SLP 5 Levers For Change

BEHAVIOUR CHANGE AND
SUSTAINABILITY
Creating a sustainable future will require
fundamental changes in attitude and
behaviour across society. Governments
“SUCCESSFUL CHANGE
and industry will have to change but so
too will individual citizens.
COMES FROM A REAL
We all know from personal experience
of losing weight or getting ft just how
UNDERSTANDING OF
diffcult change is.
PEOPLE, THEIR HABITS
Successful change comes from a real
understanding of people, their habits AND THEIR
and their motivations. As one of the
world’s leading consumer goods
companies, whose products are used by
MOTIVATIONS.”
two billion people every day, Unilever is
At Unilever, we’ve learnt how to
constantly researching the attitudes and
encourage people to wash their hands
needs of people all around the world.
with soap at the right times of the day,
to do their laundry at low temperatures
We have a long history of both
and to brush their teeth twice a day. In
sustainability and the use of marketing
doing so, we have made measurable
and market research to promote
improvements to the health, hygiene
behaviour change. And for the frst time
and quality of life of millions of people.
we are publishing our own model for
effective behaviour change. We call this
The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan
approach the Five Levers for Change.
commits us to ambitious targets over
the next decade. We intend to help
It offers a practical tool, based on
more than a billion people take action
what we have learnt over decades of
to improve their health; to halve the
research and observation. We hope
environmental footprint of our products;
others will also use it in tackling the big
and to source 100% of our agricultural
sustainability challenges we all face.
raw materials sustainably.
INSPIRING SUSTAINABLE LIVING
The issues are evolving rapidly. We We believe that business and brands
certainly don’t have all the answers. have a powerful role to play in creating
The challenge of sustainable living sustainable living. Brands are more
requires us all to work together and be than simply products; they embody
bold and ambitious in our hopes for values and aspirations. They can inspire
the future. That’s why we have invited and enable change. Look at what the
leading experts from around the world WWF’s Panda has done to promote
to contribute their thoughts on the our understanding of the importance
subject. They provide some fascinating of nature, or what Dove has done to
perspectives and pose real challenges. challenge misguided stereotypes
of beauty.
“THE CHALLENGE It won’t be easy to make sustainable

living an everyday reality rather than a
pipedream. We hope that our practical
OF SUSTAINABLE LIVING approach, the Five Levers for Change,
and the contributions in this publication,
REQUIRES US ALL will inspire others to take action.
TO WORK TOGETHER
AND BE BOLD AND
AMBITIOUS IN OUR PAUL POLMAN,
HOPES FOR THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER,
UNILEVER
FUTURE.”
Behaviour Change and Sustainability
CONTENTS
8 INSPIRING SUSTAINABLE LIVING:
UNILEVER’S FIVE LEVERS FOR CHANGE
B V PRADEEP, VICE PRESIDENT,
CONSUMER & MARKET INSIGHT, UNILEVER
16 CONSUMING PASSIONS:
WHY DO WE CONSUME?
VAL CURTIS, LONDON SCHOOL OF
HYGIENE AND TROPICAL MEDICINE
20 THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER

OF INDIVIDUALS
HELIO MATTAR, PRESIDENT, AKATU INSTITUTE
FOR CONSCIOUS CONSUMPTION, BRAZIL
24 VISIONS AND ACTIONS FOR

SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLES
CHERYL HICKS AND MICHAEL KUHNDT,
UNEP/WUPPERTAL INSTITUTE, CSCP, GERMANY
30 TECHNOLOGY HOLDS THE KEY

TO THE FUTURE
DR RICHARD L WRIGHT, BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE
DIRECTOR, UNILEVER
34 DYSFUNCTIONAL POLITICIANS
AND THE POWER OF BRANDS
JONATHON PORRITT, FOUNDER DIRECTOR,
FORUM FOR THE FUTURE
38 GOVERNMENTS, NUDGING
AND EFFECTIVE SCIENCE
CHARLES ABRAHAM, PENINSULA COLLEGE OF
MEDICINE & DENTISTRY, UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
42 EXITING THE VALLEY

OF DEATH
SIMON ZADEK, INDEPENDENT ADVISOR; SENIOR
VISITING FELLOW, GLOBAL GREEN GROWTH INSTITUTE
INSPIRING SUSTAINABLE LIVING:
B V PRADEEP, VICE PRESIDENT, CONSUMER & MARKET INSIGHT, UNILEVER
Over a hundred years ago, Unilever’s We’ve learnt that marketing can be a
founders saw business opportunities powerful force for behaviour change.
in serving unmet social needs. William For example, most people have soap at
Lever launched Lifebuoy, the world’s frst home, but unless they use it properly
health soap, which played an important (i.e. washing hands before meals,
role in preventing disease and promoting not just after), the health benefts of
hygiene in Victorian Britain. reducing disease will not be realised.
Ever since, innovative marketing has Likewise, for many years we have been
been central to promoting the benefts trying to encourage people to eat
of Unilever’s brands in margarine instead of butter for heart
meeting everyday needs health and to brush their teeth twice
such as washing, eating a day for the most effective protection
and cleaning. against tooth decay.
Along the way we’ve learnt a great deal

about people, what motivates them, and
how to inform and engage them.
Developing the Five Levers

for Change
Several years ago, I was part of a team

that had a clear mission: to develop
a best practice toolkit for behaviour
change. We drew on skills from inside
and outside Unilever – psychologists
and academics from leading universities;
6
“FOR MANY YEARS WE

livelihoods. Inspiring consumers to
adopt new sustainable products and
behaviours is central to this. After
HAVE BEEN TRYING TO all, two thirds of the greenhouse gas
impacts of our products across the
ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO lifecycle and about half of our water

footprint is associated with consumer
EAT MARGARINE INSTEAD use, as distinct from manufacturing or

sourcing ingredients.
OF BUTTER... AND TO Our Five Levers for Change helps provide

the insights needed, whether it is
BRUSH THEIR TEETH encouraging consumers to use less hot

water when showering or washing their
hands before meals and after going to
TWICE A DAY.” the toilet.
Five Levers for Change

hygiene experts; and colleagues from
our research laboratories, marketing
How does it work? The frst step is
departments and those out meeting
to revisit what we know about our
with people who cook, clean and wash
consumers. We systematically identify:
with our products across the world.
We developed the Five Levers for

