theoretical framework for behavioral change 6...

L2L 2008 MIT Energy Initiative Project of 42

Contents

MIT VOICES ON BEHAVIOR CHANGE FOR ENERGY CONSERVATION 3

INTRODUCTION 4

Project Scope 4

Leader to Leader 4

Project Approach 4

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR BEHAVIORAL CHANGE 6

The Five Spheres of Behavioral Change Analysis 6

Leadership Lenses for Behavioral Change 11

LBC Framework for Sustainable Behavior Change 13

MIT Insights 14

RECYCLING @ MIT: A BEHAVIORAL CHANGE CASE STUDY 15

FLIP THE SWITCH 18

NEXT STEPS 21

REFERENCES 23

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 24

APPENDICES 25

Interview Analysis Matrix 25

L2L Energy Team Project Statement 35

Behavioral Change Ideas for Lights and Doors Pilots 37

Starter Toolkit for Behavioral Change at MIT 42


MIT Voices on Behavior Change for Energy Conservation On any given day at the Institute, we engage each other in the work of creating positive change in the world through our scholarship, learning, and service. What are the energizing factors about being engaged by some new challenges and disengaged from others? In short, when it comes to bringing about real change, what makes MIT tick? Here is what members of the MIT community are saying about bringing about change:

“Find students passionate about the cause... make student involvement as painless as possible.”

“Use stats and facts... use new orientation as a way to establish positive norms.”

“Keep the message short to pull them in... give clear and thoughtful reasons for the Institute's decision.”

“Create exciting, intellectual opportunities relating to energy conservation... students don't like the idea of things not working efficiently, so if it doesn't work - they fix it."

“Use our ‘cultural currency’ like language and icons... make it practical, clear, intelligent.”


Introduction

Project Scope

The MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) Campus Energy Task Force was established in 2007 to develop and coordinate a campus energy program. It seeks to motivate the MIT community to “walk the talk” through specific targeted projects such as turning off lights and computers, using revolving doors, double sided printing, closing fume hoods, and investing in energy efficient equipment.

The goal of this project is to understand how to change behavior in a large and complex organization such as MIT in the context of saving energy on campus and helping to move energy saving efforts forward.

Leader to Leader

MIT’s Leader-to-Leader (L2L) program is a twelve-month leadership development program that couples theoretical learning with hands-on leadership experience. A key component of the program is projects sponsored by L2L alums. These projects give L2L Fellows leadership practice within the context of real-life MIT projects that support strategic Institute goals.

This report is the outcome of a 2008 L2L project. The project was guided by sponsors Robin Elices and Sherwin Greenblatt and process coach Mary Schaefer. L2L project team members were Robbin Chapman, Bart Dahlstrom, Malgorzata Hedderick, Ted Johnson and Magdalene Lee.

Project Approach

We began by studying works by experts in the field of behavior change. Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-based Social Marketing by McKenzie-Mohr and Smith gave us strategies and methods to approach the topic from the perspective of the environment and energy. Our L2L study of Three Perspectives on Organizations - Managing for the future: Organizational processes and behavior by Deborah Ancona, Tom Kochan, John Van Maanen and Eleanor Westney gave us tools to understand the cultural, political and strategic dimensions of behavior change. Then we examined energy conservation work already underway at MIT. These attempts to change behavior offered us practical examples of what works and ideas to improve future success. We examined past projects that focused on turning off fume hoods and lights whenever possible, using revolving doors, printing on both sides of paper, shutting down idle computers and more comprehensive recycling.

Interviews with leaders among students, faculty and staff across MIT provided important insights into how leadership plays a role in how things get done at MIT. We have included our


recommendations on how to advance the cause of behavior change around energy conservation at MIT. We are honored to have been able to contribute to this project and have the opportunity to apply our L2L lessons and engage in the challenging, nebulous and ultimately rewarding work of leadership.


Theoretical Framework for Behavioral ChangeThe key to any successful, sustainable initiative is to understand that knowledge alone is not enough to change individual behavior. Ultimately, the success of the initiative is measured, in part, by its ability to transform individual good intentions into action. Several approaches have often been proposed for bringing about behavior change. Approaches include 1) economic self-interest approach that emphasizes the economic advantages of the change, 2) attitude-behavior approach that focuses on enhancing knowledge through education, and 3) information-based approach that uses media and other tools to communicate the need for change. These approaches hold value for raising awareness but have fallen short of bringing about change around a desired behavior. We are recommending a new framework for sustained behavior change, called Leading Behavioral Change (LBC) that we have developed by merging two well-established frameworks that have enjoyed success, one emphasizing behavior change and the other emphasizing change leadership.

The Five Spheres of Behavioral Change Analysis

The first framework, which focuses on behavior change, is called community-based social marketing (CBSM) and is based on principles described by McKenzie-Mohr and Smith (1999). CBSM presents a pragmatic approach to targeted behavior change by using proven tools and techniques (McGoldrick, 2000; Hobson & Kersty 2001). The framework is based on the premise that raising awareness is not sufficient for bringing about behavioral change. Instead, behavioral change is a precursor to attitudinal change, or in other words, when it comes to behavior change, values follow behavior. The key is to move people to engage in desired behaviors long enough to attribute motivating values to those behaviors. McKenzie-Mohr and Smith outline actionable steps that in this report we will call spheres, which contribute to behavioral change. They also talk about how to maximize the potential success of the spheres by first identifying any barriers or benefits to sustainable behavior change. The 5 spheres are:

Sphere Objective/Goal Commitment Move individuals from good intentions to action Prompts Remind individuals to engage in the behavior Norms Build community support for behavior Communication Create effective and sensible messaging Incentives Build motivation for behavior


“Find students passionate about the cause... make student involvement as painless as possible.”

The commitment sphere focuses on actions that move an individual to make a promise to engage in a particular behavior. Commitments should be staged, with increasing levels of investment over time. People find it easier, at first, to commit to a small initial request for change than a larger one. For example, for a Get Healthy Now! initiative, making the smaller commitment to exercise 10 minutes per day is feasible for most people. Over time, it will be easier to get those same people to agree to increase their exercise commitment to 30 minutes per day. However, starting out asking for a 30 minute per day commitment would probably result in non-compliance. Generally, once a small commitment is met, there is an increased likelihood that the larger commitment will be agreed upon. This is because individuals agreeing to a small request often change their self-perceptions and begin to view themselves as supportive of initiatives related to the initial request. Commitment mechanisms vary. However, there are several core points to follow:

written commitments are more effective than verbal ones public commitments are highly effective group-level commitment can garner individual commitment

The key to commitment is that it drives the individual’s desire to act consistently. For our purposes, that would be for people to act consistently regarding a desired behavior.

“Use our ‘cultural currency’ like language and icons... make it practical, clear, intelligent.”

The prompt sphere focuses on actions that remind an individual, in the moment just before making a behavior choice, to choose the new behavior. Prompts are visual or auditory aids to remind us to carry out an activity we might otherwise forget and are designed to prompt a thought before executing a particular behavior. For example, a “Stay Off The Grass” sign posted


along a park walkway prompts people to think before taking that next step onto the grass. Rather then educate, prompts are merely a reminder of what most people already know. To be most effective, prompts must be placed in close proximity of where the desired behavior would occur. Repeated reminders help to create sustainable behavior. Prompt mechanisms vary. However, there are several core points to follow:

prompts should be self explanatory they should encourage engaging in positive behaviors rather than avoiding negative ones prompts should be strategically placed

The key to prompts is to function as effective reminders of the desired behavior.

“Use stats and facts... use new orientation as a way to establish positive norms.”

