Can behavioural nudges help drive climate resilience?
That was the topic for an Interesting morning at the University of Huddersfield, based on research by Dr Jialin (Snow) Wu of the Centre for Sustainability, Responsibility, Governance and Ethics. Dr Wu studies how organisations can effectively promote environmentally-friendly behaviours by staff and customers, whether that’s encouraging workers to recycle their waste or hotel guests to turn the aircon off when leaving a room.
Providing trustworthy information is one key factor, which can be as simple as providing clear guidance on what kind of waste should go in each bin – something that, I know from experience, can bamboozle even very clever researchers working in sustainable engineering.
It’s also about making the sustainable option the default, and leveraging low-effort behaviour (such as turning the lights off when not needed) to foster a positive mindset and support more demanding action. In terms of changing internal behaviour, a healthy and open organisational culture is obviously key – with a big role for effective internal communications.
Borrowing concepts from criminology, Dr Wu also discussed techniques to discourage the kind of moral disengagement that stymies so many well-intentioned initiatives and, adapting the well-known broken windows theory of delinquent behaviour, using social influence to mitigate the little failures that can make the big things harder.
Sharing positive stories about how individuals and organisations have taken practical and rewarding action can play a big part in reducing the psychological and social blockers – another way that effective communications can support an organisation’s journey to sustainability.
The event brought together a good cross-section of local businesses, including manufacturers and construction specialists, who provided (on the inevitable post-its) some excellent suggestions and pledges to improve their own sustainability – vitally, seeing this as offering a competitive advantage for their businesses.
It was also inspiring to hear from marketing consultancy Coterie about their journey towards B Corp status – a longer-term ambition for Othersfield.