Change – a set of principles brought
BARRIERS – what are the things
that stop people from adopting a
together in a new approach, which, new behaviour?
if applied to behaviour change
interventions, will increase the likelihood
of having a lasting impact. TRIGGERS – how could we get people
to start a new behaviour?
We soon realised that this approach
could be essential in helping to meet the
goals of the newly launched Unilever MOTIVATORS – what are the
Sustainable Living Plan. ways to help them stick with the
new behaviour?
Unilever Sustainable Living Plan
Next, we take all those insights and
Unilever has an ambitious plan to grow consider how to inspire the change
our business in a way that helps improve that’s needed using each of
people’s health and well-being, reduces Unilever’s Five Levers for Change.
environmental impact and enhances
Inspiring Sustainable Living: Unilever’s Five Levers For Change | 7

make it make it
UNDERSTOOD
Do people know about the behaviour?
EASY
Do people know what to do and
Do they believe it’s relevant to them? feel confdent doing it? Can they
This Lever raises awareness and see it ftting into their lives? This
encourages acceptance. Lever establishes convenience
and confdence.
Many people believe that if their hands
look clean, then they are clean. Lifebuoy In many parts of the world, laundry is
soap’s ‘glo-germ’ demonstration helps washed by hand. It is typically in these
children in India, Indonesia, Pakistan and countries that water is scarce. With
Bangladesh understand that washing Comfort One Rinse fabric conditioner
hands with water alone isn’t good you only need one bucket for rinsing
enough to get rid of germs. Ultra-violet rather than three. When we launched
light shows the germs left behind on in Vietnam, people needed to see with
their hands when they wash with water their own eyes the convenience of
alone. Hands are washed again with washing out detergent residues after
soap and shown as germ-free under the just one rinse. TV commercials created
same ultra-violet light. high awareness but proved not to be
8
enough to establish confdence. Live
demonstration events and product make it
samples helped to build confdence that
the new way of rinsing was enough REWARDING
Do people know when they’re doing
to remove all residues and showed the
convenience in terms of saving time the behaviour ‘right’? Do they get some
and water. sort of reward for doing it? This Lever
demonstrates the proof and payoff.
make it The US’s number-one haircare brand,

Suave, encourages women to turn
DESIRABLE
Will doing this new behaviour ft with
off the shower while they lather their
hair by answering that all-important
question: ‘what’s in it for me?’ The brand
their actual or aspirational self-image?
campaign showed how families could
Does it ft with how they relate to
save up to $150 a year on utility bills by
others or want to? This Lever is about
cutting hot water use, as well as having
‘self and society’ because humans
a positive impact on the environment.
are social animals. We tend to emulate
the lifestyles and habits of people we
respect – like our parents or sometimes a
celebrity – and follow norms in society. make it a
Infant mortality is a big issue in some HABIT
Once people have made a change,
countries, and many lives could be
saved through the simple practice of what can we do to help them keep
handwashing at key moments when doing it? This Lever is about reinforcing
looking after the newborn baby. Lifebuoy and reminding.
communicates to new mothers, tapping
into the insight that mums like to feel Lifebuoy soap’s handwashing campaigns
they are a good mum, and be seen in run over a minimum of 21 days to
this way by others. encourage repetition of behaviour in
relevant settings every day. During
So in its communication, the brand each day of the programme, children
has linked washing hands with soap participate in activities designed to
with being a good mother, which is a deliver the handwashing message in an
powerful motivator. engaging and memorable way. Comic
books, posters, quizzes and songs all
work to remind them about the message
of handwashing at key occasions.
Compliance is also tallied on a daily
sticker chart with the help of mum and
teachers, to reinforce the behaviour.

The Five Levers for Change offers a
coherent approach to thinking about
behaviour change and putting it into
“THE MOST
practice. It is not intended as a step-by-
step process; the Levers don’t have to
follow one after the other. But what
we’ve learnt is that the most effective
EFFECTIVE
programmes apply all the Levers in
some way.
PROGRAMMES APPLY
Changing oral hygiene habits –
an example in practice
ALL THE LEVERS
More than half the world’s population
only brush their teeth once a
IN SOME WAY.”
day, rather than twice as dentists
recommend. Clinical studies show to brushing once. And yet tooth decay
that brushing twice a day with remains one of the most common
a fuoride toothpaste chronic childhood diseases – the World
can reduce tooth Health Organisation estimates that 60-
decay by up to 90% of school children worldwide have
50% among dental cavities.
children
compared So we have set a goal in the Unilever
Sustainable Living Plan to help 50
million people change their tooth
brushing behaviour. We used the Five
Levers for Change model to develop our
behaviour change campaign.
First, we selected our target audience

– focusing on children aged 4-8, the
age at which children learn to brush
by themselves and establish their oral
care habits for a lifetime. Our secondary
target audience is parents and
teachers who play an important role
in modelling and reinforcing good
brushing behaviour. We found that
children’s current habit is predominantly
to brush their teeth just once a day –
in the morning after breakfast.
10
• ‘Barrier’ insights which revealed
“THE FIVELEVERS that the lack of understanding about

the importance of night brushing is
FOR CHANGE OFFERS A

an important block to brushing
twice a day
COHERENT APPROACH
• ‘Trigger’ insights which highlight how
to motivate children and their parents
to adopt the habit
TO THINKING ABOUT • ‘Motivator’ insights which

suggest ways to ensure that the
BEHAVIOUR CHANGE new habit of brushing twice a day

is sustained over time and becomes
an established part of the
INTO
AND PUTTING IT bedtime routine.
PRACTICE.”
Having identifed our target and
understood their current behaviour,
we then conducted in-depth research
across a range of markets to fnd out
more about what children and their
parents think, do and feel when it
comes to oral health. We mined existing
information for insights and immersed
ourselves in the world of children and
their parents: watching children’s TV
programmes, playing their games,
reading magazines and parent blogs
and speaking to young children and
parents we knew.
Then we undertook some exploratory

research to plug gaps in our knowledge.
This helped us to identify some
key insights:

“OUR METHODOLOGY
However, the real breakthrough came
from our efforts to ‘make it desirable’.
This inspired us to create a strong role
INCREASES THE for dad in the campaign. We recognised

the role fathers can play in passing on
good habits to children and how
LIKELIHOOD this appeals to a father’s desire of

seeing himself as a good, involved
and fun parent.
OF DEVELOPING A Finally, to help ‘make it a habit’ we
SUCCESSFUL
explored new ways of creating sustained
behaviour change. Along with sticker
diaries to encourage children to practise
the new habit over several weeks,
BEHAVIOUR CHANGE we reminded parents by sending them
mobile alerts to coincide with
PROGRAMME.” children’s bedtime.
Results are very encouraging with