The norm sphere focuses on actions that move an individual to look to the behavior of others as a model for when and how to engage in a behavior. Norms tell individuals what the expectations are for their behaviors through a host of accepted social practices, established protocols, and rules of conduct. Norms are most compelling when there are others watching. For example, when one individual uses the revolving door, others tend to follow. Some ways to communicate norms include:

communicate the desired behavior broadcast high participation rates that imply that everyone else engages in the norm make the norm behavior visible make sure people know how they should be behaving make the norm explicit at the time the behavior is to occur

The key to norms is to encourage positive behaviors rather than punishing or discouraging negative behaviors.


“Keep the message short to pull them in... give clear, thoughtful reasons for Institute decisions.”

The communication sphere focuses on actions that send a message that is vivid, concrete, and actionable. Communication is used to raise awareness in a way that people attend to the message. Communication can be realized in a variety of ways but the communication should have several salient characteristics. Some ways to formulate more effective communications are:

message should be specific, clear, straightforward, and credible message platform vivid, concrete, and personalized message must be easily remembered with clear, simple steps to follow; use visuals that

clarify your message, use icons that resonate with the target group, frame your message to create a mood in the audience

use contrast in your content; comparing extremes will draw attention to the message

The more credible the person delivering the message, the more influence it will have on your audience. This is why it is important to think in advance about what individual or group should convey the message. Finding the right source can have a powerful and cost-effective impact. The key to communication is to craft the message thoughtfully and select the person(s) to deliver the message strategically.

“Create exciting, intellectual opportunities relating to energy conservation... MIT folks don't like the idea of things not working

efficiently... if it doesn't work - they fix it."

The incentives sphere focuses on actions that move an individual from good intention to acting. Incentives are promises of rewards, recognition, or positive experiences in return for sustained engagement in a desired behavior. The goal is to motivate an individual to continue engaging in


the desired behavior. Numerous studies have documented that a person's expressed beliefs are not a strong indicator of how the person will act relative to the desired behavior. Therefore, planning an incentive means also paying careful attention to any factors that might result in a disconnect between a person's attitude and their behavior. Attention should also be paid not to make the incentive too valuable, otherwise people will come to believe they are engaging in the new behavior only for the incentive. When formulating incentives there are several key factors to consider:

incentives should reward positive behavior they should be closely linked to the desired behavior they should be visible consider using non-monetary incentives

The key to incentives is having people believe they are engaging in the behavior for reasons other than merely receiving the reward. Keep in mind that once the incentive is removed people may relapse to the old, undesirable behavior. One technique for minimizing relapses is to remove the incentive gradually and in stages.

Using the 5 Spheres: Understanding Barriers and Benefits The 5 spheres give us an important tool for thinking about the key motivators for behavioral change. It is important to understand how barriers and benefits may influence attempts at behavior change. Barriers are also activity specific. That is, they inhibit or enable some particular activity. Barriers may be external (lack of resources to carry out the changed behavior) or internal (lack of knowledge about the changed behavior). Removing barriers to an activity while putting in place benefits is a critical component of any behavior change effort. It is important to never skip the barrier identification stage. Also, don't assume you know what the


barriers are. In summary, there are several important points to consider when determining how barriers and benefits may effect attempts at behavior change:

Behavior competes with behavior. People consciously or automatically make choices between competing behaviors

People gravitate to behaviors with high perceived benefits People avoid behaviors that have perceived barriers or costs Barriers and benefits are activity specific with a different constellation of barriers and

benefits for different activities Attempt to remove as many barriers as possible

An understanding of how barriers and benefits work informs our decisions about how to motivate behavior change. Barriers usually fall into one of the following categories and may be addressed by using a corresponding sphere to determine the actions to take.

Barrier Applicable Sphere

Lack of motivation Commitment (from receptive people) Norms (with ambivalent people) Incentives (for non-receptive people)

"not how we've always done it" Norms forgetting to engage in the behavior Prompts

Lack of knowledge Communication

This list of barriers is not inclusive. Similar tables should be developed to identify additional barriers as well as benefits and the applicable sphere(s) to remove or enhance them, respectively. We next present a tool that can be used to contextualize the spheres to better fit the strategic, political, and cultural nuances of a particular target group.

Leadership Lenses for Behavioral Change

The 3 lenses is a tool that can help change leaders develop a nuanced, contextual perspective on motivating behavior change within a particular group or community. The three lenses are strategic, cultural, and political. The lenses are used to better fit your commitment, norms, prompts, incentives, and communications spheres to the community you are trying to change. By gaining a more nuanced perspective on what is important about the community, behavior change strategies can be designed that are more relevant to the community.


Lens Action Motivator Lens Perspective

Strategic

Motivating action through understanding how organizational systems and structures move the community: get people with the right knowledge, assign appropriate tasks, and provide necessary information to plan for impact of the new behavior

Be goal oriented Parts must work

together Honor organizational

structure

Political

Motivating action through understanding how power moves the community: groups compete for power and autonomy. Determine who the internal stakeholders are and how to negotiate and build consensus for the new behavior

Identify the important political interests and goals

Determine what the competition is for resources

Cultural

Motivating action through understanding how culture moves the community: Informal norms wield a strong influence on behavior. Values, artifacts, assumptions, language, etc. constitute how meaning and interpretation will be assigned to the new behavior

Articulate using the cultural symbols and vision

Pay attention to what is "taken for granted" within the culture

Understand what is valued within the culture


LBC Framework for Sustainable Behavior Change

Our motivation for combining the two frameworks was to create an actionable system of strategies and tools for thinking about behavior change within an organization. The CBMS framework has been successful in realizing behavior change, however, we wanted to create a model that was more robust and could be adapted to different communities within a complex organization. The 3 lenses provide a heuristic for the sensemaking necessary to make the spheres actionable within and adaptable to a complex community.


MIT Insights

MIT as an organization is highly decentralized with many different communities that consist of various groupings of faculty, staff, and students. As such, each particular community will have its own particular interests. The LBC framework will help in "drilling-down" to more accurately determine what motivates a particular group and how to fashion actions within each sphere to better move the community to engage in a new, desired behavior.

For example, the incentive sphere outlines several actions, including rewarding positive behavior, linking the incentive to the desired behavior, and making the incentive visible. However, what constitutes the design of a credible incentive will vary for two different groups, say a group of faculty versus a group of students. Viewing the incentive sphere using the 3 lenses will ensure the nature of an incentive will resonate with its community. This can help converge on those incentives that are designed and delivered in a way that makes sense to the community. For a community of faculty, the political lens might provide insight (through conversations with key stakeholders in the department) on faculty concerns about reducing overhead. Incentives might include awards and recognition for the faculty being "energy smart." The strategic lens might provide insight into how faculty's administrative assistants may need procedures put in place that facilitate reporting on energy savings. The cultural lens could help us think of incentives that recognize the importance of creating exciting intellectual opportunities for faculty.


Recycling @ MIT: A Behavioral Change Case Study Recycling at MIT changed, developed and progressed since the earliest institutional activities began in 2000. At the time, the campus wide recycling rate was measured at 11% and reached 40% in recent years. Recycling collection now includes batteries, EWaste and Techno Trash. Currently, a pilot project for desk-side collection of co-mingled trash is underway and campus wide implementation is expected in 2009.

In 2000, the Working Group on Support Staff Issues took on-campus recycling as an issue and created the Working Group Recycling Committee (WGR). The mission of the committee is to “develop and deliver programs that educate administrative and support staff about recycling, reducing and reusing goods.” The efforts of the WGR include “identifying/addressing gaps in staff understanding about recycling as well as gaps in recycling resources, and creating ways to increase recycling at MIT.” Through a network of Recycling Ambassadors, recycling efforts were established at a grassroots level in departments, labs and centers. The establishment and coordination of the ambassador network relied on the efforts of the WGR co-conveners and a core group of volunteers as an "engine to keep things going." These individuals invested large amounts of time and energy into the program and exhibited a great passion for recycling. Strong leadership is absolutely critical for behavioral change to be sustainable.

