Tools- of Changes

Provides guides, reports, toolkits and videos to help build stronger municipalities, with resources covering Affordable Housing, Energy, Low Carbon, Transportation Land use, Waste, Water, Women in governmentGuide for Engaging Students to...

Is it worth targeting people with high socioeconomic status, with customized interventions? This open-access article explores how they can have a disproportionate impact on greenhouse gas emissions and potentially on climate change...

REScoop.eu is the European federation of citizen energy cooperatives.The term "REScoop" refers to energy cooperatives, a business model where citizens jointly own and participate in renewable energy or energy efficiency projects....

Shifting dietary choices towards vegetarian food is an urgent challenge given the environmental impact of livestock production and imminent need to reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. An online randomized control trial found that...

This site helps community leaders, parents and schools develop programs and strategies that encourage and enable more children to safely walk and bike to school. It offers news, state contacts, a 'how-to' manual, and extensive resources for...

This site offers extensive case studies, tools, resources and research related to workplace commuting initiatives. The Best Workplaces for Commuters program provides national recognition for qualifying employers in the United States....

This collection offers free images for the media, non-profits, campaigners, and educators. The images depict the connections between the oceans and climate change.The media, non-profits, campaigners, and educators can freely download and...

Covers radio and TV public service ads (PSAs)Topics include: environment (environmental involvement, global warming, oceans), fatherhood involvement, health and safety (booster seats, child abuse, asthma, obesity, crime prevention,...

Behavioral energy efficiency programs can reduce the same amount of damages from carbon emissions as structural retrofit programs, but in less time and at lower cost. They can  also further boost savings from structural programs.States and...

This short paper was written to engage health professionals in our efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, Its central message is that climate solutions are health solutions, and health solutions are economic solutions. Health...

Focusing on and using terms like "climate emergency" and "climate crisis" can backfire if they increase fear, decrease efficacy beliefs and hope, and reduce news credibility.This study experimentally examined how using...

Includes many annotated links to other web-based resources supporting social marketing and social change...

This 2011 blog post provides an illustrated, step-by-step example of how to craft an action-based climate change communication that incorporates lessons from behavioral psychology...

Insights from the psychology of judgment and decision making that might help the climate community communicate global warming science to an often-skeptical public. Published in 2010....

This report provides results from three studies that collectively find that global warming and climate change are often not synonymous--they mean different things to different people--and activate different sets of beliefs, feelings, and...

Many climate-relevant behaviours are habitual rather than intentional. Since changing contexts can effectively break habits, interventions may be more effective when habits are disrupted - for example, when people have recently relocated,...

Food waste and associated greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by helping consumers embrace "ugly fruit", which is typically equivalent nutritionally to regular fruit. Read on for guidance on how to do this.Abstract Ugly foods...

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. ...

This web page lists free resources provided by the tech community in the following areas: climate change projections around the world; real-time visualization of electricity consumption and resulting CO2 emissions; and calculation of the...

A good, detailed, freely accessible overview of program evaluation and attribution methods....

Guardian picture editor Fiona Shields explains why The Guardian will be using fewer polar bears and more people to illustrate its coverage of the climate emergencyBecause “images that define climate change shape the way it is understood and...

This document provides a brief summary of options for assessing what portion of any measured behavior changes resulted from your program and what portion resulted from other influences. These options can also be used to attribute the...

This open-access research article summarizes a Swiss panel study that found that car shedding (giving away a vehicle so that the household no longer has its own car) can have a positive effect on feelings of joy up to three years after the...

This open-access article in Behavioral Science & Policy (7:2) identifies six behaviors with the greatest potential to reduce emissions in the United States. The authors modeled the effects of their uptake and predict that if adopted by...

This study found that employees in Atlanta GA (USA) who received a free or subsidized transit pass from their employer were 156% more likely to use transit. When they had access to free or subsidized parking, self-reported transit use fell...

This open-access article describes a randomized control trial on a large, representative sample of German households that found that providing information on ways to reduce CO2 emissions causally increased willingness to pay for voluntary...

