How behavioral science can help us become more environmentally responsible

FROM World Cleanup Day and Environment Week to World Car Free Day... initiatives to encourage collective action to protect the planet are on the rise. But how do a few individual actions morph into a more collective commitment? Lionel Rodrigues, a doctor in social psychology, tells us more about the behavioral science levers that push people to get involved and start taking action.

In 2007, an Estonian by the name of Rainer Nõlvak launched the Let's Do It movement to encourage his fellow citizens to "clean up the country." The following year, this call to action mobilized no less than 50,000 volunteers. Their mission? To get 5% of the population involved in cleaning up their country in one day! In 2018, more than 150 countries around the world embraced the movement, giving rise to World Cleanup Day, which held its 2021 edition, Saturday, September 18.

Similarly, the European Week for Sustainable Development (which runs September 18 to October 8 this year) brings together citizen initiatives and awareness-raising operations to mobilize the greatest possible number of people. The event coincides with World Car Free Day, scheduled for September 22.

All of these days or weeks of citizen action have a common goal: to make as many people as possible aware of the urgent need to preserve and protect our planet. But if public awareness about green causes has reached an unprecedented level in recent years, specialists and activists for environmental protection are categorical: now it's time to start taking action.

"Today, ecological and environmental issues are present everywhere: in family dinners, in public and political debates. This is a real international awakening. Now we need to transform it into action. We need to make sure that governments, large companies, but also citizens take action to move towards change," explains Greenpeace France CEO, Jean-François Julliard, in an interview with ETX Studio on the occasion of the NGO's 50th anniversary.

"Information alone is rarely enough to change an opinion or an attitude"

If an individual impetus can rally thousands of people around the world to act together, as happened with World Cleanup Day, it's because there's a whole psychological process involved in building people up to getting actively involved, explains Lionel Rodrigues, a doctor in social psychology and production manager for the company, E3D-Environment.

"Generally, we recognize that the strategy for changing behavior is first to try to convince by raising awareness, i.e., by citing facts, figures, etc. However, research on the subject shows that information alone is rarely enough to change an opinion or an attitude. To mobilize the greatest number of people, we must prepare them. The road to eco-responsibility will take place in several stages, regardless of the direction chosen," explains the researcher, who specializes in eco-responsible and socially beneficial behavior.

Behavioral sciences are frequently cited when it comes to encouraging us to adopt more environmentally responsible attitudes, and they play a key role in helping us to break certain (bad) habits and adopt new ones. This point of view is supported by Thibaud Griessinger, a researcher and consultant in behavioral sciences, who published research on the subject in 2019.

"There are several psychosocial levers that can motivate us to adopt this or that behavior," confirms Lionel Rodrigues. "The collective dimension is a powerful vector. All of us -- or at least the majority of us -- are more likely to model our attitude on that of others, especially when we see other people behaving in a certain way or giving importance to a subject. If a tourist walking alone sees a group of volunteers cleaning up a beach, he or she will be less likely to litter and no doubt more likely to want to leave the beach clean."

Collective action + kindness: the key to success?

To encourage people to make a commitment on an individual level, such as, for example, consuming less or cutting down on car use, Lionel Rodrigues recommends patience, support and a good dose of kindness and compassion: "Behavioral sciences can help individuals to carry out small actions so that something clicks. For example, by suggesting they find out about alternatives to the car for their daily commute, and then test out taking the bus to work one day. It is very important to encourage them at every step, so that they are willing to continue their efforts over time."

But in order to change your lifestyle in any significant way, you have to believe in it. "We regularly come across disheartened people who say to themselves: 'If I act alone, it's no use'. This tendency to disengage from responsibility is complicated to manage because it reflects a mechanism that clashes with the idea of making a change," recognizes Lionel Rodrigues.

"But, once again, the collective plays an essential role: the fact of showing individuals that actions are carried out, in their neighborhood, by local elected officials or neighbors sends them the message that things are happening and that they are not the only ones willing to get involved. In general, it works," says the doctor in social psychology.