1. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR Saving energy – a community approach Eva Heiskanen, Kuluttajatutkimuskeskus CHANGING BEHAVIOUR Presentation at Eco-support Activity workshop: Changing attitudes in theory and practice April 27, 2010, Hämeenlinna

2. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR A community approach Why? –usually, people are targeted today as individuals: ”YOU can make a difference” –there are limits to what individuals can do –a community approach offers possibilities to surmount these limitations How? –examples from the CHANGING BEHAVIOUR-project: how a community approach can promote change on the individual level 1.Making energy visible in everyday life 2.Questioning and shaping conventions 3.Creating new infrastructures 4.Co-operation and commitment 5.Empowerment

3. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR Why is a community approach needed?

4. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR 1. Social practices shape energy consumption We learn through interaction with others Berger, P. L. & Luckmann, T. (1966). The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books. Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. Parnell, R. & Popovic-Larsen, O. (2005). Informing the Development of Domestic Energy Efficiency Initiatives. An Everday Householder-Centred Perspective. Environment and Behavior 37(6): 787-807 Darby, S. (2006). Social learning and public policy: Lessons from an energy-conscious village. Energy Policy 34: 2929-2940 kWh?CO 2 ?

5. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR 2. Shared conventions shape consumption There are ’right’ and ’normal’ ways of doing things… Wilhite, H., Shove, E., Lutzenhiser, L., Kempton, W., (2000). The Legacy of Twenty Years of Energy Demand Management: We know more about Individual Behaviour but next to Nothing about Demand. in Jochem E. et al. (Eds.) Society, Behaviour, and Climate Change Mitigation. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp. 109- 126. Shove, E., (2003). Converging conventions of comfort, cleanliness and convenience. Journal of Consumer Policy, 26, 395-418.

6. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR 3. Shared infrastructures … define how difficult or easy it is to save energy in everyday life Guy, S., Shove, E., (2000). The Sociology of Energy, Buildings and the Environment: Constructing Knowledge, Designing Practice. Taylor & Francis Ltd. Lutzenhiser, L. (2002). Marketing Household Energy Conservation: The Message and the Reality. In T. Dietz &P. C. Stern (Eds), New Tools for Environmental Protection: Education, Information, and Voluntary Measures. Washington, D.C.:National Academy of Sciences. Van Vliet, B., H. Chappells and E. Shove (2005): Infrastructures of Consumption. Environmental Innovation in the Utility Industries. London: Earthscan.

7. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR 4. Social dilemmas Individual efforts to combat climate change are useless unless others participate, too. Hardin, G. (1968) The Tragedy of the Commons. Science 162, 1243-1248. Ostrom, E. (1990) Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Kollock, P., (1998). Social Dilemmas: The Anatomy of Cooperation. American Review of Sociology 24, 183-214. Olli, E., Grendstad, G., Wollebaek, D., (2001). Correlates of Environmental Behaviors: Bringing Back Social Context. Environment and Behavior 33, 181-208.

8. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR 5. Helplessness Due to all these factors, just targeting individuals may make people feel helpless, frustrated and powerless Kaplan, S., (2000). Human nature and environmentally responsible behaviour. Journal of Social Issues 56, 491-508. De Young, R., (2000). Expanding and evaluating motives for environmentally responsible behavior. Journal of Social Issues 56, 509-526. Thøgersen, J., (2005). How May Consumer Policy Empower Consumers for Sustainable Lifestyles? Journal of Consumer Policy 28, 143-177.

9. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR How to promote a community approach? 1.Making energy visible in everyday life 2.Questioning and shaping conventions 3.Creating new infrastructures 4.Co-operation and commitment 5.Empowerment

10. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR 1. Making energy visible in everyday life Concrete ways to talk about energy and CO 2 (”carbon footprint”) -> ”stickers and meters” Feedback on what others are doing Peer-to-peer communications

11. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR 1 a) Making it visible: ”Stickers and meters” http://www.solec.org/LouieLOMIT.htm

12. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR 1 b) Making it visible: what others are doing JOIN YOUR FELLOW GUESTS IN HELPING TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT! Almost 75% of guests who are asked to participate in our new resource savings program do help by using their towels more than once. You can join your fellow guests in this program to help save the environment by reusing your towels during your stay. Cialdini (2006) Descriptive Social Norms as Underappreciated Sources of Social Control. Psychometrika 72: 263-268

13. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR 1 c) Making it visible: peer-to- peer advice http://www.stroudopenhomes.org.uk Open Homes (UK) to promote energy renovations http://www.energychange.info/six -best-practice-pilots/198-the- energy-academy Peer-to-peer advice networks

14. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR 2. Questioning and shaping conventions It is difficult to challenge conventions because they often don’t have a ’rational’ basis –People need to question, get new ideas, experiment… New conventions can be (are) created –Change is a good time to develop new conventions –New inspiring alternatives can create new conventions –New conventions need to become ’normal’ in order to ’stick’

15. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR 2 a) Questioning conventions Shower timer makes an annoying noise when you spend too long in the shower http://www.lake-renewable-energy.com/inc/sdetail/6005 Local climate club discusses everyday habits http://www.energychange.info/six-best- practice-pilots/200-carbon-club-godollo

16. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR 2 b) Developing new conventions Carrotmob: creating a new convention of collective influence www.carrotmob.org New office: new practices http://www.energychange.info/six-best- practice-pilots/199-northtown-technology- park

17. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR 3. Developing new infrastructures www.energie-cites.org Infrastructures are human-made –slow to change, but can be changed Municipalities are key in enabling sustainable consumption Communities can build new infrastructures New infrastructures can be developed both ’top-down’ and ’bottom-up’ www.ytv.fi

18. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR 3 a) Developing new infrastructures ”Walking bus”: social innovation www.sustainable-everyday.net/EMUDE/ Ground-source heat: common project http://www.energychange.info/six- best-practice-pilots/195-micro-escos

19. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR 4. Co-operation and commitment Individual ’sacrifices’ are useless unless you can make sure that others participate –other consumers, employees –companies and ’large polluters’ –state and municipalities Solutions –no sacrifice, just fun and enjoyment (?) –leaders and ’multipliers’– getting others to follow –making sure ’everyone does their bit’

20. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR 4 a) Co-operation and commitment Leaders and ’multipliers’ -> social support and pressure Climate pledges Local energy and climate projects Information on collective achievements http://www.energychange.info/six- best-practice-pilots/196-power- agents http://www.co2-raportti.fi/index.php?page=tietoa_raportista

21. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR 5. Empowerment Making results (even small ones) visible -> sense of achievement Increased –self-worth –competence –capability www.manchesterismyplanet.com

22. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR 1. Making it visible in everyday life ” Stickers and meters ” Making ’ what others are doing ’ visible (= descriptive social norms) Peer-to-peer communications and advice 2. Questioning conventions and creating new ones Discussion and stimuli Forums for joint reflection Building on moments of change Creating new fashions and conventions 3. Developing new infrastructures User-friendly technical solutions New ways of getting organised, social innovations Local sustainable purchasing networks 4. Co-operation and commitment Commitments, agreements, rules Leaders and ’ multipliers ’ – getting everyone involved Make sure everyone is ’ doing their bit ’ and contributing to the common good 5. Empowerment A sense of achievement Self-worth Feeling more competent and capable 6. -> ? Summary: community approach

23. www.energychange.info C HANGING B EHAVIOUR Thanks!