How can behavioural change be used to drive down energy use in student accommodation?
There is a widespread consensus that the key areas that will help the UK to meet climate and environmental goals relate to how we travel, what we eat, what we buy, and energy use.
Our consciousness of where products and food originate and choosing to avoid the carbon hungry transport of these, and ourselves, around the globe are biggies when it comes to combatting the climate crisis.
Future technological innovations cannot be relied upon solely to deliver all the necessary emission reductions. Behaviour change concerning transport, diet, heating and consumption is essential in achieving our goals and potentially delivering wider benefits. These ‘co-benefits’ include dietary change, more physically active travel, less consumption etc., all of which could lead to healthier lifestyles and the inherent positive effect on healthcare provision and services. Not to mention helping towards our carbon reduction targets.
Polling shows that the public want to know how to play their part in tackling carbon-intensive consumption. Strong leadership, clear concise communication and setting a good example are ways in which behaviour change initiatives will filter from government – to organisations – to individuals.
In a localised community, such as universities, there is considerable potential to approach targets through behavioural intervention. But, for meaningful change, the process must be carefully considered.
To begin with, how are we defining the problem in behavioural terms? What is the behaviour that requires change? Who is doing it? And where is it occurring? Which future actions need to be promoted, and which of them will potentially have the greatest impact, are easily initiated, and can be measured.
Reading around the work of Susan Michie, Professor of Health Psychology at UCL, will help to understand the COM-B model, the Theoretical Domain Framework, and the resulting, Behavioural Change Wheel. These are used to formulate intervention plans for positively influencing behaviour. Fundamentally, when current behaviour and the plans for change have been defined, analysis is carried out to determine whether people have the capability to do it, if opportunities allow them to do it, and whether they want to do it. A modification in any of these can induce change. Interventions can then be brought in to support the requirements. These include Education; Persuasion; Incentivisation; Coercion; Training; Enablement; Modelling; Environmental restructuring; and Restriction.
“Polling shows that the public want to know how to play their part in tackling carbon-intensive consumption. Strong leadership, clear concise communication and setting a good example are ways in which behaviour change initiatives will filter from government – to organisations – to individuals.”
Behavioural interventions have considerable potential in reducing energy use in universities, particularly student accommodation. Improvements in building and construction techniques will play a role, but for existing property and the long-life expectancy of new builds, behavioural change is playing a central role in emission reduction strategies. A key issue is that the occupant of a room is usually not directly, financially responsible for energy costs, and their own consumption is not at the forefront of their mind.
We are noticing a combination of interventions, including enablement, restriction, education, and persuasion, are helping to drive change in properties where we operate.
We enable behaviour change by restricting the ability for energy to be used unnecessarily. We ensure energy is only consumed when required and limit the time that boosted heat is available. Information provided at point-of-use, explaining the issues, educates occupants to why it is important that measures are in place to control consumption. A practical example for use of hot water, is a simple device attached to the wall in a shower. It detects water flow and starts a counter which displays the time a shower has been running. Information provided, at point-of-use, highlights to residents the average shower lengths of their peers, and the effect that excessive showering has on global consumption.
These are small changes when viewed in isolation, but this kind of ‘nudge’ persuasion through education and enablement, combined with sophisticated monitoring across thousands of rooms soon adds up, and for our customers, is proving effective in making significant water and energy savings.