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Behaviour Change Nudges
A New Type of Carbon Credit
Behaviour Change is Key to Climate Action
In a 2021 report, the IEA stated that net-zero could not be reached by 2050 without the “consent and active support” of individuals, reflected in their day-to-day behaviour (IEA, 2021). This is because there are limits to what technological advances can achieve - ultimately, if changes are to be successful, public acceptance is essential. For example, electric vehicles may exist, but to decarbonate the transport sector they need to be accepted by individuals and purchased on a global scale. Generally, there is considerable potential to change our waste management and consumption patterns, and behavioural science could be a tool in enabling us to do so.
By improving our understanding of human behaviour, experts are better able to influence it through a notion called “behavioural interventions”. In the context of climate change, such an intervention could result in shifting our everyday choice patterns and habits to become more sustainable. UNEP provides the following examples of how this can be done:
1. Making the default option the better option (e.g., if carbon offset were the opt-out rather than opt-in option across airline booking sites).
2. Changing how choices are presented to favour sustainable behaviour
3. Removing the “unsustainable” option altogether
4. Removing the hassle factor
5. Going small, making it personal
Behavioural Science: A tool with Untapped Potential
Behavioural interventions may be leverage to the fight against climate change, but despite this, their potential largely remains untapped as behavioural science is rarely incorporated into “real world politics”, or policy design and implementation (Nature Climate Change), leaving other factors to drive behavioural change instead. Individual behaviour can be influenced by a multitude of factors, be they internal, such as information, skills, the ability to exercise behavioural control, etc., or external, such as cultural and societal norms, family influences and marketing campaigns (Fink, et al., 2021).
Above: the “intention-behaviour” gap.
This disconnect between intention and behaviour can be caused by several factors, including feeling a sense of despair or apathy by the enormity of the problem (“What difference would it make if I give up Nutella when everyone else keeps buying it?”); not knowing how to change your behaviour to meet the intention (Should I give up my Nutella, protest, or sign a petition against deforestation?”), or lacking the means to act due to social, financial, or political barriers (“I want to act, but I can’t afford sustainable alternatives”). Lower-carbon options may be more expensive, impractical, unavailable, or even impossible, depending on the circumstances. As stated by Carmel McQuaid, Head of Sustainability at the major retailer, Marks & Spencer, “People want to do the right thing, but life gets in the way, there are too many obstacles or they are too busy. If we can remove the friction, we will be more successful”.
Considering these difficulties, Blue is fully aware that the onus should not solely be on individuals to change their behaviour when their environment and lifestyles are often so heavily reliant on high energy demand (Cass, N. 2022). ‘Removing the friction” is not something that can be achieved overnight, but arguably, the more we do so the more behaviour change has the potential to be effective, especially as it gains momentum. Consider the law of supply and demand – depending on the price elasticity of the product, fluctuations in demand usually have an impact on supply, even if this may not be immediate. There are increasing calls for governments to address this “friction”. A 2022 report by the Commission on Environment & Climate Change of the House of Lords highlighted, for example, that the UK government had not yet motivated and built public acceptability for major changes, despite it being a crucial part of the government’s net-zero strategy. Whilst we wait for policy action, is there another way to facilitate much-needed behaviour change?
Behaviour can, of course, also be influenced by a desire to protect the environment. Many people are now aware, at least to some extent, of the issues our planet faces and would consider themselves to have “pro-environmental” values. For example, they may see a campaign claiming that deforestation in the Amazon rainforest for the production of palm oil is unjust. Some of them may adopt this way of thinking and some may even go beyond that and intend to act on it by making more sustainable choices when shopping, for example. However, this is where a disconnect is often found as many of these individuals stop short of translating this value, attitude or intention into real action, or behaviour change. To go back to our previous example, Jim may watch a documentary on the devastating effects of deforestation in the rainforest and intend to make more sustainable choices as a consumer by cutting out palm oil-based products from his diet. However, when he goes to the supermarket, he still buys Nutella for his crepes, which contains palm oil. This is known as the “value-action” gap or “intention-behaviour gap”.
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“People in general are positive to climate change and carbon neutrality but these can be abstract concepts and remote to many people’s daily lives.
Behavioural science and behaviour change approaches are therefore critical to support shifts in behaviour”
— UN Environment climate change expert Niklas Hagelberg
Even without policy action, in some cases, the disconnect between intention and behaviour may be bridged by changing the individual’s choice environment. One way of doing this is through “behaviour nudges”, a method of intervention that is involves changing an individual’s “choice architecture”, or the environment in which they make decisions, so they are more likely to opt for a certain choice” (Williams, R., 2021).
“Nudges” Bridge the Gap Between Intention and Behaviour
One salient example of how behaviour nudges work in practice is the additional cost applied to plastic bags in shops, making consumers less likely to purchase one, and thereby reducing plastic consumption (Haak, 2020). By way of contrast, this should be distinguished from a case in which plastic bags are banned, which would not be considered a nudge. Thaler & Sunstein explained the distinction in the following manner, “Putting the fruit at eye level counts as a nudge. Banning junk food does not”. They define nudges as “Any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people’s behaviour in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives”. This could include, for example, giving people smaller plates to reduce portion sizes and therefore eat less, designing the office in a format that makes the stairs dominant and the lift less visible, to encourage employees to take the stairs, or painting a fly target in urinals to indicate where to aim when urinating in public toilets, to reduce cleaning costs (Haak, 2020).
Left: Diagram of behaviour change resulting from a “nudge”, bridging the gap between intention and action.