increased brushing frequency in the
These new insights were brought to life countries running the programme. This
in the ‘Pablo and Oliver’ programme for is a great win-win outcome: improving
our Signal and Pepsodent toothpaste children’s oral health and helping us
brands, which shows the fun times grow our business.
that a father and son can share when
brushing their teeth together at night. The future
We used all Five Levers for Change The Five Levers for Change is a simple
in the programme. To ‘make it process that has resulted in some
understood’ we used powerful success. But there is no silver bullet for
messages such as “brushing day and behaviour change.
night with a fuoride toothpaste can cut
tooth decay up to 50% among children Our methodology increases the
compared to brushing once”. To ‘make likelihood of developing a successful
it easy’, we offered downloadable behaviour change programme, but
games to make brushing teeth at night developing the programme is only
an easy habit for the family to share. To half the story. The critical second half
‘make it rewarding’, we offered prizes involves staying power.
for continuing with the habit.
12
HOPE OTHERS
We are publishing our approach
because we think that there are
“WE wider benefts from sharing our work
with others. We’ve learnt a great
WILL JOIN IN TO deal through our health and hygiene
campaigns and we know that there
CREATE WIDESPREAD is potential for this approach to be

applied to the environmental feld –
LASTING
helping consumers use less water,
emit less greenhouse gases and
AND produce less waste.
CHANGE.” The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan

sets out our own commitments as a
company over the next decade, and
we hope others will join in to create
A behavioural change programme widespread and lasting change.
requires sustained and consistent
investment. Too often, campaigns The future rests on companies
announce the need for the new producing goods and services
behaviour and stop there. In order that society wants, in ways that
to work, change needs to start with enhance health and well-being
awareness but then build upon this to and don’t damage the planet for
establish and reinforce the behaviour. future generations.
It lasts beyond a campaign, indeed
beyond the time-span of the average
marketer’s job.
And, most importantly, we are

aware that just as people are
complex, so too is behaviour change.
Our understanding is continually
evolving. We are continuing to
work with authorities in the feld to
ensure we’re exposed to the latest
behavioural change thinking
and practice.

CONSUMING PASSIONS:
WHY DO WE CONSUME?
VAL CURTIS, LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE AND TROPICAL MEDICINE
Why are we humans such a greedy Two types of consumption

lot? There are four reasons why we
like to consume. First, we seek to Consumption of goods is on the rise
meet basic needs: for calories, micro- globally, and most of this rise can be
nutrients, water, shelter and transport, put down to two of the four forces.
for example. Second, we consume to One part of the world still has to meet
stimulate ourselves, to give ourselves its basic needs: for food, for washing
pleasure: cheesecake, music, fowers machines and for toilets. At the same
and recreational drugs all fall into this time people in the rich world are
category. We also consume to hoard: spending wildly in an arms race of
owning and collecting things is an display consumption: the high-tech
ancient instinctual buffer against the kitchen, the four-wheel drive, the
shortages our ancestors suffered in airplane trip to the mini-break, the new
the Pleistocene savannah. This instinct mobile phone every 18 months, all of
to hoard is more often nowadays which aim to out-do, not just the local
expressed in shoe, ornament and, in Joneses, but the global mega-rich, as
my case, hotel soap collecting. But seen on TV. It is important to separate
the fourth, and most economically these two categories of consumption.
important, type of consumption serves
a signalling function – consumption as Spending on basic needs will grow
display. As Geoffrey Miller eloquently inexorably in the emerging markets
argues in his book Spent, we consume of the world and it is untenable to
to show off. We throw away the old suggest that such growth should be
and buy the latest phone because stifed or somehow prevented. To take
otherwise we’d be seen as old one example; without access to the
fashioned; we wear what’s cool in our washing machine, two-thirds of the
social group; we buy beauty products world’s women still laboriously scrub
to advertise our ftness and thus attract clothes clean by hand in bowls, basins
potential mates (even if we are not and rivers. As Hans Rosling points
actually in need of one). out in his classic ‘the Magic Washing
14
Machine’ talk at TED, the non-proft

conference organisation, not even the
most hardened environmentalist is
prepared to wash his jeans by hand. Yet
these same environmentalists presume
to propose that poor women forgo the
liberation from drudgery of the energy-
consuming machine. Rosling argues that
we should rather direct our concerns
at the consumption patterns of the
rich world, who use the lion’s share of
resources – mostly for the purpose of
conspicuous display consumption.
First we need to
If consumerism really is a problem for see the problem
the future of the planet (and not all for what it is. The
would agree, for a contrarian view see sociologist and
The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley), economist Thorstein
then the question of how to stem Veblen provided an early explanation in
this rampant, wasteful, signalling via his 1899 critique of consumerism. He
products is a pressing one. argued that conspicuous consumption,
via conspicuous waste, is used as a way
“WE CONSUME TO to signal status. Evolutionary psychology

tells us why. The brain of Homo sapiens
evolved in a world of scarcity, and as
SHOW OFF. a result we are tuned to always want

‘more’. Because this was adaptive, it
kept us striving to get the stuff that
WE THROW AWAY helped us to get more offspring, in
our dim and distant past. But it was
THE OLD AND BUY THE also adaptive to admire, to emulate,

to cleave to and to want to mate with
LATEST PHONE BECAUSE those who had ‘more’. Displaying your

success through having so much surplus
that it could even be wasted led others
OTHERWISE WE’D BE to want to ally with you and to accord
you social status, and hence higher
SEEN AS OLD ftness and more gene copies in the

next generation. The desire to signal
FASHIONED.”
success and to copy the successful are
thus inescapable facts of the human
Consuming Passions: Why Do We Consume? | 15

nature that we have inherited: they Marlowe’s play Dr Faustus, Mephisto
are ancient motives, the voices of our argues to Faust that for the good of his
ancestors, and we cannot simply reason own soul he should:
them away.
“Pack up your things and get
Marketing and a spiral of back to the land
self-destruction
And there begin to
dig and ditch;
Marketers have, of course, long
understood the power of these Keep to the marrow round,
voices. They know that they can sell confne your mind,
shampoo and cars on sex appeal and And live on fodder of the simplest kind,
mobile phones as status props. Adding A beast among the bees;
signalling value to brands works, it shifts and don’t forget
more products, however irrational this To use your own dung on
display behaviour may be in our
the crops you set!”
modern world.
-Marlowe,1604
And, of course, the wider the gap
between those who have stuff and No amount of romantic environmental
those who have not, the greater the rhetoric will induce us, as a species,
motivation for those with less to try to forgo the vast improvements in
to catch up. As rich countries get the conditions of life brought about
richer, as the rich in emerging markets by industrialisation. And there is no
pull away from their poor, and as the question that our current global market
mega-rich get to display their toys via system will allow these benefts to
global media, so the innate need to continue to spread. This inevitably
signal that one is not ‘a failure’ means more consumption. So how
grows. As a result, more and more can we meet the challenge
consumers around the world of reining in wasteful,
spend frantically in an effort to signalling consumption?
signal that they are also worthy
of attention, status and mating Motivations, payoffs and
opportunity. Is this an inevitable the future
and gathering process,
doomed to spiral us into One way to engineer human
self-destruction? behaviour is to change what’s
called the motivational payoff
Imprecations to give up our structure. Tax systems could be
goodies are certainly not going re-engineered to social ends,
to halt the process. In Christopher one of which could be to switch
16
INS
NSPPIRING SUSTAINABLE LIVING
to purchase taxes that make a distinction