The MIT Department of Facilities has operational responsibility for recycling collection. Falling under Grounds Services, dedicated staff are assigned to recycling collection and coordinated by the Supervisor of Recycling and Solid Waste Management. Additionally, the Facilities Communications Manager provides training and information on recycling resources. The WGR works very closely with the Facilities Communications Manager and benefits from her advice and commitment toward recycling outreach. The WGR website - Working Green at MIT


web.mit.edu/workinggreen/ - promotes recycling events, offers vital information on recycling and conservation, and offers resources for ambassadors. The network of ambassadors enables literature and e-mail announcements to have wide distribution across the community. The success of recycling at MIT continues to grow with the combined efforts of the WGR, the Environmental Programs Office and the initiatives of the Department of Facilities. While an organized behavioral change framework may not have been the original intention for implementing a recycling program at MIT, many aspects of one occurred. The MIT recycling program is an example of how behavioral change may be effective for implementing an Energy Conservation program.

Commitment The success of campus-wide recycling can largely be attributed to the three primary groups working together. These passionate people communicate WGR initiatives and encourage recycling at the local level. Volunteers within WGR have noted that they benefited professionally from their involvement which led to continued educational opportunities and careers in conservation.

Prompts Highly visible prompts to recycle are placed at strategic locations. At the moment in which someone needs to dispose of a bottle, can, newspaper, etc., the reminder of a recycle container is right next to a trash container. This makes it easy for people to repeatedly use the correct container for disposal and also helps to register in one’s mind that they need a recycle container when none is present. The color and shape of recycle lids help to remind people what to do. The blue lid with a slot is easily recognizable for paper disposal. The green lid with a round hole suggests the place to put a bottle or can. Other examples of prompts are resources provided by the WGR, such as bin labels for techno trash and plastic bags.

Norms A 37% increase in campus recycling from 2000 to 2008 shows the campus norm to recycle is prevalent. This is also visible by the large number of recycle receptacles in public lobbies, desk-side and portable recycle containers delivered to events on campus. A non-scientific proof of the norm to recycle can be seen when witnessing people passing by a trash container while holding an empty bottle or can. The norm is to wait until they come across a recycle bin for its disposal; out of fear of being seen tossing it in a regular trash can, individuals wait until they find a recycle bin.

Communication Communicating recycling initiatives on campus is broad and varied. The Facilities Department Manager of Communications provides information through e-mail, website, and printed materials on various recycling programs as well as other environmental initiatives. The WGR website “Working Green at MIT” http://web.mit.edu/workinggreen provides useful information for individuals. Its spotlights, such as, “Did You Know? Every Sunday 500,000 trees could be saved if everyone recycled their newspapers,” plays into MIT’s culture that statistics and facts are positively received. Working Green provides valuable resources for Ambassadors to communicate to their particular department, lab or center. Resource tools include the “MIT


Recycling Resource Guide”, “Do's of Recycling at MIT”, a variety of labels for recycle bins and many other materials to make the volunteers successful in their efforts.

Incentives Providing statistical data is an effective incentive for the campus to recycle. The Facilities Department has seen monthly waste expenses drop from $75,000 in 2002 to $45,000 in 2008. The reduced costs of the waste budget provided incentives for the Facilities Department to make recycling easier for the community. Staff members are dedicated to recycling collection, recycle containers are made available, and new bio-diesel vehicles are being purchased to aid environmental concerns. MIT won the 2006 Cambridge Go Green Recycling Award for Large Businesses, which has helped encourage a desire to win additional awards and recognition. On the individual level, incentives are provided through programs such as the MIT Generator that exists to unite and catalyze student groups working on local energy, environment, and sustainability projects with a campus focus. MIT Generator has created opportunities to join or initiate action teams focused on targeted improvement areas such as recycling on campus and can lead to financial resources for the groups. The annual luncheon for Recycling Ambassadors offers recognition for service and reinforces individual motivation. Through the analysis of the recycling initiative it is concluded that, working together, three primary groups within the Institute made the initiative successful and sustainable: the Recycling Committee, its recycling ambassador network, and the Department of Facilities. The Recycling Committee, formed from within the Working Group on Support Staff Issues, was the initial force behind the initiative and the engine that enabled its success. The Department of Facilities provided the institutional base for the initiative to be operationalized. The recycling ambassador network was a vehicle for spreading the message on recycling within their departments, labs and centers. Some students, administrators, and faculty participated as recycling ambassadors but these groups did not get involved in the initiative as significantly as the support staff. Through interviews of thought leaders from various areas of campus, it became clear that support staff at MIT were the driving force behind the initiative.


Flip the Switch

Signs tell us to turn off the lights. Previous research suggests a 15% reduction in lighting load with sticker campaign on light switch panels. For years, articles in The Tech, such as this one from 1990, encourage individual action to save energy. Websites like Working Green at MIT and PowerMIT tell us to conserve energy by turning off lights and suggest opportunities to learn more and get involved.

The MIT Sustainability launched Lights out 16-56 in July, 2008. Its goal is to reduce energy use in Buildings 16 and 56 by using automated feedback to inform building users about energy use and providing positive reinforcement for conservation. Through monitoring initiatives in the buildings, participants will receive feedback based on lab-level and building-level energy use. In April, 2008, $500K funding to help MIT walk the talk included funds to retrofit outdated, inefficient fluorescent light fixtures with new ballasts; replace bulbs with energy-efficient models; implement lighting systems designed by students during an Independent Activities Period class; install and adjust occupancy sensors that shut off lights in a room where there is no activity for 20 minutes. Yet, many of us still leave lights on. Why? How can turning off the lights gain the same behavioral success as recycling at MIT? The 5 spheres provide part of the answer. A review of key elements in each of the spheres indicates that success increases when actions cover all spheres. And when those actions are designed considering insights from the 3 lenses of change, strategic – political – cultural, the results can guide an appropriate program of change for students, faculty and staff.

The observations that follow illustrate that recycling has addressed all 5 spheres in a more comprehensive manner than the turning off lights initiative did. While work to change behavior related to these two topics may not have intentionally included or excluded a sphere, the results still correlate to coverage of all spheres.


Visible commitment from individuals, groups, leadership, thought leaders

Use facts / data

Use thought leaders like department heads, student leaders, …

Use technology (sensors, meters, audible prompt…)

Signs at point of behavior

Leadership by example from senior leadership (video ads, events, …) and everybody

Incorporate behavior in big, visible events, orientations, smaller events

Benchmarking, provide data, expectations

Competition for groups (students, departments, buildings,… getfit model) Y

Coordinated campaign with many prongs (website, homepage spotlight, 'wall of sound", TechTV, ...) Y

Real time data

Offer UROPs to work on energy projects

Sharing financial benefits

Rewards & Recognition (auction, …)

Audit service

Providing tools (light bulbs, …)

Lig

hts

Rec

yclin

g

Commitment

Incentives

Communication

Norms

Prompts


Commitment Compared to the success of campus wide recycling due in part to the commitment of a broad network of volunteers known as Recycling Ambassadors, there is relatively little commitment to turn off lights. There are fewer passionate people who encourage the behavior at the local level. Work already underway to secure commitment by making a pledge will advance the behavior.

Prompts Prompts adjacent to light switches remind us to “Turn off the lights.” Placing the reminder where the desired behavior occurs dramatically increases the likelihood of action. The Campus energy project estimates that 15% energy use reductions can be achieved with light switch sticker campaigns. Pervasive, consistent reminders to turn off lights will increase the desired behavior. The automated feedback planned for buildings 16 and 56 are another form of prompt which will reinforce conservation behavior.