This guide outlines research and tips on talking about airplane trips and climate change. Updated periodically.Avoiding air travel has been identified as the third most effective way for individuals to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions,...

This article summarizes factors to consider when designing behavioral reinforcements, such as scheduling, shaping and delays....

Combining (1) priming for self-reflection and (2) artistic visualizations instead of graphs may mitigate political divisions in viewers perceived relevance of climate changeUsing controlled experiments with two national samples of U.S....

Rapidly reducing methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide emissions is necessary to maximize short-term climate benefits and stop the ongoing temperature rise.With our estimated global solid waste generation of 2.56 to 3.33 billion tonnes...

The Centre's Climate Change in the American Mind program tracks and provides ongoing reports on public understanding of climate change and support for climate policies. Also works with specific intermediaries to influence public dialogue on...

When large power plants were required to disclose their carbon dioxide output, emissions fell by more than 7%, while at some small plants, exempt from disclosure, emissions rose at least 25%. This illustrates the Hawthorne Effect and the...

This 2014 study used an online national quota sample to compare three approaches to communicating the scientific consensus on climate change, namely: (a) descriptive text, (b) a pie chart and (c) metaphorical representations.How to...

Both France and the City of Amsterdam have banned fossil fuel-related ads.In 2022, France became the first country in the world to ban adverts for fossil fuel-related products. Ads for natural gas were allowed until the new rules came into...

Pictures of appetizing dishes can change food choices and can be used to cost-effectively promote environmentally sustainable dishes and sustainable tourism.This scenario-based survey experiment with 742 consumers tested two interventions...

Two open-access articles in Behavioral Science & Policy (7: 2) provide guidance on crafting messages to promote green behaviors. The first argues that interventions will be most effective if they not only make it easier for people to...

This literature review found eight behavioral determinants that play a role in car owners' use of shared transport.This literature review found eight behavioral determinants that play a role in car owners' use of shared transport. ...

This is the first report on this theme written for a European audience.  It follows a 2013 report on communicating with a centre-right audiences in Britain. The approach taken is strongly grounded in the wider research into political values...

This guide presents information on effective climate change communication in a digestible, actionable form to enable communicators to 'up their game' when engaging Americans on climate solutions of all types and scales.This guide...

A UK-based site with practical, evidence-based reports and guides for communicating about climate change.The following are examples of their reports. The Air we Breath (2020) For U.K. audiences, images showing air pollution (compared...

Two British studies indicate the value of thermal imaging for making heat loss visible and changing behaviors. Published in 2015.In one British study (n=43), householders who received a thermal image reduced their energy use at a 1-year...

This second-order meta-analysis found that the studied interventions increased associated environmental behaviors by 2% to 12%. Social comparisons and financial approaches, followed closely by appeals and commitment strategies, were the...

This study suggests that eco-labelling and/or social nudges can reduce meat consumption and meet corresponding global climate change targets. This randomised online experiment aimed to investigate how eco-labelling and social nudging...

Promoting climate change adaptation can involve behaviors related to the risks of fire and flooding. Strategies that target properties at risk can run into resistance when their owners fear that their insurance rates will rise and their...

This report identifies nine principles for communicating about flooding in a changing climate.  This is a practical resource for campaigners, policy makers and those working with communities directly affected by flooding to. Its purpose...

A 2016 summary of time-tested behavior-change theories and models, and lessons from social movements, that can be used to help foster forest conservation actions and a culture of sustainable forestry among woodland owners. More broadly, the...

When consensus about a risk or mitigating behavior is newly developed and/or not clearly understood, communicating that consensus through teachers / instructors can be critical. While this blog entry focuses on climate change, it may also...

Why are men less likely than women to embrace environmentally friendly products and behaviors? Building on prior findings that men tend to be more concerned than women with gender-identity maintenance, this article argues that this green...

The Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health publishes highly credible reports documenting the impacts of climate change on health.Eleven of the United States's leading medical societies formed the Medical Society Consortium on...

This 2017 study compares two modes of visually presenting information  - one using photographs and the other using cartoons - on audience's knowledge, attitudes and behavioural intentions.This study compares two modes of visually presenting...

