Contributors profile
Learn how coliving operators enhance sustainable practices through technology and communication. Explore the role of behavioral science in influencing decision-making. Learn from practical examples of effective sustainable behaviour interventions in shared living and hospitality environments.
A common, high-impact way to make buildings more sustainable is by upgrading their physical features. While effective, such upgrades typically require
major investments or may not always be immediately feasible, and thus other innovative, cost-effective solutions can also be considered. An often overlooked component of building sustainability is the human element; that is, how occupant behaviour can be influenced to save energy, water, and reduce waste. There are key advantages associated with taking tenant behaviour into account when trying to boost a building’s sustainability performance. Improving the sustainable behaviour of tenants can help close the “energy performance gap” (Liang et al., 2019) between designed and actual energy consumption of the building. Moreover, engaging residents in your sustainability initiatives is a constructive way to improve relationships with tenants. Expanding your impact on the interior dwelling environment especially helps in achieving a more personal and lasting relationship with the tenants. Ultimately, doing so will create an atmosphere conducive to change and community-building through proactive sustainable actions. Engaging people to build eco-friendly habits and work towards a common goal is a great way to establish a sustainable coliving environment.
At Innovation Lighthouse, we help bring sustainability in buildings to life. By sourcing solutions to common sustainability challenges and then testing them, we find out what really works. Using technology and other innovative solutions to boost pro-environmental behaviour is a key area of interest to us. By focusing on behaviour, building owners - particularly those operating in community-focused offerings like coliving - can open up unique and innovative opportunities for getting tenants involved in sustainability, together.
Behavioural science plays an important role in sustainability, from government policy to practical applications in sectors like retail, offices and residential living. Coliving is no exception; by bringing people together in shared spaces, behaviour becomes all the more important. But how can they be influenced to live more sustainably? First, it’s crucial to be familiar with your tenants’ motivations, knowledge, interests, and general demographics. From there, you should shape the coliving environment so as to influence and enable an individual’s (or group of individuals’) decision- making towards a socially desirable or intended outcome. The chosen interventions - whether through mediums such as messaging, apps, smart energy monitors, or any combination of solutions - must align with the characteristics mentioned above of the group, goals, and budget.
There is an abundance of methods that influence behaviour to achieve sustainability goals (Abrahamse et al., 2005). A commitment, for example, is a pledge made by an individual or group to do or change something, which then activates personal or social norms for others to follow. Goal-setting is another behaviour-changer; a group can set a common target, to which they then conform their behaviour and together strive towards that goal. Another method of influencing behaviour involves normative messaging, wherein communication is framed in a way that draws attention to what others are doing (descriptive norm) or what you should do (injunctive norm); this helps to influence a person to conform to a desired action, by showing that others are doing it too (Cialdini, 2003). Finally, other common techniques include rewards - extrinsic motivators to behave in a particular way - or feedback, which makes clear to the user what they are doing so they can apply this self-knowledge to make better decisions (i.e., using less water). Feedback, for instance through the use of smart metering technology, can be particularly effective in the right setting. Research shows that this intervention can produce average household energy savings ranging from 5-20% (Darby, 2006). As previously mentioned, however, it is important that chosen methods are well-aligned with your building’s and tenants’ characteristics, as well as your budget and sustainability goals.
What does behaviour-boosting look like in practice? At Innovation Lighthouse, we put sustainable behaviour interventions to the test. Collaborating with Wageningen University & Research in our project Saving Energy When Others Pay the Bill, we sought ways of reducing water consumption in showers at The Student Hotel in The Hague and Rotterdam through a mix of technology and behavioural theory. With research showing that typically 18% of a household’s energy usage comes from heating water for showering (Tiefenbeck et al., 2018), we hypothesised that providing direct feedback to the user about water and energy consumption - with the help of an additional behavioural mechanism - would encourage the user to take shorter showers, and thus consume less.