Norms Relatively little has been done to establish “Turning off lights” as a behavioral norm. Witness the number of vacant offices, conference rooms and classrooms with lights on. Unlike the norm established to recycle, there is little peer pressure to turn off lights. Establishing energy saving actions as the expected behavior at MIT is already being introduced into campus orientation tours. Modeling behavior by senior leadership is also an effective way to establish a norm.

Communication Lighting initiatives have been communicated on a number of MIT websites including Sustainability, Walk the Talk, and Campus Energy Initiative. Facility upgrades are documented on the Department of Facilities website. Communication around lighting energy savings tend to focus on individual projects like retrofitting athletic spaces or on members of the Campus energy projects. “Working Green at MIT” provides some information on turning off lights. A comprehensive, coordinated, targeted communication campaign related to lights which provides information and messages that resonate with the unique communities that make up MIT is critical to the overall success of any behavior change effort.

Incentives Incentives to turn off lights abound. Lighting retrofit program recently completed in the Department of Athletics doubled lighting levels while reducing energy use by 50% resulting in expected savings of $120,000 annually. Using energy efficient technologies, the new dome lighting requires only as much energy as two hair dryers. Providing statistical data is an effective incentive for the campus to conserve energy. On the other hand, incentives associated with lights seldom benefit the person exhibiting the desired behavior. Savings tend to benefit the institute as a whole. Awards recognizing desired behavior and competitions between groups are both effective incentives that are consistent with the MIT culture.


Next Steps The L2L Energy Team recommends the following next steps:

The Walk the Talk Task Force facilitates a formation of a group of volunteers who are passionate about energy conservation and ready to contribute their talents and a considerable amount of time to the initiative. We propose this step based on our analysis of recycling at MIT. The recycling initiative started because of a group of passionate individuals within the Working Group on Support Staff Issues and it succeeded over time because of a very strong leadership within that group. For the new group to be effective and sustainable over time, it will need members whose work circumstances allow them to commit significant amount of time to the initiative on a regular basis. It also will need a very committed and strong leadership within the group that would move the group forward and make it sustainable.

The Walk the Talk Task Force offers support to the group of volunteers so it could create effective communication tools. The Walk the Talk Task Force will need to help the group marshal resources for the work that the group will need to do. Effective communication tools will be key in the group's work as they reach out to students, faculty, and staff, to schools and departments, and to administrative units, and as they partner with the Energy Initiative, with the Department of Facilities, with HR and others.

The group of volunteers adapts the five-spheres and three-lenses framework, uses it, expands it. The group will need to become familiar with the framework and will need to adapt it as they develop an action plan. That will allow them to approach each program or project in a comprehensive and well coordinated way. They also will need to train their partners and their extended volunteer network on the principles of the framework.

The group applies the framework to the Flip the Switch program. We propose that the group makes the Flip the Switch program the first program on which they work and that they apply the framework as they develop an action plan for the program. They also will need to reach out to the MIT Sustainability group to understand how to best build on their pilot Lights out 16-56.

The group assesses the success of the Flip the Switch program after an appropriate amount of time.


The group will decide what would be the time horizon for the program and at what intervals to assess progress and when to have a final assessment of the program. The lessons learned at various intervals will allow the group to make necessary adjustments to the program and to modify/expand the framework to make it most applicable.

The group works on other energy conservation programs and applies the lessons learned from Flip the Switch to these efforts. Over time, the group could add other energy conservation issues to their agenda and could create programs to address these issues. If funds become available for this initiative in a form of a gift or savings from energy conservation, an administrative support could be added and a permanent unit could be created to help coordinate all the volunteer-based and institutional partners for the initiative. This would make the initiative even more sustainable for the long run, as voluntary action, no matter how committed are the volunteers, has visible limits. For example, despite the fact that WGR members devoted a lot of time and energy to the recycling initiative, they were not able to carry out all the actions that they recognized as important. This was especially true regarding the recycling ambassador network and outreach to custodians. If WGR had more resources (especially time) they would have made sure that there was a recycling ambassador in every team and on every floor of each MIT building. They would have created a comprehensive network of these ambassadors and made sure that over time the network grew and that every part of the Institute was included in the network. They also would have reached out to the custodians to make sure that there was an active partnership between WGR and custodians and that the custodians felt recognized for their role in the recycling effort.

To support the proposed group in their efforts, we have developed a starter toolkit in tandem with this document. The toolkit includes an example of a concise presentation on the framework as well as tips and examples based on the five-spheres and three-lenses framework. The tools provide practical actionable guidelines as well as materials that can be adopted immediately. They also can be introduced and reinforced in a sequence so that the tools build on each other and strengthen each other in time. For example, the "prompt" tool provides ready prompts that the group as well as their extended volunteer network can use and instructions on how to create an effective prompt, should they choose to create their own prompts that fit the sub-culture of their immediate community better (for example: lab, dorm, department, or office). This starter toolkit could be expanded over time and toolkits for other programs managed by the group could be developed.


References Ancona, D., Kochan, T., Van Maanen, J., and Westney, E. “Three Perspectives on Organizations.” Managing for the Future: Organizational Processes and Behavior. Southwest Publishing: 3rd edition, 2005. Carroll, J. 2001. “Introduction to Organizational Analysis: The Three Lenses.” MIT Sloan School of Management, August, 2001. "Closing the Loop Behavior Change Activities"; presentation from the 12/11/2007 meeting of the MITEI WTT Task Force meeting

John S. Carroll, 15.301/15.310 Managerial Psychology, Fall 2006. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare), http://ocw.mit.edu (Accessed October 24, 2008). License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA

Hobson, Kersty. Sustainable Lifestyles: rethinking barriers and behaviour change, In Cohen and Murphy, 2001. pp.191-209. McGoldrick D. “Using social marketing to promote changes in anti-tobacco policy.” Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Working paper. Washington, DC. 2000. McKenzie-Mohr, D. and Smith, W. Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-based Social Marketing. New Society Publishers. 1999.


Acknowledgments The L2L project team for MIT Energy Imitative wishes to thank our sponsors, Sherwin Greenblatt and Robin Elices, for suggesting the project, helping us understand the project scope, and answering our questions. Special thanks to our process coach Mary Schaefer for her generous support, invaluable feedback and encouragement along the way. The original idea of the theoretical framework comes from the book Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-based Social Marketing written by McKenzie-Mohr and Smith. The L2L project team wishes to express our warm and sincere thanks to Jason Jay who introduced us to the book and gave us important guidance, especially in the initial phases of our work. We wish to thank Professor John Van Maanen who has taught us to look at an organization through three lenses. With his enthusiasm, his inspiration, and his efforts to explain things clearly and simply, he helped us analyze MIT from the strategic, political and cultural perspectives, and understand how the three lenses impact the behavior change strategies. We want to thank all our supervisors, Gillian Emmons, Gayle Gallagher, Professor Mark Jarzonbek, Christine Meholic and Melanie Parker, for sharing their expertise and experience with us. We are grateful for their support throughout our L2L experience. We also want to express our heartfelt gratitude to Tim Blackburn for graphic design expertise. This project would not be possible without the help and support of the following people who shared their ideas about behavior change of MIT and contributed resources to this project: Michael Bergren Kande Culver Ruth Davis Julienne Dean John Difava Amy Bois Donovan Martin Dugal Amanda Graham Ryan Gray Professor Rebecca Henderson Steve Immerman Kendra Johnson Maryanne Kirkbride

Kirk Kolenbrander Steve Lanou Monica Lee Norman Magnuson Doreen Morris Karen Nilsson Julie Norman Elsa Olivetti Valerie Patilla Lara Pierpoint Professor Adele Naude Santos Professor Biswapriya "Bish" Sanyal Candance Weaver


Appendices

Interview Analysis Matrix

The project team has met with some influential leaders within MIT to discuss their experience related to behavior change at MIT. Our discussions are generally on how a behavior program is structured at MIT, which programs worked and which did not work, and barriers they encountered. The interview analysis matrix is presented based on the five spheres of behavior change. Table 1 recaps some lessons learned from the MIT recycling program which are helpful for designing a behavior change program at MIT , Table 2 summarizes ideas, actions and programs for behavior change that are effective for MIT community in general, and Table 3 lists out the actions and programs that are effective for target audience: faculty, students or staff.

