9. Enabling behaviour change

• Behaviour change is driven by a person’s capability and motivation, but also very much by the opportunities that the social, cultural and physical environment provides. These drivers of behaviour change vary across contexts and population groups.
• It is important to investigate the underlying reason(s) why people (do not) engage in specific healthy sustainable behaviours, to avoid implementing ineffective policies. Knowing whether it is a matter of capability, motivation and/or opportunity that needs to be improved can help with developing or choosing the right policies.

source: [2]

• The Behaviour Change Wheel helps to understand how policies and interventions can influence people’s behaviour, and which policies can be used to foster a triple-win in the areas of living, moving and consuming. This includes for instance:
  • Changing the physical environment through environmental restructuring;
  • Influencing the social/cultural environment through education and training.
• It is important to bear in mind that:
  • Behavioural insights should be applied through the whole cycle of the policymaking process, from development to implementation, as well as in monitoring and evaluation phases.
  • Barriers also need to be identified and tackled.
  • Achieving difficult changes (such as protecting the environment and quality of life) will often require bold legislation, which will not always be easily accepted.

Make it easy and affordable

• Cost is a key factor of change, while initiatives that require a high level of personal agency are less likely to be adopted at scale. Possible measures include:
  • Subsidising fruits and vegetables whilst increasing taxes on animal-based protein.
  • Making healthy options the easy options (for instance by providing fast track lines for vegetarian dishes in the canteen).
  • Investing in urban infrastructures that make it easy for people to engage in active transport.
• Be careful that measures taken to reduce or waive costs for certain target groups are not too explicit, and thereby stigmatise or stereotype.

Make it fun and positive

• People are more likely to be motivated to change if the change is enjoyable. Measures include:
  • Getting people outdoors to engage with nature. (GemüseAckerdemie)
  • Using food to bring people together, for instance through cooking classes or food fairs. (STOEMP)
  • Investing in technologies that make physical activity fun (for instance through motivational features, user community). (Urban Cyclers, Lifestyle e-coaching)

Make it engaging

• Engaging people emotionally and intellectually is a key factor for sustainable change, and can be achieved by:
  • Fostering understanding of why we need to change through education and training, making it more likely that people will truly commit in the long-run. (Sustainable Food in Public Schools)
  • Creating positive atmospheres for co-creation and innovation, giving a voice to people and allowing them to participate in their own lives.

Make it comparable

• Social norms matter. Apply available powerful tools such as information campaigns, choice architecture and regulatory measures to influence social norms by shifting people’s behaviours and then their values.
• Rankings can have a powerful effect on behaviour: people, businesses, cities or countries can be motivated for example by the desire to “have the lowest carbon footprint”. The media also often seizes upon country or city rankings, which can be used to publicise broader messages. Measures include:
  • Capturing precise data on environmental factors that can impact on health, and ensuring it is available and transparent;
  • Identifying and investing in common frameworks and indicators on environmental and social issues;
  • Creating or joining business/city/country comparisons on key sustainability issues.

Link health and sustainability

• A desire for better health can motivate change. Linking efforts to improve the environment with efforts to improve health, by e.g. providing access to better quality food and more green space can motivate people to support and take actions that restore and protect the environment.
• Promote behaviours that support the ‘triple-win’ as the path to a life well-lived.