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Designing for climate change
Wondering what’s already worked? Here’s the science.
I’ve been writing, speaking, and practicing Behavioral Design for over a decade, focusing on climate. Lately, as more and more people in tech and design are using their skills to help the environment, people want to know:
What are proven techniques to help with climate change?
If you’re like me, and you came to the behavioral path through design and not through academia, you may not have easy access to scientific resources and studies. I often lean on my PhD colleagues and friends to help me learn what has worked and why (and I recommend hiring a scientist if your team has the resources).
Below are examples of climate behavioral interventions that have led to measurable results and resources for learning more.
What’s worked: examples from research
This is by all means not an exhaustive list — just a few examples that I’ve found to be relevant for designers, using 4 behavioral concepts.
1. Social Proof, for observable behaviors
Social Proof is one of the more powerful tools to nudge behavior change. It’s based on the concept that we look to other people’s actions to understand how we should behave.
Behavior: Stop littering in cities
Studies: Copenhagen, 2011 and various sites in the UK, 2014
Putting a series of green footprints on streets leading to trash cans have led to a 46% decrease in littering. People see others following the footprints, establishing a norm, and they are reminded of the observability of littering, that people can see their bad behavior. It also removes a key barrier: knowing where to find the trash can.
Behavior: Install solar panels
Study: Connecticut, USA, 2017
One of the biggest predictors of installing solar panels is not your passion for the environment or income level. It’s if there are other solar panels in your neighborhood. Researchers with Solarize found that even only one house with solar increased installations in that area by one half.