Table 1: Lessons learned from the recycling program Commitment Prompts Norms Communication Incentives

Drive for conducting the recycling program - MIT must comply with governmental regulations.

Recruit passionate people to be Ambassadors.

Program moving toward co-mingling campus wide.

Several Facilities staff dedicated to recycling collection.

Updated trucks using bio-diesel.

Custodial staff needs re-education to ensure items are truly recycled

Change under-desk recycling bins to corresponding colors.

Don't put signs on sides on under-desk recycle bins because they can’t be read.

Modify recycling bins to reflect the new co-mingling program.

Educate the community on what can be recycled.

Sponsor a program for the public on “where does recycling go?”

Directly address complaints about recycling removal for certain community.

Enable the campus recycling coordinators to spend more time with outreach to the community.

Prove to the community that toner and Tech items are being recycled

The Generator program is very effective at matching people with projects and resources.


Table 2: Ideas, actions and programs for MIT community in general Commitment Prompts Norms Communication Incentives

Make the initiative a clear priority at the Institute level.

The view can include a concept of the making of environments while thinking about conservation.

Take the long view – MIT must present a vision over a longer period of time. Get out of the context now.

Distribute postcards for doors to show MIT and individual commitment to behavioral change.

Recommend the creation of the Campus Energy Learning Lab.

Take advantage of the energy of grass roots committee.

Don't underestimate the importance of senior leadership. MIT Excellence Award diversity category didn't take off until president supported it.

Empower staff. Give staff a role in advocacy and policy development.

Identify funding to gain institutional commitment. Fund staffing support for the behavioral change program.

Commit leadership in Facilities to saving energy.

Review the Working Group on Recycling website for sample resources.

Provide information at alarm boxes to remind people to turn off lights at the same time.

Regular reporting of progress as part of prompts strategy.

Don't create 'cute' slogans or signs.

Consider viral growth model (first pilot, then build layers onto that).

Capitalize on individuality. LGBT initiatives work by highlighting individuality.

Use cultural norm that values rivalry, competition and always improving.

Don't do anything "top-down”.

Be direct about expectations and what work needs to be done. Give people the information and they will do the right thing. Careful selection of word in advocating to leadership.

Conduct legitimate communications plan (focus group for language, icons, etc.).

Get professional brand for the behavior change program.

Different messages for students/ faculty/ staff.

Saving energy is part of a Green initiative.

Regular reporting of progress.

Address mis-information directly with facts. Explain myth that relighting uses more energy.

Don’t stress that frequently turning off lights will wear out the equipment and add costs.

Setting targets may limit growth because of self-restraint.

Give clear and thoughtful reasons for the Institute’s decision in writing and verbally.

Say why we won’t do it “the other way” and list the problems that

Ask the community: what can the Institute do to save energy through behavior change (bottom up approach).

Change in the physical sense is a real barrier. Try making changes incrementally.

Housing department is now responsible for its own energy bill – an incentive to save energy.

Meters on campus need to change to record comparative data for a competition.

Continual Lab expansion makes it hard to compare energy costs.


Commitment Prompts Norms Communication Incentives

Adding audible and daylight sensors to bathrooms.

Stata light initiative in place.

Campus task force is a learning lab.

$500K in total pilot projects for Energy Conservation.

justify why we are doing it “this way” instead.

There are financial considerations in the cost of changing light bulbs and electrical parts.

Cornell University has a program to collect energy use data. MIT needs to develop a methodology of collecting data and share results with the MIT community.

Advocacy of block leaders by senior leadership is critical to sustained effort

Be clear and explicit about expectations and norms

Offering an education program to the MIT community to control blinds and regulate heat.

Update MIT access cards to lock doors at the same time turn off lights.


Table 3A: Actions and programs specifically for MIT faculty Commitment Prompts Norms Communication Incentives

Departmental level is where behavior change takes shape. It must be presented by the department head. Reinforced by the dean and higher. Repetitive messaging in faculty meetings.

New ideas and initiatives are immediately suspicious re: necessary time and resources needed.

The campus power base is the faculty. Faculty can enable and disable.

Create course(s) around behavior change and energy. Find faculty leaders, fund by getting alumni engaged.

Create community around deeply held values. Build relationships, tell the story, build teams around common interests - like a political campaign.

Departmental level is where behavior change takes shape. It must be presented by the department head. Reinforced by the dean and higher. Repetitive messaging in faculty meetings.

New ideas and initiatives are immediately suspicious re: necessary time and resources needed.

Use the “cultural currency” like language and icons.

Use automatic devices as much as possible (motion activated light switches).

Use the “cultural currency” like language and icons.

Use automatic devices as much as possible (motion activated light switches).

Use new Faculty Orientation as way to establish positive norms.

Don't try to use faculty to set examples of good behavior outside of their labs or classrooms. They're here to teach and do research.

Use new Faculty Orientation as way to establish positive norms.

Don't try to use faculty to set examples of good behavior outside of their labs or classrooms. They're here to teach and do research.

Be direct about expectations and what work needs to be done.

Get support from senior administrator. Faculty listens to each other. Use the monthly president and department heads meeting to reinforce the message. Work through Dean and department head.

Tailor messages to particular mind set/rational (engineering: solving inefficiencies, architecture /humanities – integrative thinkers: appealing to big picture ideas)

Use building audits (analysis of waste and areas of potential improvement) to build the case for energy conservation. Message emphasized: doing this for environment. Don’t say that doing this is for $ saving.

Make waste terribly evident.

Nothing is mandatory at MIT – must be careful in crafting message.

Be sensitive on when to communicate to the faculty. Do not coincide with the beginning and end

IAP incentives for faculty to get involved with behavior change related activities.

$ for employing students in UROPs.

Customize incentives by departments (keeping in mind that faculty in different departments are able to secure different levels of funding). Examples of incentives include: summer salary for faculty, funds for research tied to energy conservation.

Create exciting intellectual opportunities related to energy conservation.

There is uneven access to resources between the schools (eg, School of Science has lots of resources; Sloan School is in the middle; SA+P and humanities have little resources).

Look for the largest overlap of issues across the schools. These are the points of connection. Start there.

Put exciting, intellectual opportunities in front of faculty.

Tie initiative awards and recognition to faculty promotion.



The campus power base is the faculty. Faculty can enable and disable.

Create course(s) around behavior change and energy. Find faculty leaders, fund by getting alumni engaged.

Create community around deeply held values. Build relationships, tell the story, build teams around common interests - like a political campaign.

of semesters when faculty are the busiest.

Don't assume messages that work with the general population will work with Faculty. "Eat right and exercise to live long enough to win a Nobel Prize" works at MIT.

Transparency is critical. Feedback mechanisms are important to have in place from the beginning.

Include naysayers – faculty typically not interested in central administrative process.

Be direct about expectations and what work needs to be done. More sophisticated message and fact based

Get support from senior administrator. Faculty listens to each other. Use the monthly president and department heads meeting to reinforce the message. Work through Dean and department head.