To do so, we installed an Amphiro device in the testing rooms. The Amphiro displays shower temperature, energy and water consumption levels, as well as a polar bear on a chunk of ice that melts as the shower continues. Not only does the Amphiro influence behaviour by providing direct feedback on water and energy usage, but also nudges the user by appealing to their emotions (with the polar bear display). Results showed that the Amphiro significantly helped to reduce hot water usage by 17%, and participants reported becoming more conscious of their individual shower length due to the device’s feedback mechanism.
To demonstrate how we apply behavioural theory, in our Sustainable Stays project, we focus on effective messaging (i.e., appeals to humour or emotion) that nudges hotel guests to behave sustainably. The effects of messaging on behaviour are also important for our Sustainable Reopening project, in which we see which messaging strategies make hotel guests feel most comfortable during the current COVID-19 crisis. In our upcoming project, Engaging Residents in Energy Saving, we are designing a real-life test of boosting energy-saving behaviour in residential buildings through technology and messaging.
With its focus on community, coliving has great potential for enhancing sustainable living by focusing on the behaviour of residents. Whether it’s smart technical solutions that provide feedback to inspire sustainable behaviours, or setting environmental goals as a group and committing to meet those goals, common identities and relationships can be formed in the pursuit of environmental initiatives. Who says sustainable coliving has to be expensive or difficult? Sometimes all it takes is a little boost.
Abrahamse, W., Steg, L., Vlek, C., & Rothengatter, T. (2005). A review of intervention studies aimed at household energy conservation. Journal of environmental psychology, 25(3), 273-291.
Cialdini, R. B. (2003). Crafting normative messages to protect the environment. Current directions in psychological science, 12(4), 105-109. Darby, S. (2006). The effectiveness of feedback on energy consumption. A Review for DEFRA of the Literature on Metering, Billing and direct
Liang, J., Qiu, Y., & Hu, M. (2019). Mind the energy performance gap: Evidence from green commercial buildings. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 141, 364-377.
Tiefenbeck, V., Goette, L., Degen, K., Tasic, V., Fleisch, E., Lalive, R., & Staake, T. (2018). Overcoming salience bias: How real-time feedback fosters resource conservation. Management science, 64(3), 1458-1476.
Learn how coliving operators enhance sustainable practices through technology and communication. Explore the role of behavioral science in influencing decision-making. Learn from practical examples of effective sustainable behaviour interventions in shared living and hospitality environments.
A common, high-impact way to make buildings more sustainable is by upgrading their physical features. While effective, such upgrades typically require
major investments or may not always be immediately feasible, and thus other innovative, cost-effective solutions can also be considered. An often overlooked component of building sustainability is the human element; that is, how occupant behaviour can be influenced to save energy, water, and reduce waste. There are key advantages associated with taking tenant behaviour into account when trying to boost a building’s sustainability performance. Improving the sustainable behaviour of tenants can help close the “energy performance gap” (Liang et al., 2019) between designed and actual energy consumption of the building. Moreover, engaging residents in your sustainability initiatives is a constructive way to improve relationships with tenants. Expanding your impact on the interior dwelling environment especially helps in achieving a more personal and lasting relationship with the tenants. Ultimately, doing so will create an atmosphere conducive to change and community-building through proactive sustainable actions. Engaging people to build eco-friendly habits and work towards a common goal is a great way to establish a sustainable coliving environment.
At Innovation Lighthouse, we help bring sustainability in buildings to life. By sourcing solutions to common sustainability challenges and then testing them, we find out what really works. Using technology and other innovative solutions to boost pro-environmental behaviour is a key area of interest to us. By focusing on behaviour, building owners - particularly those operating in community-focused offerings like coliving - can open up unique and innovative opportunities for getting tenants involved in sustainability, together.
Behavioural science plays an important role in sustainability, from government policy to practical applications in sectors like retail, offices and residential living. Coliving is no exception; by bringing people together in shared spaces, behaviour becomes all the more important. But how can they be influenced to live more sustainably? First, it’s crucial to be familiar with your tenants’ motivations, knowledge, interests, and general demographics. From there, you should shape the coliving environment so as to influence and enable an individual’s (or group of individuals’) decision- making towards a socially desirable or intended outcome. The chosen interventions - whether through mediums such as messaging, apps, smart energy monitors, or any combination of solutions - must align with the characteristics mentioned above of the group, goals, and budget.