between basic needs and wasteful
consumption. This would be deeply
“CONSUMERS AROUND
controversial; careful research and much
citizen debate would be needed to
WORLD SPEND
THE
fgure out how to draw the line between
what was and what was not wasteful. FRANTICALLY IN AN
Another way to change the motivational
payoff structure is to imbue the target
EFFORT TO SIGNAL THAT
behaviour with a new motive: can
wasteful consumption behaviour
THEY ARE ALSO WORTHY OF
be seen as parasitic on society and
therefore disgusting? Can it be made
ridiculous, embarrassing and shameful?
ATTENTION, STATUS AND
Some moves have been made in this
direction by the environmental lobby,
MATING OPPORTUNITY.”
suggesting that this may be possible.
their short-term interests to attempt to
Research could be conducted to
curb wasteful consumption.
highlight the craziness of our consuming
behaviour, the lack of logic in our frantic
Yet the most enlightened companies,
signalling – signals that few even notice
those that are ahead of, or even leaders
anyway – and the insanity of signalling
of, social change, may fnd that they
sexual attractiveness when happily
get a frst-mover advantage, a chance
married or post-reproductive. We can
to claim the moral high ground, a
expose our mismatched cave-man
chance for their brands to become more
motives as ridiculous, damaging and
trusted by consumers because they are
disgusting in the context of the
associated with improving our planet.
modern world.
They can innovate to produce products
that are slim, light, long lasting, use
However, it’s not clear how research or
effcient production and packaging,
campaigns to change public attitudes
and are easy on the environment: and
would be funded. Most resources
they can market these as signals of
deployed in infuencing human
taste and status. They can fund research
consumption behaviour today work in
into wasteful consumption and even
the opposite direction: global marketing
campaign against it. Those companies
budgets motivate us to spend in an
who frst claim the moral high ground
environmentally unsound fashion.
earn the right to shoot at others below,
Some large companies, of course, have
and can join a growing trend that
a vested interest in continuing to shift
stigmatises, rather than admires
as much product as possible; it is not in
and lauds, wasteful consumption.
Consuming Passions: Why Do We Consume? | 17

THE TRANSFORMATIVE
POWER OF INDIVIDUALS
HELIO MATTAR, PRESIDENT, AKATU INSTITUTE FOR CONSCIOUS CONSUMPTION, BRAZIL
Around 16% of humankind is resources of the planet on which

responsible for 78% of all consumption. we all live.
At the same time, present levels of
consumption demand 50% more In general, the tendency is to think
renewable natural resources than the that, for that to happen, it would be
Earth is able to supply. This means necessary to reduce the well-being
that the proportion of humanity that provided by the present model of
at present defnes the mainstream consumption. That is not true. A simple
pattern of consumption – although example may help explain why: if only
that proportion is quite small – is one individual cleans their teeth three
already leading to a situation where times a day using one cup of water
Earth cannot continue to provide instead of leaving the water running
clean air, potable water, healthy arable
land and a complete absorption of
residues generated by production
and consumption. The environmental
services demanded from the planet are
simply not there to be supplied.
If the whole of humanity were to

consume resources at the same rate
as the 16% richest inhabitants of
the planet, fve Earths would not
be suffcient to supply all resources
needed. So, clearly, a new pattern of
consumption is needed, one that would
allow the well-being of the whole of
humankind and, at the same time,
respect the inherent limits of the natural
18
“CONSUMPTION CAN BE
The power of acting together
This example considers only one small
USED AS A POWERFUL gesture, that of turning off the tap

while cleaning your teeth, and for just
one individual. Can you imagine the
MEANS TO POSITIVELY savings when a family, a community,

a nation adopts the same behaviour?
Or when one considers other activities
TRANSFORM where water is consumed, such as

taking a shower; washing dishes,
the foor, your clothes, the car; when
THE WORLD.” cooking. That clearly shows where
Unilever’s approach, ‘small actions,
big difference’ comes from. In Brazil,
from the tap for the two minutes the same slogan was translated into
that brushing takes, the amount of Portuguese as ‘each gesture counts’,
water saved during the 70 years of which expresses the same concept.
their life would be equivalent to
three-quarters of the water in an For that reason, consumption can be
Olympic swimming pool. used as a powerful means to positively
transform the world. For that to be
realised, the individual would have to
be aware of the impact of every act of
The Transformative Power of Individuals | 19

consumption on the environment and those that have adopted a more friendly
society and try to reduce the negative stance towards the environment and
impacts and increase the positive ones. society. They can choose products that
That can be done through a change were produced, and can be used and
in the behaviour of the consumer or disposed of, with the best possible
through a change in the products standards from an environmental and
offered by companies to consumers, so social point of view.
as to have a smaller negative impact on
the environment. A good example The opportunity ahead
are the products designed to use less
energy, such as Unilever’s laundry It is important to emphasise that we
products. are not referring to future risks but
to the opportunities for each and
It is important to remember that every consumer to contribute today to
no product can be manufactured reduce the present and future risks of
or used without the extraction of unsustainability. However, the problem
natural resources from the crust of is of such magnitude that it would be
the Earth and the use of water and too optimistic to expect a solution to
energy. These items are present in the come from any single social agent, be it
production or use of products, even government, multilateral organisations,
when the consumer does not notice corporations or civil society. We need
them explicitly. As a consequence, a process that engages the whole of
consumers can make an enormous humanity, starting with the actions of
everyday contribution to the present each individual. This should be refected
and future sustainability in the enabling conditions provided by
of life on our planet national governments, corporations
by choosing which and multilateral organisations so that
companies to buy from change is implemented on a scale and
and giving preference to at a speed that can contribute, in time,
to reversing the present pattern of
unsustainability of life on Earth.
But let me repeat: the process starts

at the level of the individual, with the
understanding that small actions will
lead to big changes. In order to show
that individuals do have an enormous
opportunity to contribute, let me give
you two additional examples.
20
A single British or American citizen

throws away, every day, 1.3kg of waste.
Over 75 years – the approximate life
“EACH INDIVIDUAL
expectancy of each of those citizens –
the total amount disposed of as waste
CAN MULTIPLY THE
by one individual is 36 tons. If one takes
six families with two children each,
the amount of waste they throw away
POSITIVE IMPACT
during their lives (assuming a life span
of 75 years), would require 271,000
OF HIS OR HER ACTIONS
towers the size of Big Ben in London to
hold it all. BY THE NUMBER OF
Of course, the more individuals reduce
the amount of waste produced, the
PEOPLE THEY MOBILISE
lower the cost of collecting it, allowing
governments to invest in other,
more important issues than garbage
TO DO THE SAME.”
collection.
By telling one’s family and friends about
And a fnal example: one American these examples, and by mobilising them
individual consumes, on average, 350g to choose better products and to use
of cattle meat every day. To produce them in a better way, each individual
these quantities of meat, 5,300 litres of can multiply the positive impact of his
water are needed. or her actions by the number of people
they mobilise to do the same. We must
As a consequence, over 75 years – start today.
the lifetime of an average American
– an amount equivalent to almost 60
Olympic swimming pools is necessary
for the production of meat that an
individual will eat. That is a lot of water
to feed just one individual.
Of course, the more individuals

reduce the amount of beef they eat,
or substitute with chicken, the less
water will be consumed and more will
be available for other uses. Water is a
precious resource that large groups of
people and regions on the planet lack.
The Transformative Power of Individuals | 21

