference for immediate gratification over long-term benefits—contributes to unsustainable practices. According to GeekWire, Amazon's carbon emissions in 2023 were 68.8 million metric tons of CO2, equivalent to the emissions of Hungary. 👉 The Green Nudge:  To achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, Amazon has introduced electric delivery vehicles and optimised package fitting. Recently, the company implemented an innovative approach to encourage users to consolidate their deliveries through a “cognitive dissonance dilemma” at checkout. During the checkout process, users must choose between immediate gratification—receiving their items as quickly as possible, which may require multiple shipments—or opting for "Fewer boxes, fewer trips," which involves waiting a day or two for their order. This latter option supports a more sustainable approach. Choosing the fastest delivery option contradicts many users' environmentally conscious beliefs, creating an internal conflict (cognitive dissonance). To align their actions with their pro-environmental values and alleviate this discomfort, many Prime customers are inclined to delay their orders. This approach enables Amazon to reduce individual deliveries, bridge the “intention-behaviour gap” and mitigate the impact of short-term thinking (present bias). ➡ The result: While no specific data is publicly available, it can be assumed that Amazon's approach to consolidate deliveries helps to reduce transportation costs, minimise packaging waste, and cuts carbon emissions. Are you aware of any other nudges that help to reduce the negative environmental impact of eCommerce? Feel free to comment or get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com

#GreenNudge: Turning “petrol heads” into enthusiasts for EVs  Today’s nudge comes from Janick Oswald, Behavioural Designer at Green Nudges Consulting. With extensive experience in leading innovation in the automotive industry, he understands the cultural hurdles of e-transformation. Janick’s focus is clear: putting human behaviour at the centre of sustainable change, using behavioural psychology to guide green transformation. 👉 What unsustainable behaviour needs to change:  Car manufacturers face significant challenges in reducing emissions, with road transport accounting for 72% of the EU’s transport-related greenhouse gases. In Germany, where company cars make up a substantial portion of the fleet, the shift to electric vehicles (EVs) is particularly challenging. Despite the clear environmental benefits, traditional brands like Porsche struggle to move employees away from petrol and diesel company cars due to a strong attachment to combustion engines. 👉 The Green Nudge:  Porsche AG saw an opportunity to align sustainability with its “performance heritage” by encouraging employees to choose electric and hybrid vehicles for their company cars. To shift preferences away from traditional petrol and diesel models, Porsche collaborated with academic experts to implement two targeted interventions: personalised email campaigns and pop-up messages in the car configurator. These interventions utilised three types of message framing—emotional, normative, and financial. Interventions: 💡 Email Campaigns: Personalised emails were sent just before the car selection period, to highlight the benefits of EVs and nudge employees to choose them. 💡 Car Configurator Pop-ups: Pop-up messages reinforced the sustainability message whenever employees logged in to select their cars. Message Framing: 💡 Emotional: “The heart electric, the soul Porsche” linked the brand's identity to electric mobility. 💡 Normative: Employees were encouraged to “be ambassadors for a sustainable Porsche future,” aligning choices with company values. 💡 Financial: Practical benefits, like saving up to €100 per month on fuel costs, were highlighted. ➡ The result: In a test group of 147 employees, the percentage choosing EVs rose from 45.9% in 2021 to 66.5% in 2022 after these interventions were implemented. The results demonstrate that these strategies effectively shifted preferences towards EVs, with email campaigns having the strongest impact. Emotional framing was effective initially but lost influence after two weeks, whereas financial incentives had a more enduring effect. This case highlights how well-timed, context-specific nudges can drive sustainable choices, even in a company deeply rooted in conventional cars. Have other nudge ideas for accelerating the adoption of EVs in a company? Get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com