Tailor messages to particular mind set/rational (engineering: solving inefficiencies, architecture /humanities – integrative thinkers: appealing to big

Tie $ savings to faculty concerns (i.e., child care, # of MDs in medical, lowering overhead charges, etc.)

Incentives can include incentive funds for faculty summer salary.

Have funds go directly into faculty research account. This saves charges.

IAP incentives for faculty to get involved with behavior change related activities.

$ for employing student UROPs.

Customize incentives by departments (keeping in mind that faculty in different departments are able to secure different levels of funding). Examples of incentives include: summer salary for faculty, funds for research tied to energy conservation.

Create exciting intellectual opportunities related to energy conservation.

There is uneven access to resources between the schools (eg, School of Science has lots of resources; Sloan School is in the middle; SA+P and humanities have little resources).



picture ideas)

Use building audits (analysis of waste and areas of potential improvement) to build the case for energy conservation. Message emphasized doing this for environment. Don’t say that doing this is for $ saving.


Nothing is mandatory at MIT – must be careful in crafting message.

Be sensitive on when to communicate to the faculty. Do not coincide with the beginning and end of semesters when faculty are the busiest.

Don't assume messages that work with the general population will work with Faculty. "Eat right and exercise to live long enough to win a Nobel Prize" works at MIT.

Transparency is critical. Feedback mechanisms are important to have in place from the beginning.

Include naysayers – faculty typically not interested in central administrative process.

Look for the largest overlap of issues across the schools. These are the points of connection. Start there.

Put exciting, intellectual opportunities in front of faculty.

Tie initiative awards and recognition to faculty promotion.

Tie $ savings to faculty concerns (i.e., child care, # of MDs in medical, lowering overhead charges, etc.)

Incentives can include incentive funds for faculty summer salary.

Have funds go directly into faculty research account. This saves charges.


Table 3B: Actions and programs specifically for MIT students Commitment Prompts Norms Communication Incentives

Find student allies: dormcom, FSLIGs

Students have relatively more free time. They will do it if they are excited and are passionate.

Talk to students in Simmons to learn lessons.

Streamline paperwork and other eligibility requirements as much as possible. Make student involvement as painless as possible. Alleviate expectations of excessive hours/work.

Set up a unique group of Ambassadors dedicated to lights, not the WGR

Think about what role the ASA might play in bringing students on board

Addressing “low hanging fruit” was recommended by a business class on Lab for Sustainability

The Energy Education Office still has responsibility for Sustainability Education, plans future programs for K-12.

The Energy Education Office is planning an undergrad minor

Use the “cultural currency” like language and icon

Be specific and succinct.

Make sure the text pops

Raising awareness is key.

Education about new norm is key – give the numbers as the reasons for the new norm.

Use CPW, CPW tours, and orientation to communicate norms (also train the trainers)

Use new student Orientation as way to establish positive norms.

UROPs are important for moving the initiative goals toward norms behavior.

Keep communicates short to pull them in first. Provide links to details.

Describe what this effort means in the students’ day-to-day lives. Talk in terms of how the issue impacts students’ world and how their intellectual efforts will contribute to solutions.

Have community groups articulate the message and bring out the community for events

Provide for some kind of feedback mechanisms

Use building audits (analysis of waste and areas of potential improvement) to build the case for energy conservation.


Provide data, details, goals, expectation

Provide curriculum

Don't assume MIT students are typical. A message like "Get more sleep to stay healthy" doesn't work. "Cheat sleep" or "How to hack sleep" does.

Show costs analysis of savings

Give students the data as part of the awareness raising efforts. Show

Must be fun with a community-building component

Must connect MIT students to their passions

Devise a “green fund” where students can get a loan to take some green actions. Cost savings are how the loans are repaid

Create exciting intellectual opportunities related to energy conservation (competitions, cool technical gadgets).

Test big ideas by testing smaller solutions.

Create a “challenge” as an incentive for students.

Learn about the Dorm Competition.

The idea of “making it more efficient” is a motivation for students.

Compete with other schools - Harvard, Stanford, CalTech

Reward operation managers who work with students doing energy conservation UROPs or projects

You can get students’ focus/awareness on an intellectual front. Students are happiest when they are confronted with a



how savings translate to (activities) that matter to and benefit students.

project to solve.

Recognize (at president level) great work by students and UROPs.


TABLE 3C: Actions and programs specifically for MIT staff Commitment Prompts Norms Communication Incentives

Use ambassadors – they are passionate and are committed to carry the message

Use “circles of influence” progressively and strategically

Employee development is integral part of identifying block leaders

Get buy in from players such as facilities

Asking for small commitments at the beginning before asking for something “big”

Good citizenship as “commitment”

Be ready to protect and support your behavior change leaders

Reach out to the Working Group in recycling for support on a Lights initiative.

Use the “cultural currency” like language and icons

Language should be more practical, clear, intelligent, and hard-edged, e.g. on light switch, door hanger,

Use graphic -calculator to show impact of savings on environment

Provide signs for office doors – stating that the office is open but lights are off to save energy.

Don’t make the language too cute. Directly tell the message, such as “I am in today; My light is off because I am committed to energy conservation”

Build energy conservation messages (and tool kit) into on-line new employee orientation, train tour guides for new employee tour on messages in energy conservation, and include energy conservation messages in checklist for hiring managers of new employees.

Use New Employee Orientation as way to establish positive norms.

Be direct about expectations and what work needs to be done. Include personal goal in the message. Use success stories, graphic, $ saving, etc to justify action.

Careful choose who to carry the message. Put together an infrastructure to support the network and communication.

Create communication program - postcards, email to communicate and remind people of the desired behavior. Use webpage, create logo, TechTV, visible message in Lobby 10 to build community awareness

Reinforce the message regularly

Provide feedback mechanisms. Show cost analysis of savings. Show, up front, how this is good for MIT

Study and gain understanding of the range of rationales that different staff members have re. energy conservation (global warming, minimizing waste, creating more efficient solutions) and use it for communications

Use building audits (analysis of waste and areas of potential improvement) to build the case for energy

Employee development is an integral part of the identifying behavior change leaders. Give incentive for becoming a behavior change leader

Use raffle for pledge

Celebrate different days throughout the year

Energy award – celebrate success

Use saved $$ as incentive

Competition on light saving



conservation.


Use Assistant Dean meeting to convey message to staff

If a department is not getting good response for the initiative, make presentation to the department to reinforce

Create tools in the tool kit for addressing barriers

Keep high expectations for behavior change leaders

Education – MIT communication likes data to support

Use focus group to seek idea – identify early adopters, advisory group that has key office rep, key stakeholders

Share research result, article on Techtalk, home page, forum


L2L Energy Team Project Statement

MIT Energy Initiative Discovering the MIT Organization through Developing a Behavioral Change Campaign for Energy Efficiency

Project Sponsors Sherwin Greenblatt and Robin Elices

Rationale MIT is a complex organization embracing individuals from many cultures across the world working together in an environment that values individual and organizational differences. Accomplishing change across the schools and central administrative units requires an understanding of the different stakeholder groups (schools, DLCs, administrative units, senior leadership, faculty, staff, and students). It requires an understanding of what drives different groups and individuals to change (saving money, intellectual challenge, and societal impact). Project team participants will work to discover who the stakeholders are and what will motivate them to change behavior to use energy more efficiently on campus.

Project Objective The overall goal of this project is to begin to understand what it takes to motivate and move a large and complex organization such as MIT to encourage and adopt behavioral change. These issues will be considered within the context of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) Campus Energy Task Force efforts to move MIT to undertake behavior change related to practices that can save energy on campus. The Task Force is working to motivate the MIT community to “walk the talk” through specific targeted projects such as turning off lights and computers, using revolving doors, double sided printing, closing fume hoods, and investing in energy efficient equipment. The L2L project team will help to move these efforts forward.