VISIONS AND ACTIONS FOR
SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLES
CHERYL HICKS AND MICHAEL KUHNDT, UNEP/WUPPERTAL INSTITUTE, CSCP, GERMANY
If you had to live your life more What is unsustainable about the
sustainably this weekend, what would way we live?
you do? Answering this question
implies that you have a good idea of In the last century, a modern economy
what sustainability means, that you has delivered remarkable affuence and
know what is unsustainable about the increased quality of living standards
way you currently spend your weekend for hundreds of millions of people
and that you are already interested in worldwide. But the economic growth
seeking options for what you might behind this wealth generation has
do differently to achieve sustainability. inficted dangerous costs on the
‘Having it all’, that is meeting all of environment, while billions more aspire
our needs and desires with minimal to the same high standards of living.
environmental and social impact, will
require a deeper understanding of what According to the Global Footprint
those needs and desires are, and what Network, humanity today is simply
is holding us back. demanding more resources than the
Earth can provide – fve planets if you
These questions are at the centre of live in the US – and of course, we
a current research effort, SPREAD only have one. This century has begun
Sustainable Lifestyles 2050, which is with a ‘great convergence’ in living
exploring what it means to live our lives standards as poorer countries speedily
more sustainably, what changes will be adopt the technology, know-how and
required and for whom, what options policies that made the West rich. China
can be enabled to help us to meet and India are the biggest and fastest
differing individual needs and desires, growing of the catch-up countries, but
and what promising sustainable living the emerging-market boom has spread
practices are already starting to to embrace Latin America and
be revealed. Africa too.
22
“GLOBALLY, and use. The energy used to heat our

homes (67% of household energy
SUSTAINABILITY IS consumption in the EU) and the water

we use, together with our appliances
and electronic goods, account for
STILL PREDOMINANTLY SEEN approximately 40% of total energy
consumption. Increasing extraction of
AS A GOOD THAT INVOLVES natural resources and raw materials
(such as wood products, metals and
diamonds) used to manufacture
SOME SORT OF growing volumes of household
products and consumer goods,
TRADE-OFF.” together with rising levels of household
waste, and the impact of the transport
of these goods around the globe,
can cause consumer goods alone to
The way we eat and live in our homes,
account for 14% of an average citizen’s
what we buy, consume and waste,
footprint in the UK. Current lifestyle
and how we move around account for
patterns are also leading to signifcant
signifcant impacts. According to the
health impacts, such as obesity, heart
European Environment Agency, our
disease and cancer.
food is among the highest (20–30% of
our household consumption impacts).
Visions of sustainable living from
Meat and dairy account for 24% of
around the world
all of food consumption impacts in
Europe. Over-consumption of fsh
Universally, people want to improve
is leading to the depletion of some
their lives. But what is right for
fsh stocks and collapsing fsheries.
everyone, everywhere? Recent studies
Increased imports of non-seasonal
show that our visions of sustainability,
and exotic food are associated with
our ideas about sustainable living, and
high levels of food processing and
the futures we aspire to show nuances
high energy use both for production
of interpretation around the world.
Globally, sustainability is still

predominantly seen as a good that
involves some sort of trade-off. This
entails a risk that people might feel
alienated from it, with no real sense of
agency – or empowerment – to make
change happen.
Visions and Actions For Sustainable Lifestyles | 23

“WE NEED TO MAKE
A global survey of young adults on
their visions for sustainable lifestyles
was published by the United Nations
SUSTAINABLE Environment Programme (UNEP) in

2011. According to this survey, very few
young people around the world cited
LIVING OPTIONS EASY.” dreams of luxury and unlimited material

comfort. These young adults portrayed
optimistic visions for their lives in the
future which included: the capacity to
For Western households, sustainability meet one’s needs and reach a middle-
tends to mean some variation of ‘living class standard of living, a fulflling job
with minimal impact on the Earth’. providing a sense of self-achievement,
This may include things like minimising a successful family and social life, and a
the use of non-renewable resources, clean environment. Importantly, young
thinking about purchases in terms adults seek security: fnancial, social,
of whether they were really needed, environmental and personal.
how they would be disposed of and
recycled. The Latin American view tends What will it take to have
to put more importance on aspects of the lifestyles we want, more
community and social development. sustainably?
The Asian view tends to include
nuances of economic sustainability The global population will not change
frst along with the viability of national behaviour or lifestyles homogeneously.
economic development. For example, Each of us has different needs, desires,
the Switch Asia Network Facility, which cultural legacies and habits that we
promotes sustainable production and seek to fulfl on a daily basis. Human
consumption in Asia, fnds that lifestyles behaviour and consumer segmentation
in Asia are increasingly infuenced by specialists group people by similarities
the escalating consumption patterns in terms of motivators, infuencers
of its growing middle class. Asia is and triggers to behave or act. When
expected to be at the forefront of it comes to sustainability, studies have
worldwide consumption by 2030, with found that our sense of empowerment
consumer spending projected to reach to make change and our ability to
$32 trillion and constitute about 42% delay personal gratifcation drive many
of worldwide consumption. behaviours and daily decisions. For
example, consumer segmentation
studies show that about 1–2% of
us will be leaders in society, feel
empowered to make change and
advocate what we believe in while
24
delaying personal gain or gratifcation it easier for people to choose what is

for the greater good; about 7–8% of best for themselves their families and
us will do this only if it benefts our their society.
families or community and makes a
difference in their lives; about 10% of
us feel completely outside mainstream
society and that our actions make no
difference in society; and most of us,
70–80% of people in most societies,
are driven by a constant need for
instant personal gratifcation, feeling
empowered to make change for
ourselves without compromise.
What does this mean for sustainable

lifestyles and how can we use this
information to enable more sustainable
living? These studies suggest that
only a small number of us will alter
our behaviour or lifestyles to protect
the environment alone. Even where
well-being and agency are seen
as cornerstones of an ideal future,
sustainability is not spontaneously
considered as a factor of progress –
the benefts are not clear.
For example, immediate information
What this tells us is that information about what people are buying is
is not enough; we need to make important but does not tell us enough
sustainable living options easy. Richard about why people buy and what
Thaler and Cass Sunstein describe in would help them to change impactful
their recent book, Nudge (2008), that consumption or lifestyle habits.
every day we make decisions about Therefore, we need to understand
the way we live, but unfortunately, what current behaviours (and lifestyle
we often choose poorly. Our mistakes choices) mean to people and what
make us poorer and less healthy, and needs they fulfl. This information
have a negative impact on the planet. can then help us to develop different
By knowing how people think, we can options and more sustainable ways to
design choice environments that make fulfl those needs.

