As climate change leads to more drought situations, it will be important to understand how to best promote water conservation. Southern Nevada Water Authority’s Water Smart Landscapes (WSL) program pays homeowners to replace their non-native, ornamental lawns with plants and landscapes that use less water because they are better adapted to their dry climate. It is one of the longest running “cash for grass” policies. Designated a Landmark case study by our climate change peer review panel in 2022.
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This innovative social marketing approach changed the energy use behaviours of low-income renters in Brisbane, Australia, through meaningful gamification. The gamified experience promoted desired behaviours and reduced undesired ones, all carefully chosen using McKenzie-Mohr's cbsm guidelines for selecting behaviors. The Reduce Your Juice program was designed to be fun, easy and impactful. On the exterior, it appears as a simple, fun and easy experience of games and gamified activities, communications, community, and rewards. However, below the surface lies a sophisticated intervention developed through the application of formative research and theory and implemented by a team of multi-disciplinary experts from the energy, social marketing, behaviour change, digital insights & technology, research, and social sectors. Designated a Landmark case study by our Building Energy peer review panel in 2022.
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Chicago was the first U.S. city to require building owners to prominently post a building’s energy performance rating, and to share that that rating with potential buyers and/or renters. While the rating system was being introduced, ComEd and Peoples Gas ran extensive complementary incentive and rebate programs that enabled building owners and managers to make energy improvements at little to no cost. Designated a Landmark case study in 2022 by our climate change peer review panel.
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What makes a great cycling city? How did the medium-sized City of Copenhagen get its citizens to cycle to work / school 49% of the time? While topography and climate are significant influencers, safety, supportive infrastructure, and promotion also played key roles. Copenhagen increased cycling by making it safer, easier, and more convenient. This case illustrates the power of piloting alternative enhancements on an ongoing basis to further reduce barriers and increase benefits, based on regular surveys, traffic data and safety data. It also features a transparent planning process - the Bicycle Account – a research, evaluation, promotion, and citizen engagement tool used every two years since 1996. Designated a Landmark case study by our Transportation peer selection panel in 2022.
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Paris is an inspiration for large cities around the world, having reduced car traffic in its core (Ile de France) from a mode share of 12.8% in 2010 to 6% in 2020. How did Paris get to be one of the cities in the world with the lowest mode share for single occupant vehicles? The city is comparatively dense and has one of the top subways in the world. But what is most striking about its transformation is the increase in cycling and walking during this period – they increased from 55.4% in 2010 to 68% in 2020. Numerous programs offered by three levels of government explicitly prioritized bicycles over cars and reduced on-street car parking to make room for bike lanes. They taxed and restricted more polluting vehicles, and gradually phased them out, while providing a conversion bonus for the purchase or lease of electric-assisted bicycles and cargo bikes. In addition, car ads had to include messages promoting greener methods of transportation, and incentives were provided for bike repairs and tune-ups. Designated a Landmark case study by our sustainable transportation peer review and selection panel in 2022.
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While many people in Germany say they would use green energy if presented with a choice, very few consumers do so. In contrast, most people have been using green energy in a few German municipalities where citizens have had to opt out for non-renewable energy supplies rather than having to opt-in to get renewable ones. This case study also illustrates the connection between green power choices and clean air / environmental health, and the value of randomized control trials (RCTs) for measuring program impacts. Designated a Landmark case study by our Building Energy peer review panel in 2022.
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About 75% of food waste goes to landfill, where it becomes one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions at 10% of total emissions. Too Good to Go turns food waste into a win-win situation for everyone, by creating jobs, generating revenue, reducing food waste, and diminishing environmental impacts. At its most basic, the app is a marketplace for surplus food. It enables you to see what extra food is likely to be available that day from nearby bakeries, stores, and restaurants - fresh food that would otherwise be thrown out at the end of the day because it would no longer be considered fresh and salable. Using the app, you can buy a ‘magic bag’ meal for roughly one third of what you would normally pay, then pick it up at the vendor’s closing time. As of June 2022, a total of 141 million bags had been sold, eliminating 775 million lb. (about 387,500 US tons) of CO2 emissions. In the first six months of 2022 alone, 88.5 million bags were sold, eliminating the equivalent of 973.5 million pounds (about 486,800 US tons) of CO2 emissions per year.