Changing consumers' diets and using more efficient farming methods globally are both essential to stave off irreversible damage to the environment, a new study says.The research, from the University of Minnesota, found that future increases...

This 2018 paper links climate science and behavioural science, estimates the potential impact of behavioural programs, and predicts the three types of behavioural programs with the largest impact.The authors of this paper link the C-ROADS...

This paper looks at behavioral opportunities for reducing consumer food waste at the preacquisition, acquisition, consumption, and disposition stages.Food waste presents a complex global problem that involves multiple actors and...

This communications Handbook, commissioned by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change offers a wealth of research on the science of climate change communication, practical tips and case studies. Also noted below is Climate Outreach's...

This report offers the most complete overview to date of agricultural technologies considered climate-smart around the world, including specific barriers to their adoption.While Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) is diverse, just five...

This page highlights RARE's resources for those at the intersection of behavior and the environment. Behavior Change Interventions in Practice: A Synthesis of Criteria, Approaches, Case Studies, and Indicators. The Science of...

This 2019 document provides a much-needed framework for managing food waste, including food surplus, food loss and food waste.It also provides an overview of the literature on drivers of in-home food waste and translate them into guidelines...

This 2020 study investigated the relationships between three types of nature contact, psychological connectedness, health, subjective wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviours. It suggests that interventions increasing both contact with,...

This study indicates that high-profile public advocates like Greta Thunberg can shape collective efficacy beliefs and motivate collective action, but their effect is likely stronger among those with a shared political ideology.Despite Greta...

This 2020 report summarizes a consensus study by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine of ways to reduce U.S. food waste at the consumer level. Approximately 30 percent of the edible food produced in the United...

Using satellite imagery and machine learning techniques, this study finds that the density of solar panels within the shortest measured radius of an address is the most important factor in determining the likelihood of that address having a...

Rather than trying to convince people that climate change is not remote, it is more effective to highlight that many people see climate change as already happening.It is widely assumed that psychological distance (PD) is a major barrier to...

This study identifies six household food waste segments: no food waste; trust in date labels; safety first; occasional wasters; overpurchasers and overpreparers; and family first. These segments differ in their sociodemographic and purchase...

Drawing on a nationally representative survey (n = 1,011) conducted from April 18 to May 1, 2023, this report describes Americans' beliefs and attitudes about global warming.Drawing on a nationally representative survey (n = 1,011)...

This study identifies four distinct Australian consumer groups driven by different perceptions of food packaging. Although food waste is one of the largest environmental and societal issues of our day, consumers perceive packaging waste as...

Threatening climate change messaging (i.e. telling things as they are) may promote action. This study found that after repeated threatening messages, fear and intentions increased initially but plateaued at around six exposures, whereas...

This field experiment with 7,680 low-income homeowners boosted referral rates, new participant numbers, and progam cost-effectiveness. It achieved this with two changes to a program that was already running. (1) It offered, in addition to...

The city of Pontevedra, Spain has been restricting car use since 1999. This article outlines transferable lessons the city has learned along the way. The city of Pontevedra, Spain has been restricting car use since 1999. This article...

The Anger Activism Model (AAM) can be used for segmentation. People with high anger and strong efficacy (i.e. 'activists') are more likely to engage in information seeking and are more accurate and defense-motivated when examining...

Hard-to-decarbonize houses are properties that require difficult or expensive retrofits in order to make them green and sustainable. They are thought to represent one-quarter of homes globally, and to be responsible for more than one...

This 2023 literature review summarizes why and how to best communicate the impacts of climate change to the general public, health professionals, and public officials.The review included 182 English-language studies and 13 non-English...

From 2013 to 2023, the Alarmed Global Warming segment in the U.S.A. nearly doubled in size from 15% to 28%, while the Cautious segment decreased from 26% to 15%.Global Warming Segments Since 2009, George Mason and Yale Universities have...

One of the broadest and most comprehensive global message testing studies conducted on climate change provides guidance for effective climate change related messaging.Potential Energy is a global, nonprofit marketing firm creating public...

Provides research reports and toolkits addressing a wide range of topics, and information and training on framing...