Major Deliverables The project team will design and deliver a strategy for an MIT-wide behavior change campaign centered on using energy more efficiently that targets different groups (faculty, students, and staff) on campus with different approaches messaged through different channels tailored to schools and organizational units. As part of this process, team members will identify influential “thought leaders” on campus and map communication channels that may be leveraged for individual and organizational change. This process can be informed by research on behavior change, as well as insights gathered from conversations with individuals across the MIT organization. Team members will have the opportunity to get involved in the implementation of pilot projects as a way of testing hypotheses and gathering insight to inform wider MIT participation. They will assess pilot projects for energy savings on campus, and offer recommendations for extending these projects to encourage wider participation. These may include:


Fume hood pilot in Chemistry Turning off lights Using revolving doors Double sided printing Shutting down idle computers

Leadership Lessons The project will complement the overall L2L program by allowing team members to:

Discover the MIT organization by learning about the differences across the Institute’s five schools and central administrative units,

Build relationships across the schools that will assist them in the future, Learn about the organizational culture in different schools and central units and across

different classifications of personnel (faculty, students, staff), Understand how distributed leadership works in the decentralized MIT organization, and

learn who the leaders affecting change are, Think about catalyzing action, and Think about building momentum and implementing change.


Behavioral Change Ideas for Lights and Doors Pilots

Ideas for Lights Barriers:

Habits Message sent – “out of office, not working” No infrastructure for partial lightening Full use of lights (not ½) Safety – dark rooms Energy waster (off/on) Switch location Question of savings (how much) Roles (what about next user) Lack of guilt/ expectation Not as visible of individual turning off light

Benefits

Saves energy Saves money Feeling environmentally conscious Carbon footprint – issue/savings Mood setting Promotes better work conditions/concentration Feels good Prompt energy saving behaviors in other domains/areas Can do frequently throughout the day

Barrier Removal Ideas

Adding sensors/timers Adding dimmers “Signage” that says “I’m here, I’m conserving energy” Changing work culture (work pressure) Help/aide formation of positive “energy saving” habits Moving switches to increase access Switch location signage Provide data Clarify who benefits from savings

Commitment

Building (new structure) leadership (space of building models/encourages the energy saving behavior)

Group commitments – building it and “getting behind it” Use facts/data to build commitment (consensus)


Secure commitment pledges- in development/group Motion detector advocacy/ use Not just off/ but lowered, too Energy saving bulbs/hardware Use “Block Leaders” & Grass Roots

Prompts

Signs @ switch locations Room/ building exits Cleaning staff/ facilities leave notes on desk Light specific sustainability cards Provide postcard for peer “notification” Energy level indicators at the doors (immediate, visible data feedback)

Norms

Message from MIT leadership Incorporate energy/light savings into (all) big events (hooding ceremony) Surprise audits w/ reporting (photos, notices, etc) Change work locations – move to areas with more natural light Introduce/unveil new spaces as being designed for low energy impact Compiling energy logs – 10 best things for saving energy Build in energy savings before construction All orientations – get them when they first get here (students, staff, faculty) Real-time public display of our energy “activities”

Communication

Sign by light switch Web site – article/links Campus-wide, real time usage MIT.edu spot light Competition between groups (i.e. dorms Marketing materials – double sided postcards, email, news letters

Incentives

Comparison/data on related energy usage of office HW Provide “free” low-energy light bulbs “Candy Cards” thank you with a sweet Sharing of financial benefits Rewards & Recognitions [specific awards] Guidelines for making good choices/consolidating light usage Work at home options More regular campus-wide recognition (plasma screens, etc.) Provide personal energy audit – office/department “Group Brainstorm” options for custom solutions Provide questions to brainstorm around


Ideas for revolving doors Barriers:

Carts and luggage Hard to find Hard to push Not HP accessible Lack of clear benefit Cannot share Snow removal Slow Takes more time (perception) Takes more energy; physical effort Social disrupter Arch design Expensive to correct design Health Ventilation odors and disease Building ownership Break a lot Integrity of design

Benefits

Symbolic value Energy savings Forward action Don’t need hands Keeps lobbies cleaner Makes you feel good (psychological benefit) MIT operating fund Government overhead Squash court example Silver/gold ratings Workplace ratings

• More competitive Remove Barriers

Making physical changes Senior level commitment to remove the barrier Add more X doors on campus

• 77 Mass Ave • WZ0

Maintenance of existing doors


Commitment: Secure commitment pledge

• From individuals • From groups • From leadership

Play it forward to spread commitment Needs to be visible Commitment pins, cards Follow me T

Prompts:

Signs on door Sign leading to doors Sign in front of stationary door “Using revolving doors...”

• Power X house • Takes only X seconds

Energy saving meter Changing signs (rotate) Voice prompt Negative noise Name the doors

Norms:

Groups “placed” and going through doors Sr. leadership videos – “going through doors” Follow me t-shirts “Everyone does it” messages Promote positive stats Good people go through revolving doors Super star profile/pics Cartoon characters

• MIT Comics • Beaver

Communication:

Short messages Promotional campaign Pictorial messages Formal & format Stats + numbers Interesting machines Competition for students Homepage spotlight Not MIT specific


YouTube – TechTV Incentives:

Cash value Cartoon character Giving reward Rewards and recognition for green behavior Event Candy day Facilities manager Departmental incentive Learn from Get Fit Model Watch out for disincentives too Competition between dorms/groups National award


Starter Toolkit for Behavioral Change at MIT

L2L 2008 MIT Energy Initiative Project 2

How to Use the Starter Toolkit This toolkit is designed to help you manage and lead behavioral change efforts within your MIT community. The examples included are applicable to energy conservation by turning out lights. However, the toolkit can be used as a guide, and even customized, to manage and lead other energy conservation efforts. The toolkit is organized around 5 key areas, called spheres. Each sphere focuses on ways to encourage people in your community to adopt new energy saving behaviors. Sphere Objective/Goal

Commitment Move individuals from good intentions to action

Prompts Remind individuals to engage in the behavior

Norms Build community support for behavior

Communication Effective and sensible

Incentives Build motivation for behavior


This toolkit is organized in sections by sphere. Each section will guide you with tips and ideas to try in your energy conservation campaign. Before you begin that work, however, you must customize the spheres to better serve your community. You can do this by focusing on that cultural, political, and strategic interests of your community. Each of these interests, called a lens, can lead to a better understanding your community and how to move individuals toward behavior change that saves energy. Lens How it works to customize a sphere You will have to Strategic Motivating action through understanding how organizational

systems and structures move the community: get people with the right knowledge, assign appropriate tasks, and provide necessary information to plan for impact of the new behavior

• Be goal directed • Parts must work together • Honor organizational structure

Political Motivating action through understanding how power moves the community: groups compete for power and autonomy. Determine who the internal stakeholders are and how to negotiate and build consensus for the new behavior

• Identify the important political interests and goals • Determine what the competition is for resources

Cultural Motivating action through understanding how culture moves the community: Informal norms wield a strong influence on behavior. The values, artifacts, assumptions, and language used in the community will determine how meaning will be assigned to the new behavior

• Communicate by using cultural symbols and icons • Pay attention to what is "taken for granted" within the culture • Understand what is valued within the culture

Finally, as you work with this toolkit, don't be concerned if there is overlap among the various spheres. When working with people, there are rarely clear cut boundaries.


Commitment

Objective Commitment helps move individuals from good intentions to action.