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This program promotes carpooling and vanpooling instead of driving alone during peak commute periods, using advertising (online, video, and display), challenges, and prize-based campaigns to attract and retain its target audience. It also made its standard Guaranteed Ride Home system easier to use. This case study illustrates the timing of incentives to promote habit formation. It also exemplifies how benefits can be increased by integrating some of the participant-facing aspects of multiple, independent programs in neighboring regions.
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Smart Trips Austin encourages residents of Austin Texas, USA to take multi-modal transportation options (walk, bike, ride transit, and share rides) more often, rather than drive alone. The program focuses on personal interactions — educating individuals on their options and overcoming barriers to multi-modal travel. Smart Trips reinforces this new information using community-based programs such as learn-to-ride classes, transit instruction, and group walking activities. Initially, the program targeted residential neighbourhoods of Austin Texas; each year a different area was targeted. In 2020 the program expanded to city-wide and began to segment using a Stages of Change approach. In 2021, it started targeting residents who had recently moved to or around Austin. Smart Trips Austin averaged a participation rate of 5-10% of households contacted, a 5-10% reduction in drive-alone trips among participants (about 41,000 vehicle trips per year), and a corresponding 5-10% increase in active and shared trips.
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The Energy Cat computer game was piloted with social housing residents in Plymouth, United Kingdom, to motivate and help them learn about affordable, energy-saving steps they could take in their homes. The game provided an average electricity saving of 3.46% and an average gas saving of 7.48%.
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Solarize is a group purchase program designed to simplify and reduce the cost of investing in solar energy. The campaign organizes a volunteer committee of residents to competitively select a solar installer who agrees to set pricing. At a series of free educational workshops participants can learn about the technology, incentives, and financing options. Interested, participants can then sign up for a free site assessment and are guaranteed the Solarize price, if they sign a contract within the campaign timeline. Customers can save as much as 25% of the total cost of installation. This approach enables grassroot and other solar advocates to build motivation and engagement over time, reduce key barriers to action, convert “interest” into “action”, and permanently transform the market for solar installations in their communities. Resulting installations generated 62,000,000 kWh of clean energy supply each year. Designated a Landmark case study by our Building Energy peer review panel in 2021.
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Virgin Atlantic Airways (VAA) conducted an eight-month pilot in 2014 to test the potential roles and impacts of monitoring, performance information, personal targets, and prosocial incentives on the fuel-use behavior of their captains. All 335 of VAA’s captains were part of the pilot, and they were randomly assigned to four separate treatment groups. Since the pilot, the approach has become business as usual at VAA, and the technology was commercialized through Signol and updated to a web-app and email rather than post. Designated a Landmark case study in 2021.
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Climate Matters trains and supports American TV weathercasters to report on the local impacts of climate change while reflecting current scientific knowledge and concerns. The program provides participating newscasters with weekly story packages with local data and broadcast-quality graphics that visualize the data. Because of an overt conflict in the meteorology community about opposing views of climate change, the program engaged a conflict mediator who worked with small groups of opinion-leading weathercasters to surface and work through the entrenched conflicts. As climate reporting became increasingly normative, the program ensured that everyone in the weathercasting community knew the behaviors were gaining in popularity. As of 31 October 2020, there were 968 participating weathercasters in 483 local TV stations, in 92% of all US media markets and 99 of the top 100 media markets. Viewers exposed to their climate education became more likely to understand that climate change is already a 'here, now, us' problem. Designated a Landmark case study in 2021.
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Fear appeals must be carefully considered as they can too-easily backfire and discourage people from taking in and acting on our messages. And why spread fear unnecessarily? This case study illustrates an appropriate and effective use of a fear appeal to reduce water consumption in Cape Town South Africa. It tracks 30 years, from the time the City predicted severe water shortages to the point where the taps nearly ran dry and this city of four million people reduced water use enough to avoid disaster. Designated a Landmark case study in 2021.