We have learned several key things Understanding how people think and
about motivating behaviour change. what motivates them to act may help
Here is a sample from our recent policy-makers, community leaders and
work with the social innovation frm, designers to develop many solution
Collective Invention: options that better address people’s
needs, desires and growing concerns.
Changes proposed have to fll the Adding knowledge of sustainability in
individual’s needs. If the way we live this process creates new opportunities
is focused on pleasure and feelings to drive product, policy and process
of success, new products and services innovation that will advance broader
will only be adopted if they at least societal innovation and deliver the
maintain and ideally enhance pleasure. future lifestyles we want. We can
A drop in performance or perceived have it all.
status will not be accepted.
Future Actions – Translating
Old behaviours need to be sustainability into meaning for our
unlearned. Phasing in the change with everyday lives
a new product or service that fulfls the
same need helps new behaviours to be 1. Visualising and demonstrating
learned in a non-critical way and old We need more examples and
behaviours gradually reduced. This is demonstrations of what more
why driving a hybrid will be easier for sustainable living actually looks like.
most consumers than cycling or taking The Collaborating Centre for
public transport. Sustainable Consumption & Production
(CSCP) and Collective Invention have
Instant feedback and positive produced a prototype of what more
reinforcement are critical. sustainable living could look like in
This allows people to keep 2050 in the form of a demonstration
connecting change to things that are example of a family living in Europe in
important to them. Smart meters that the year 2050: The Family YOU. This
show the energy consumption of your family is a set of constructed personas
house on a daily basis are an example that allow us to jump into the shoes
where you can see your reductions of people living in the future and
in energy use in real time. Seeing the share their lifestyles, and to explore
energy consumption of your house the ways in which possible futures will
benchmarked against your neighbours, intersect with the needs, desires and
where your consumption is higher, will actions of individuals. What policies,
also tend to be very motivating for infrastructure, services and societal
behaviour change. innovations might have enabled these
26
“WE NEED MORE EXAMPLES improvement products (paint, wooden

fooring). Further analysis and roll-out
of other product groups is planned.
AND DEMONSTRATIONS 3. Innovation at all levels

Achieving sustainable lifestyles will
require a radical rethinking of the
OF WHAT MORE systems that are currently driving
unsustainable trends – innovation
SUSTAINABLE LIVING is required at all levels of business

(business model, product and service
innovation), policy (legislation and
ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE.” decision-making innovation) and society
(social and societal innovation) – and
living conditions? What behaviour in partnership or collaboration with
changes are needed to deliver this each other. Sustainability entrepreneurs
vision of a more sustainable future? are critical actors for enabling a more
sustainable future by focusing on the
2. Options, access and availability technological, social and infrastructure
We need more options for sustainable innovations that will deliver more
living that meet diverse needs and sustainable lifestyle models.
desires. These options need to be
readily available and easy to access. The CSCP is providing training
The CSCP has developed for the REWE programmes and tools for the academic
Group, one of the leading trading community in emerging markets with
and travel and tourism companies the aim of encouraging and developing
in Europe, the PRO PLANET product more sustainability entrepreneurs.
label system. The aim is to support The SMART Start-Up initiative began
sustainable consumption in the mass with a programme introducing
market and to offer products with sustainable lifestyles and sustainable
sustainable added value at a good entrepreneurship into African
price. The methodology identifes universities and colleges from 2007 to
the most adverse environmental and 2010. Currently it is applied throughout
social impacts of the product during its Europe, in China and in Brazil.
lifecycle, including consumption (‘Hot
Spot Analysis’) and generates strategies
to minimise the negative impacts.
At least 80 products across Germany
now have a PRO PLANET label,
including foods (strawberries, tomatoes,
peppers), paper products (toilet
paper), textiles (t-shirts) and home

TECHNOLOGY HOLDS THE KEY
TO THE FUTURE
DR RICHARD L WRIGHT,
BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE DIRECTOR, UNILEVER
As a behavioural scientist in Unilever’s
Research & Development (R&D) team,
the question I ask myself is: how can
our science and technology expertise
help people to wash their hands before
meals, clean their teeth at night and use
products more sustainably?
One way science helps is by ensuring

that the understanding and theories
developed in behavioural science over
many years drive Unilever’s behaviour If we can help all our consumers to
change interventions. We turned theory make small changes in behaviour then,
into practice by developing accessible multiplied by billions of uses, this can
principles that are now used by our make a huge difference to our world.
brand marketing teams. Subtle changes in product design can
enable these changes.
However, probably the most powerful
means that Unilever’s R&D team has to However, this isn’t about manipulation.
change people’s behaviour lies in the It is about making the right choice the
large number of consumers we reach: easy and desirable choice. It is similar to
we design products that are used 2 Thaler and Sunstein’s idea of ‘nudging’.
billion times a day. We help shape what For instance, shoppers could be ‘nudged’
and how people eat, how they wash to buy more healthy foods if they were
their clothes and clean their teeth. This presented at eye level in stores.
means that we play a critical role in the
behaviour which affects their health Some simple ‘nudges’ in practice
and well-being, and the extent to which
they impact our planet when carrying In a similar vein we have ‘nudged’
out everyday actions. our consumers into buying more
28
“WE DESIGN
just one bucket. This has made the task
of washing clothes by hand easier and
quicker for consumers and delivered an
PRODUCTS environmental beneft at the same time.
THAT ARE USED You may wonder why we need to be

subtle in our approach to environmental
behaviour change. Why can’t we just
2 BILLION create and market environmentally

friendly products under a ‘green’
proposition? The truth is that most
TIMES A DAY.” people are not ready to trade off product