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“Nudging (…) does not impinge on consumer free choice but, rather, serves to guide consumers towards more favourable decisions”
— Trewern, J., et al., 2022, Public Health Nutrition
A New Type of Carbon Credit could Incentivise Behaviour Change Projects
In the rush to become carbon neutral, companies are scrambling to offset their emissions by purchasing “carbon credits”. Carbon credits can be earned by project developers for carrying out a project to reduce or remove CO2e from the atmosphere. The project must be carefully planned and monitored according to the requirements of the chosen carbon registry and offsetting “standard”, to which they must adhere. Only if the project successfully fills the requirements will the carbon registry offer the project developer the carbon credits. Once obtained, the carbon credits can then be purchased by companies to “offset” the emissions they can’t get rid of by other means (McKinsey, 2021), and prices per tonne CO2e vary, resulting in varying standard of carbon credit. The resulting carbon finance from the sale then enables the project developer to finance more projects.
The projects typically fall under pre-defined “sectoral scopes”, such as energy demand, construction, transport, mining/mineral production, agriculture, forestry, and other land use, etc. However, in light of the potential for behavioural nudges to reduce carbon emissions, what if behavioural nudges could generate carbon credits, too? Blue has been exploring the possibility of creating a new type of carbon credit that would fall under a new sectoral scope in the voluntary carbon market. The objective of these carbon credits would be to limit high-carbon behaviour through behavioural nudges, thereby reducing CO2e emissions.
Right: Diagram of the cycle of behaviour change through nudges.
Nudges facilitate the transformation of intention into action (changing high-carbon behaviour to low-carbon behaviour).
The resulting carbon benefit would enable project developers to earn carbon credits, which they could sell.
The resulting carbon finance could then be used to finance more nudge projects.
Each carbon registry has different requirements for project proponents, and most (if not, all), require a “concept note” - an outline of the methodology. Taking into account the requirements of the concept notes of some of the major carbon registries such as Verra, ACR, Gold Standard and ICR, our team has developed our own concept notes for this type of carbon credit. The first is a general template that can be applied to any behavioural nudges, and the second is an example of its application to a specific behaviour (limiting the purchase of high-carbon products).
1. Methodology Concept note for Behavioural Nudges [available here]
This would enable projects implementing successful behavioural change nudges to earn carbon credits. The template is currently in draft form and is intended to serve as a base upon which a full methodology could be built. Sections that have been left blank should be filled by the project developer with information specific to the project.
2. Methodology Concept Note for Behavioural Nudges limiting the Purchase of High-Carbon Products [available here]
Desired behaviour change: Reduce the purchase of high-carbon products.
Method of intervention: Media campaign inciting customers to purchase alternative proteins. This particular methodology relates to high-carbon products and focuses on the link between the level of protein found in a product and its carbon footprint, expressed as kg/CO2e per 100g protein.
We chose this particular example as there is significant potential for decarbonisation is the food sector. Many of the items we would consider as essential when doing our weekly shop have high carbon footprints without us even knowing, meaning they have they have high carbon emissions in relation to their economic importance. Most notably, this includes dairy products and meat (especially red meat).
Carbon Methodology
References
Blaufelder, C., Levy, C., Manien, P., Pinner, D., (29.01.21) ‘A blueprint for scaling voluntary carbon markets to meet the climate challenge’. McKinsey Sustainability. Available here. (Last accessed 20.12.22).
Cass, N., (03.11.22) ‘Behaviour change: in our hands?’. Creds. Available here. (Last accessed 20.12.22).
Crow., D., Handschuh, I., Saive, G., Stass, L., (29.10.21) ‘Do we need to change our behaviour to reach net zero?’. IEA. Available here. (Last accessed 20.12.22).
Fink, L., Strassner, C., Ploeger, A. (19.02.21) ‘Exploring External Factors Affecting the Intention-Behavior Gap When Trying to Adopt a Sustainable Diet: A Think Aloud Study’. (Front Nutr. 2021 Feb 19;8:511412). Available here. (Last accessed 20.12.22).
Haak, T., (09.11.20) ’15 examples of workplace nudging’. HR Trend. Available here. (Last accessed 20.12.22).
Hagelberg, N., (13.02.19) ‘Five ways behavioural science can transform climate change action’. UNEP. Available here. (Last accessed 20.12.22).
House of Lords Environment & Climate Change Committee, (23, 12.10.22) ‘In our hands: behaviour change for climate and environmental goals’ (1st Report of session 2022. Available here. (Last accessed 20.12.22).
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Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2022) "Environmental Impacts of Food Production". Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Available here. (Last accessed 20.12.22).
Thaler R.H., Sunstein C.R., (2008) Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. New Haven, Conneticut: Yale University Press.
Trewern, J., Chenoweth, J., Christie, I., & Halevy, S. (2022). Does promoting plant-based products in Veganuary lead to increased sales, and a reduction in meat sales? A natural experiment in a supermarket setting. Public Health Nutrition, 25(11), 3204-3214. Available here. (Last accessed 20.12.22).
Verra, Verified Carbon Standard Sectoral Scopes, available here. (Last accessed 20.12.22).
Williams, R, J., (13.02.2021) ‘How a “nudge” can change behaviour’. Available here. (Last accessed 19.12.22).
(Author unknown) (2022) ‘Behaviour as leverage’. Nat. Clim. Chang. 12, 1069. Available here. (Last accessed 20.12.22).
(Author unknown) (17.05.18) ‘Nudges: The design of your choice’. Centro Internacional de Formacao. Available here. (Last accessed 20.12.22).
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