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WaterSense, a partnership program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), seeks to protect the future of the nation’s water supply by offering Americans a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products, homes, and services. WaterSense labeled products, which are independently certified to use at least 20% less water and perform as well or better than standard models, have been on the market since 2007. As of 2021 there are more than 30,000 labeled models, including products used in residential and commercial bathrooms, and outdoor irrigation. EPA’s WaterSense program has also certified over 3,000 homes with WaterSense labeled fixtures and water-efficient features. By 2020 it had saved 5.3 trillion gallons of water and 603 billion kWh of electricity. Designated a Landmark case study by our Building Energy peer review panel in 2021.
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If you want to influence transportation choices, this planning guide is written for you. You may be working on a very small or large program. This guide has been designed to help you focus on practical first steps and explore additional social marketing considerations. The guide's worksheets walk you through each step, provide quick access to the key questions to ask, and link to associated recommendations for further details. Available in English and French.
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This scoping review examined 17 interventions for reducing road traffic accidents (RTAs) among young adults. It provides evidence that RTAs can be reduced among young adults and novice drivers using a wide range of simple interventions ranging from simulators and training to incentives.
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This open-access study found that the built environment, but not social and economic environments, was a strong predictor of adolescents' BMI, overweight or obesity status, and eating behaviors.
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This online kit includes social media messages, shareable graphics and videos.
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In this randomized clinical trial of 303 patients, conducted at 2 National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, sustained telephone counseling over 6 months and provision of free medication compared with 4-week telephone counseling and medication advice resulted in 6-month biochemically confirmed quit rates of 34.5% vs 21.5%, a difference that was statistically significant. Among patients recently diagnosed with cancer, sustained cessation counseling and free medication may increase the likelihood of smoking abstinence compared with shorter-term counseling, but the generalizability of the study findings is uncertain and requires further research. Published in 2020.
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This study focuses on methods for increasing employees' readiness to change their behaviors in favor of energy conservation, specifically examining the use of guided group discussions (GGDs). It finds that solution-focused communication elicits change readiness in employees, whereas problem-focused communication prompts resistance to change. It further shows that employees can motivate their co-workers to express 'green' intentions: when employees verbalize statements in favor of energy saving, this increases other employees' change readiness, while verbalized statements against energy saving have the opposite effect.
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In 2022, there are about 2,500 Repair Cafés worldwide, where volunteer experts help repair old items that people bring in, keeping them out of landfills and saving people money.
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Researchers in the U.K. found that, while adding home insulation initially lowered gas consumption, a rebound effect and/or concurrent renovations reduced these energy savings dramatically over time. For some groups there were no savings. "Home insulation alone is not a magic bullet."
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Rand Corporation reviewed thousands of studies to identify all available evidence for the effects of 13 gun policies in the USA on eight outcomes. Updated regularly.
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Includes a range of prevention reports on bullying and violence, crime prevention
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Data-guided, supermarket-based, dietary interventions and modern online shopping tools can improve diets. This article discusses the results of a three-month randomized field trial that promoted a hypertension-reducing diet. Adherence to the diet increased 3.8 - 4.7 times more for the intervention groups compared with the control.
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The experience of three American cities that implemented sugar-sweetened beverage taxes, indicates that such taxes can lead to public health improvements, with improvements concentrated among female and non-white respondents.
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Parents and Adolescents Talking about Healthy Sexuality (PATHS) is an online intervention for parents designed to improve communication about HIV and increase behaviors supportive of YMSM sexual health. A Randomized Control Trial found that parents who received the intervention engaged in more HIV discussion, condom instruction, and facilitation of HIV testing, with corresponding significant changes in attitudes, skills, and behavioral intentions.
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The authors discuss how they used Feedback and Building Motivation, Engagement and Habits Over Time to reduce water use by 15-25% in an affluent community in India that had flat-rate pricing. The effects persisted for more than a year, after which marginal pricing was introduced.
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