effectiveness or convenience for the
beneft of the environment. In the West,
sustainable, concentrated Omo and many people drive their car to the local
Persil laundry liquids because they are shops because of the convenience.
lighter and more convenient. If dosed The key to reducing our environmental
correctly, concentrates provide the same footprint is, in part, about using
number of washes as ‘dilute liquids’, sustainable ingredients or more effcient
while reducing water and waste per technology but also about creating
bottle, and halving the number of products that shape people’s behaviour
trucks required to transport them. This while at the same time improving their
reduces greenhouse gas emissions per product experience, not making it worse.
wash. And, because dosing smaller
amounts is critical for concentrates, we Another area in which technology can
also ‘nudged’ them into using the right make a big impact in behaviour change
amount by providing the correct size is in providing the means for accurate
dosing cap. behaviour measurement. The availability
of small, low-cost electronic sensors has
A second, more recent, example is dramatically changed the way we study
Comfort One Rinse. We noticed that behaviour in Unilever.
consumers in some Asian countries such
as Vietnam and India, who handwash Back to the bathroom – How do we
their clothes, used three buckets of measure accurately?
water at the rinse stage. For these
consumers, clothes were not completely I have spent a large part of my career
rinsed until all the soap foam had wondering what people do in the
disappeared. Comfort One Rinse uses bathroom when they clean their teeth,
foam-dispersing technology to reduce go to the toilet or shower. Despite my
the amount of foam and thereby the interest, people’s enthusiasm for being
requirement for rinsing decreases to watched in the bathroom is limited!
Technology Holds the Key to the Future | 29

There are critical gaps in understanding
what people actually do rather than
what they say they do. However, asking “THERE ARE CRITICAL
them is not a good alternative to
watching them; many everyday activities
that lead to health or environmental
GAPS IN UNDERSTANDING
WHAT PEOPLE
outcomes are habitual and done
unconsciously. These are repeated
actions that we do without thinking –
it comes as no surprise, therefore, that
people have a poor ability to tell you
what they do. ACTUALLY DO.”
A second problem with asking people is interpreted back at the laboratory. So
that they like to present themselves in a we know when and how our products
positive light. When asked by a doctor, are being used 24 hours a day, 7 days
we tend to underestimate our alcohol a week. This means we know when
consumption. This is not because farmers in rural India wash their hands
we mistrust the doctor’s motives but and bodies with soap and how many
because an underestimate presents us times a week urban Chinese consumers
in a better light. We have found strong brush their teeth.
‘self-presentation’ effects repeatedly in
our research; people exaggerate ‘good’ We have also used these electronic
behaviours such as cleaning their teeth sensors to test the effectiveness of
and washing their hands, while they behaviour change campaigns. Unilever’s
underestimate ‘bad’ unhealthy or anti- behaviour change approach (described
social behaviours. in the article by B V Pradeep) was
used to develop a TV advertisement to
Our solution to the problem of encourage children to brush at night.
understanding behaviour has been a It used the father as a role model,
technological one. Over the past eight suggesting that children adopt the
years, I have worked with technologists, father’s good and bad habits – so teach
inside and outside Unilever, to develop them a good one such as cleaning your
small electronic devices which monitor teeth at night. In our study, half the
movement. We embed these into families were shown this advert and
products like soap and toothbrushes the others a TV advert for the same
and use them in our consumer trials. brand but that did not talk about night
brushing. All members of these families
When our volunteers use the sensor received sensored brushes and their
products, the devices record signals behaviour was tracked before and after
which can be downloaded and exposure to the adverts.
30
We have also developed monitors for

soap, bottles and washing machines
and now we are even using them to
track showering. As well as enabling
evaluation, they play a critical role in
generating insights which then drive our
innovation ideas.
Recently, we conducted what we believe

to be the UK’s largest showering study.
We monitored the showers of 100
families. Using electronic monitors we
were able to get over 1,000 days’ worth
of data, a total of over 2,600 showers.
Our monitors recorded when showers
were taken and how long they lasted;
we also recorded the water fow and
temperature of the showers. Some
interesting things we found were that
the average shower time was around
eight minutes – three minutes longer
than the popularly conceived ‘fve-
minute shower’ and that nearly a quarter
of showers used more than the 80 litres
When asked, both groups claimed to of water considered typical for bathing.
have increased their brushing following
the adverts. However, our monitors These and other insights from our
showed that neither group changed showering study will drive our efforts
their morning time brushing, while into ‘nudging’ people into taking
only the group watching the role- more sustainable showers. We don’t
model advert increased their evening yet have all the answers and we are
brushing. Although the exposure to still learning as we trial and develop
the advert was limited, and the effects different programmes. It’s an exciting
small, this real behavioural effect gave time to be developing behaviour change
us confdence to move ahead with the interventions, and there are many new
‘Pablo and Oliver’ TV campaign. Had innovations ahead. I am convinced
we relied on people’s reports we would that in order to change behaviours,
have seen no difference between the technology can and must be key.
two adverts. Had we wanted to see a
clinical outcome, such as reduction in
cavities, it would have taken years and
cost millions.
Technology Holds the Key to the Future | 31

DYSFUNCTIONAL POLITICIANS
AND THE POWER OF BRANDS
JONATHON PORRITT, FOUNDER DIRECTOR, FORUM FOR THE FUTURE
A bit of me still recoils in a mixture of of the richest 1% in the world today,

repugnance and disbelief at the idea ‘we are the 99’ may just turn out to be
that it’s going to be the world’s leading as powerful a rallying cry in the West as
brands that will rescue us from today’s in the Middle East.
slow but inexorable slide into ecological
disaster. After all, many of those brands As those divides deepen, and the
have been in the vanguard of today’s planet’s life-support systems get just
planet-trashing hyper-consumption, a little more stressed out every year, it
contributing not just to today’s long seems sort of preposterous to conjure
list of environmental problems but also up the power of leading brands to turn
to a world ever more viciously divided things around. As Professor Tim Jackson
between the haves and have-nots. has pointed out so tellingly in his 2009
book, Prosperity without Growth, many
The rich world’s elites were only too brands are very far from being a “force
happy earlier in 2011 to see protestors for good” in today’s world: “People are
out on the streets of Tunis, Cairo, being persuaded to spend money we
Sana’a and Benghazi. The disaffection don’t have on things we don’t need to
that gave birth to the Arab Spring create impressions that won’t last on
was demonstrably ‘a good thing’, people we don’t care about.”
promising the downfall of dictators and
the prospect of Western-style, market- But then just look around you at the
based democracies. But they’re now broader sustainability scene. The vast
more than a little non-plussed at the majority of consumers today are still
sight of protestors on the streets of either confused/disempowered, or
Madrid, Lisbon, London, New York and indifferent/ignorant – I know it’s not
other US cities – expressing their own politically correct to say that, but it’s
bitter disaffection with the failures of true. Worse yet, the vast majority of
that very same brand of market-based investors are still intent on maximising
democracy. When confronting the gold- short-term returns rather than building
plated, ludicrously over-privileged lives over the long-term – even when it’s
32
“COMPANIES CAN USE

their own pension funds that they’re
investing in.
And worst of all, governments the