There is an abundance of methods that influence behaviour to achieve sustainability goals (Abrahamse et al., 2005). A commitment, for example, is a pledge made by an individual or group to do or change something, which then activates personal or social norms for others to follow. Goal-setting is another behaviour-changer; a group can set a common target, to which they then conform their behaviour and together strive towards that goal. Another method of influencing behaviour involves normative messaging, wherein communication is framed in a way that draws attention to what others are doing (descriptive norm) or what you should do (injunctive norm); this helps to influence a person to conform to a desired action, by showing that others are doing it too (Cialdini, 2003). Finally, other common techniques include rewards - extrinsic motivators to behave in a particular way - or feedback, which makes clear to the user what they are doing so they can apply this self-knowledge to make better decisions (i.e., using less water). Feedback, for instance through the use of smart metering technology, can be particularly effective in the right setting. Research shows that this intervention can produce average household energy savings ranging from 5-20% (Darby, 2006). As previously mentioned, however, it is important that chosen methods are well-aligned with your building’s and tenants’ characteristics, as well as your budget and sustainability goals.
What does behaviour-boosting look like in practice? At Innovation Lighthouse, we put sustainable behaviour interventions to the test. Collaborating with Wageningen University & Research in our project Saving Energy When Others Pay the Bill, we sought ways of reducing water consumption in showers at The Student Hotel in The Hague and Rotterdam through a mix of technology and behavioural theory. With research showing that typically 18% of a household’s energy usage comes from heating water for showering (Tiefenbeck et al., 2018), we hypothesised that providing direct feedback to the user about water and energy consumption - with the help of an additional behavioural mechanism - would encourage the user to take shorter showers, and thus consume less.
To do so, we installed an Amphiro device in the testing rooms. The Amphiro displays shower temperature, energy and water consumption levels, as well as a polar bear on a chunk of ice that melts as the shower continues. Not only does the Amphiro influence behaviour by providing direct feedback on water and energy usage, but also nudges the user by appealing to their emotions (with the polar bear display). Results showed that the Amphiro significantly helped to reduce hot water usage by 17%, and participants reported becoming more conscious of their individual shower length due to the device’s feedback mechanism.
To demonstrate how we apply behavioural theory, in our Sustainable Stays project, we focus on effective messaging (i.e., appeals to humour or emotion) that nudges hotel guests to behave sustainably. The effects of messaging on behaviour are also important for our Sustainable Reopening project, in which we see which messaging strategies make hotel guests feel most comfortable during the current COVID-19 crisis. In our upcoming project, Engaging Residents in Energy Saving, we are designing a real-life test of boosting energy-saving behaviour in residential buildings through technology and messaging.
With its focus on community, coliving has great potential for enhancing sustainable living by focusing on the behaviour of residents. Whether it’s smart technical solutions that provide feedback to inspire sustainable behaviours, or setting environmental goals as a group and committing to meet those goals, common identities and relationships can be formed in the pursuit of environmental initiatives. Who says sustainable coliving has to be expensive or difficult? Sometimes all it takes is a little boost.
Abrahamse, W., Steg, L., Vlek, C., & Rothengatter, T. (2005). A review of intervention studies aimed at household energy conservation. Journal of environmental psychology, 25(3), 273-291.
Cialdini, R. B. (2003). Crafting normative messages to protect the environment. Current directions in psychological science, 12(4), 105-109. Darby, S. (2006). The effectiveness of feedback on energy consumption. A Review for DEFRA of the Literature on Metering, Billing and direct
Liang, J., Qiu, Y., & Hu, M. (2019). Mind the energy performance gap: Evidence from green commercial buildings. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 141, 364-377.
Tiefenbeck, V., Goette, L., Degen, K., Tasic, V., Fleisch, E., Lalive, R., & Staake, T. (2018). Overcoming salience bias: How real-time feedback fosters resource conservation. Management science, 64(3), 1458-1476.