#GreenNudge: Appeal over duty: Indulgent labels drive vegetable consumption  Today’s nudge comes from Richard Shotton, a marketing expert with 24 years of experience. In 2018, he founded Astroten, an agency that applies behavioural science to marketing challenges and conducts training on how marketers can promote sustainability. Richard authored The Choice Factory (2018) and The Illusion of Choice (2023). The Choice Factory, translated into 15 languages, won Best Sales and Marketing Book at the 2019 Business Book Awards. In 2021, he became an honorary IPA fellow and an associate at Cambridge University's Møller Institute. 👉 What unsustainable behaviour needs to change:   What people eat significantly impacts climate change. Beef production emits up to 100 times more greenhouse gases than plant-based options like lentils and beans. However, encouraging people to adopt these more sustainable and healthier choices isn't always easy. Typically, we emphasise the environmental and health benefits of plant-based diets, but research from Stanford suggests this may not be the most effective approach. Instead, how non-meat dishes are presented is crucial. Descriptive language that highlights the taste, texture, and quality of vegan or vegetarian dishes, along with careful plating and creative garnishing, can make them more appealing to diners. 👉 The Green Nudge:  In 2017, three Stanford researchers, Bradley Turnwald, @Daniella Boles and Alia Crum ran a study into the effect of food descriptors on the consumption of a specific plant-based dish. In a large university cafeteria, over seven weeks, each day, they randomised the name of a plant-based dish in one of four ways: ✅ Basic (e.g. “plant-based beans and shallots”) ✅ Healthy restrictive (e.g. “light n’ low-carb plant-based beans and shallots) ✅ Healthy positive (e.g. “healthy energy-boosting plant-based beans and shallots”) ✅ Indulgent (e.g. “sweet sizzlin’ plant-based beans and crispy shallots”) The researchers then monitored the number of people choosing that dish. ➡ The result: Creating positive expectations around taste encouraged people to order that dish. Diners chose vegetables with “indulgent” labelling 25% more than basic labelling, 35% more than “healthy positive” and 41% more than “healthy restrictive.” Counterintuitively, labelling dishes as healthy actually made it less likely that people would pick them.   The research suggests that focusing on a food’s environmental or health merits can be a mistake. That’s because people tend to assume that these items have a trade-off. For example, if it’s healthy, it's unlikely to be tasty. Instead, messages should be centred around creating positive expectations of taste. Sometimes the best way to encourage a sustainable behaviour is not to focus on its sustainability. Often it’s better to focus on appeal over duty. Are you aware of any other nudges that promote plant-based eating? Feel free to get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com

#GreenNudge: Eco-conscious tags to promote sustainable fashion choices Today’s Green Nudge comes from four Sustainable Design students at the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Polly Graham, Rosario Seré, Beatriz Amaro, and Manuela Cadena spent a semester exploring design thinking to address UN Sustainable Development Goals. For their final project, they analysed fast fashion’s industrial key players and life cycle, to prototype an intervention aimed at reducing its environmental impact. 👉 What unsustainable behaviour needs to change:   Fast fashion is a business model that produces clothing quickly, cheaply, and in large volumes to keep up with trends. This rapid scheme requires vast resources, pollutes substantially, and fuels a throwaway consumer culture. Not to mention, fast fashion’s affordability often comes at the cost of inhumane labour. Given the industry’s scale, a variety of approaches are needed to promote more sustainable choices. One potential avenue is to make the ecological impact of their clothing choices more visible, thereby appealing to consumers' environmental consciences. 👉 The Green Nudge:  The Argentinian government mandates that prominent labels like “Excess Sodium” or “Contains Sweeteners” mark qualifying food packaging. This led four Sustainable Design students to ask, “if food requires such labels, why not fashion?” – a question in their final project, the Eco-conscious Tag, aimed to address. Surveying Argentinian consumers about clothing purchasing habits, the team discovered that mandatory tags highlighting environmental impacts could deter fast fashion consumption, just like food labels. They designed paper tags to accompany garment price tags – featuring warnings like “Contaminates Water” or “Excess Carbon Emissions,” with more details on the other side of the tag. ➡ The result: Placing these tags next to prices was strategic, since “affordable price” was the top priority of those surveyed. With 30% of participants willing to pay more for sustainable fashion and 50% potentially willing, the tags aimed to influence purchasing decisions at a crucial moment, and therefore promote more sustainable choices. Although this project was confined to the university, it offers valuable inspiration for fashion industry regulators worldwide. Food for thought: perhaps garments qualified for Eco-conscious Tags, ought to be based on life cycle assessments of their respective environmental impacts of their composite textile(s) and become an industry standard. Are you aware of any other nudges that promote sustainable fashion? Feel free to comment or get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com

