Do Nation
Using behavioral ‘nudges’ to inspire positive change
H+K teamed-up with Do Nation, an initiative all about small actions adding up to the greater good. Do Nation is a platform where users pick from a series of ‘Do Actions’ inspired around environmentally friendly behaviours. Taken alone, they are small and easy to do, but when aggregated, ladder to significant change for the environment. Research shows it takes 66 days to form a habit, so we ran a two-month campaign using ‘nudges’ and communications activities to drive engagement.
With behavioral science techniques in mind, we created posters with different messages to engage staff. We focused additional ‘nudges’ around the two most popular pledges: “Tap It” and “You Mug”. Three behavior change techniques were identified to nudge employees out of mindless, habitual action around the office, and elicit values-aligned, responsible behavior.
While H+K employees consciously value environmental sustainability, most human behaviour is ‘mindless’ at the time of decision-making, which results in non-conscious actions that contravene our values.
By implementing behavioural science techniques, we engaged staff in a unique way. In addition to the posters, we also distributed water bottles with the Do Nation and H+K logos. Staff reported feeling empowered to talk about H+K’s desire to become a B Corp, actions taken to improve green credentials, and, as an added benefit to the business, many felt more equipped to sell purpose consultancy to clients.
198 H+K employees pledged – that’s 66% of their staff – making an average of 5.3 pledges each. 51% successfully completed their pledges; of these 99% said they’d continue, demonstrating a tangible and lasting impact on habits. Pride and awareness of H+K’s environmental efforts increased in 73% and 55% of staff, respectively. 37 tCO2 saved per year through staff’s actions. That’s as much as 31 flights from London to New York.