Examples and Ideas • Ask individuals in your department/unit to display on their office door the following sign related to energy conservation. • A template can be used for signs related to commitment:

The U.S. ranks second in the world in energy consumption per capita. Let's change that!

I flip the switch when I leave the room.

I invite you to do the same. • Share with others the presentation by Executive Vice President, Theresa Stone, on the Institute's leadership around energy conservation delivered at this year's "State of the Institute"


Tips for Good Commitment Tools • Make a small initial request related to commitment. • As a follow up request, call on the same individuals in the community to ger involved in even ore substantial way. This is effective because when individuals agree to a small initial request they are more likely to agree to a larger request later. Once they honor the first request they begin to see themselves differently. For example, when people are asked to put a sign on their door related to energy conservation they start seeing themselves as environmentally concerned and want to act consistently with that self-image. • Written commitments are more effective than verbal ones. * Public commitments are highly effective. • Group-level commitment can garner individual commitment.


Prompts

Objective Prompts are visual or auditory aids to remind us to carry out an activity we might otherwise forget, and they are designed to make you think before taking that next step of a particular behavior. For example, a “Turn Off the Lights” sign posted on an exit door prompts people to reach for the light switch before leaving a room. Rather than educate, prompts are merely a reminder of what we already know.

Examples and Ideas • Create signs to prompt people to turn off lights when not in use. See attached tool for making “Flip the Switch” signs. • Add a message to e-mail signatures to encourage energy conservation. Example Text:

Please consider the environment before printing this email.


Tips for Good Prompt Tools Text • Consider the target audience and adapt for the specific population. • Use short and clear phrases. • Be specific on the desired action. • Use stats as a motivation. • Inspire. Design • Use strong or bright colors that contrast the text color. • The design should fit aesthetically into the space, but catch the eye. • Use graphics representing the behavior. Placement • Prompts should be placed in strategic visible locations. • Place prompts in close proximity of where the desired behavior would occur. • Place prompts in areas related to the desired action (i.e. place a sign next to an alarm panel reminding people to turn off the lights after setting the alarm.)


Norms

Objective Norms influence how we behave by observing others. If we observe members of our community acting in ways that save energy, we are more likely to act similarly. “It’s the right thing to do.”

Examples and Ideas • A statement that “We Turn out the Lights.” • Wear a button showing support. • Tell new students and employees during orientation sessions that “This is what we do at MIT – Turn off the lights.” • Communicate the number of people in an organization who have committed to change their behavior. • Show leaders exhibiting the desired behavior. • Encourage individuals who are already passionate about turning off lights to spread the word by personal contact with individuals they know.


Tips for Good Norms Tools • Direct, personal contact between individuals is the most effective way to establish a norm - not campaigns, prompts or information. • Make the acceptable behavior visible. Find ways to publicize desired behavior if it is not visible. • Make the norm explicit at the time the targeted behavior is to occur. • Encourage positive behavior rather than avoiding negative behavior. • Conformity that occurs by observing the behavior of others can have long lasting effects. • Conversely, conformity that occurs to receive rewards or avoid punishment is often lost when the reward or punishment is removed. • Don’t emphasize compliance. Emphasize “this is how we act here.”


Communication

Objective Effective communications can capture attention of the people we want to persuade to adopt energy saving behaviors. Your communications must be visually striking, personal and concrete. Any instructions must be short, clear, and specific. They should say exactly what a person should do and should be easy remember how and when to do it. Remember to use the lenses when crafting your message. That way the message will make more sense to your community. Below are examples and ideas for designing effective communications.

Examples and Ideas • Use emails as to disseminate information and make calls to action. Include personal energy saving goals in the message. • Ask your personal contacts to help deliver the message. • Make a presentation to your department about energy conservation. • Use postcards, brochures, and emails to remind people to change their behavior to conserve energy. • Share success stories and data about how energy savings in your community is positively impacting the environment. • Use the MIT home page spotlight, TechTV, TechTalk, community billboards, and other MIT communication sources to build community awareness etc. Example Text:

Flip the switch - Save Energy! Did you remember to turn off the lights?


Tips for Good Communication Tools • Know your audience. Your message has to be appropriate for your audience. Avoid using language that is jargony or cute. Remember to use the lenses to customize your communication style. For example, the way you communicate to the faculty will be different the way you communicate to the students. Writing for the web is different from writing for MIT home page. • Know what action you want your community’s first responders to take when they hear your message. Be specific what you are asking for. • Choose the right moments to deliver your message for the greatest impact. Consider the periods during the academic year that your community will be most receptive toward the communication. • Provide regular and frequent feedback about how your community is doing. Use the lenses to determine what kind of visual aids (tables, graphs, illustrations and simple visual symbols) your community would prefer. • Speak in the language of your community. Use the cultural lens to help customize the language of your communication.


Incentives

Objective Incentives are promises of rewards, recognitions, or positive experiences in return for sustained engagement in a desired behavior. Good incentives can move a person from just having good intentions to taking action to save energy. The goal is to motivate a person to continue engaging in the desired behavior. A key to incentives is have people believe they are saving energy for reasons other than merely receiving the incentive.

Examples and Ideas • Provide “free” low-energy light bulbs. • “Candy Cards” with a sweet as thanks for saving energy. • Save energy and share the financial benefits. • Set up Rewards & Recognitions, and other awards for green behaviors. Include regular campus-wide recognition vehicles like the community plasma screens, etc. • Offer some work at home options. • Provide personal energy audit – office/department. • Set up “Group Brainstorm” events for custom solution. Provide questions to brainstorm around. • Set up competition events between groups within your community. • Provide green UROP opportunities. • Provide green faculty and staff opportunities.


Tips for Good Incentives Tools Closely pair the incentive and the desired green behavior • Timing as critical. The incentive should occur as close in time to the desired behavior as possible. • Tap into the design competition culture of MIT. Let them help identify meaningful incentives. Reward positive behavior • Reinforce success by giving recognition to energy saving efforts. • Rewards should be immediate and occur after a given number of green behaviors. Make incentives visible • Display how your community is reducing their energy footprint. • Reinforce and advertise good behavior to rest of community. • Encourage the MIT community to “flaunt” their green behaviors. • Award “carbon credits” to those who improve their energy footprint. Be cautious about removing incentives. Abruptly removing incentives can cause a behavior relapse • Remove incentives in stages and monitor if incentive removal is disrupting green behaviors. • Don’t arbitrarily remove established incentives. Carefully size the incentive • The incentive needs to be large or important enough that people will take it seriously and care about it. This may require some trial and error. Consider non-monetary forms of incentives • Non-monetary incentives are often longer lasting than monetary ones. Incentives that build the person’s standing in the community are more effective than incrementally increasing monetary gain.


Prompt: Flip the Switch

Create your own sign as a Prompt to encourage people to turn off lights when not in use.

Instructions Sample Graphics 1) Choose a location for your prompt such as entrance or exit doors. 2) Consider your audience and have the prompt “speak to them.” 3) Select a graphic Image or design your own design. 4) Select phrases from the attached list or write your own inspirational message. 5) Print and post the prompt!


Location Sample Phrases Office, lab or residence hall doors

I flip the switch when I leave. I invite you to do the same. Lights are off to save energy, please knock. The light is out, but I might be home. Just knock. We Turn Off the Lights to Save Energy - Please knock to see if we are here.

Light switches

Flip the switch - Save Energy! Turn Off the Lights – Save Energy

Signs near exits

Flip the switch before leaving the room. Did you remember to turn off the lights?

Signs at alarm boxes Set the Alarm – turn of the lights.

General Energy Conservation Phrases The US ranks second in the world of energy consumption per capita. - Let's change that! I am committed to a sustainable MIT campus.


Sample Sign Designs

theoretical framework for behavioral change 6...

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