#GreenNudge: #DUCHAllenge: Shower in less than 3 minutes Today's nudge comes from Lina M. Moros, a professor at Universidad de los Andes - Colombia. She guided a group of students from the university who developed the #DUCHAllenge during an innovation lab session focused on behavioural sciences. The class worked collaboratively to address Bogotá's water crisis, with Professor Moros encouraging the students to create a green nudge as part of their solution. 👉 What unsustainable behaviour needs to change:   In countries like Colombia, showering is highly valued both culturally and socially, symbolising wellness and respect. However, taking long showers is unsustainable, as showering accounts for the largest portion of household water usage—between 45% to 60% of the total usage. A typical 5-minute shower uses approximately 95 litres of water, making it crucial to consider more efficient practices. Bogotá's water supply relies on its reservoirs, but due to climate change, reservoir levels are decreasing, thereby threatening the city's overall water availability. Therefore, it's critical to understand citizens' water consumption habits, particularly during showers,  to encourage reduced water usage and shorter shower times. 👉 The Green Nudge:  The student group created a shower challenge called #DUCHAllenge (a fusion of "ducha," meaning "shower" in Spanish, and "challenge"), where participants time their showers and share the results on social media. The goal is to encourage shorter showers and inspire others to join in. ➡ The result: Since its launch, the challenge has gained significant traction on social media, with many people sharing their shower times. The response has exceeded expectations, attracting not only individuals but also institutions like the Bogotá Secretary of Culture. Media coverage has further expanded its reach, inviting more people to participate. The Green Nudge initiative, represented by the challenge, subtly promotes eco-friendly choices by encouraging behaviour change without limiting personal freedom. In the context of Bogotá's water scarcity, it reframes water conservation as a voluntary and engaging challenge rather than a mandatory action. Are you aware of any other nudges that help to save water? Feel free to comment or get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com

#GreenNudge: Smart shelf placement elevates meat-free sales Today's nudge comes from Dr. Carolin Muschalik, a highly motivated and socially engaged health psychologist and behaviour change expert, dedicated to promoting healthy lifestyles and informed decision-making. With a Ph.D. in Health Promotion and Health Psychology from Maastricht University, her research has delved into both conscious and unconscious determinants of health behaviours, focusing on physical activity and red meat consumption. Dr. Muschalik has extensive experience in developing evidence-based interventions, having worked with organisations like the Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) and an mHealth start-up. 👉 What unsustainable behaviour needs to change:   With the world's population rapidly increasing, sustaining current meat consumption is becoming infeasible. The livestock sector drives biodiversity loss, demands excessive land and water, and according to FAO data, contributes 14.5% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, ethical concerns and health risks, such as links between red meat consumption and heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, underscore the need for alternatives. Meat substitutes, now widely available in various forms, present a viable solution. Effective strategies to shift food consumption can target individual cognitive factors like knowledge and goal-setting, as well as aspects of the food environment, such as how choices are presented or positioned. Supermarkets, as key food environments, provide opportunities to apply nudging techniques that influence purchasing behaviours toward these products. 👉 The Green Nudge:  A pilot study by Lidl Netherlands, in collaboration with Wageningen University and the World Resources Institute, found that placing meat alternatives next to conventional meat, significantly boosted their sales. ➡ The result: Conducted over six months in 70 stores, the study revealed a 7% increase in meat alternative sales. While the effect diminished over time, it remained significant. This finding highlights the importance of visibility in encouraging the purchase of environmentally friendly meat alternatives. Consumers searching for meat are unlikely to explore the vegan section for substitutes, as it doesn't align with their primary purchasing intent. However, by positioning these alternatives within the meat section–where consumers naturally gravitate– there’s a higher chance they’ll notice and purchase them. This strategy can influence a broader range of consumers, including those not initially inclined to choose meat alternatives, thereby contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Are you aware of any other nudges that help to promote planet-friendly food choices? Feel free to comment or get in touch: hello@green-nudges.com