world over would appear to be clueless THE POWER OF THEIR
about transitioning their economies
from yesterday’s patently unsustainable
‘smash and grab, slash and burn’ to
BRANDS TO HELP
the kind of sustainable capitalism that
offers the prospect of better lives for the
99% while staying within recognised
‘NORMALISE’
environmental limits – without too
traumatic a decline in the living
OUR BEHAVIOUR.”
standards of the 1%. But everyone knows a brand is out to
make money and that clarity of intent
The potential power of brands wins trust.”
So let’s not look these branded gift- And that trust creates the space to
horses in the mouth. When I compare innovate. While politicians sit around
our politicians’ sorry performance waiting for people to show them
on environmental issues with the where they want to go, companies can
performance of some of Forum for the use the power of their brands to help
Future’s leading corporate partners, ‘normalise’ our behaviour – ‘wash at
there’s no question who is making the 30°’, ‘less is more’ (with concentrated
bigger difference. Not just in terms of detergents or energy-effcient light
reducing their own direct footprint, bulbs), ‘healthy choices, better lives’,
but in helping their customers improve and so on.
their own lives in increasingly more
sustainable and responsible ways. Designing in sustainability and
dithering politicians
Brands are so much better placed to
narrow that frightening ’values–action Sometimes it’s not even necessary to
gap’ that politicians have to confront ask or even inform consumers; build it
(where the voters say one thing and in – ‘sustainability inside’, as it were,
promptly do another), and are somehow and don’t get too het up if people don’t
more trustworthy precisely because they know exactly what those benefts are all
are so clearly in the business of making about. How many ordinary citizens have
money out of doing the right thing. the frst clue what ‘Intel Inside’ means,
As Dorothy Mackenzie of the brand even as they feel vaguely good that the
consulting business, Dragon Rouge puts latest gizmo that they’re splashing out
it: “People resist moralising statements. on offers them that reassurance.
Dysfunctional Politicians and the Power of Brands | 33

“TODAY’S LEADING BRANDS
HAVE A MUCH MORE DYNAMIC
STORY TO TELL:
‘WE HAVE, SO YOU CAN’.”
And that’s about as good as it gets at
the moment – as politicians dither and
short-termism rules supreme in our
capital markets. What we need to do is
to build aspirational armies of citizen-
consumers who no longer feel the
need to get cynical at the idea of ‘small
actions, big difference’. It’s all about
scale, as explained by John Thøgersen,
Professor of Economic Psychology at the
Aarhus School of Business and Social And we certainly need to see today’s
Science in Denmark: still-fashionable cynicism put aside.
“One of the reasons why people are Short of the whole global economy
passive is that they feel no one else imploding in front of our eyes (which I
is doing anything. When it comes to can assure you would do very little to
climate change, your contribution is enhance the prospect of a genuinely
so small it doesn’t really matter. What sustainable world), we have to take
matters is what other people do. If people with us, step by step, not beat
you don’t perceive that many people them into submission.
are also saving energy, then you
feel a bit of a sucker because you’re Solitaire Townsend, one of the
losing something without helping the co-founders of communications
problem.” consultancy Futerra, has been
particularly trenchant in her critique
In that regard, things have moved on of conventional environmental
a long way from the ‘I Will If You Will’ campaigning (“Environmentalists are
message that the UK’s Roundtable on very good at identifying what people
Sustainable Consumption frst came should desire – not what they actually
up with nearly six years ago. Today’s do desire”), exhorting politicians and
leading brands have a much more businesses alike to put “the sizzle” into
dynamic story to tell: ‘We Have, sustainability, using humour, creativity,
So You Can’.
34
peer-to-peer messaging and real people launched our Consumer Futures 2020
making a real difference in compelling, project together with Unilever and
sassy ways: “a live, warm-blooded Sainsbury’s in October 2011, using four
human being is top trumps when it very different scenarios looking forward
comes to changing behaviour”. to different models of sustainable
consumption in 2020.
I go with all that – as do all of our
corporate partners and their brands. Financial circumstances are so tough
But not at the expense of some deeper today that worrying about 2020 could
probing about the scale of the change so easily look and feel self-indulgent:
required. As yet, even at its best, we’re the current mandate for both Unilever
nowhere near the zone of genuinely and Sainsbury’s, shaped as it is by the
sustainable consumption – “less overbearing immediacy of now, could so
unsustainable consumption is still the easily crowd out their future mandates.
name of the game”. But they know it absolutely mustn’t,
and both Amanda Sourry (Chairman of
But I really don’t blame companies Unilever UK & Ireland) and Justin King
for that. It’s governments that set the (Chief Executive of Sainsbury’s) couldn’t
rules within which companies operate have been clearer in asserting that for
– in terms of regulation, taxation, their companies there need be no clash
incentives, public procurement and so between growth and sustainability. Both
on. Unfortunately, governments are so the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan and
in hock to today’s incumbent corporate Sainsbury’s new sustainability plan
power-brokers and so timid in the face (“20 by 2020”) are based on doubling
of the utterly predictable whingeing the size of their businesses while getting
from trade associations and all those better and better at managing social,
vested interests who stand to lose environmental and wider economic
most as we innovate our way through challenges. Indeed, both argued
to a dynamic low-carbon, equitable strongly that there is no clash, but
economy. The most we can expect of that they’re mutually reinforcing. Not
such dysfunctional politicians, whatever growth and sustainability, but growth
their party loyalty, is for them not to get through sustainability.
in the way of those who’ve seen what
a better future really looks like. And are Easily said, but one hell of a thing to
seriously intent on making it happen. deliver. Indeed, sustainable consumption
sounds so reassuring at one level,
Scenarios for 2020 but dig down a bit deeper, and it
re-presents itself as one of the most
None of this makes it any easier for compelling challenges of our age.
leading companies today. I became
even more aware of this when we
Dysfunctional Politicians and the Power of Brands | 35

GOVERNMENTS, NUDGING
AND EFFECTIVE SCIENCE
CHARLES ABRAHAM, PENINSULA COLLEGE OF MEDICINE & DENTISTRY, UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
Humanity faces challenges requiring car travel accounts for up to 78%

changes in our everyday behaviour of road miles. In the context of less
patterns at individual and societal levels. expensive cars being mass produced, if
We should be optimistic about change we are to protect our habitat we must
because we have thrived as a species either substantially reduce the distances
largely because of our capacity to adapt we drive or we must replace internal
and change our behaviour. Nonetheless, combustion engine cars with vehicles
action is needed now. What part can using green energy.
governments and scientists play in
this challenge? Obesity is a growing global epidemic.
If the current rising trend remains
Consider two examples. Reductions in unchecked, more than 40% of the
CO2 emissions are critical to limiting UK population will be obese by 2050,
global temperature rises. This requires resulting in a national annual cost
a variety of changes in energy usage, of £49.9 billion. Obesity reduces life
including changes in transportation. expectancy mainly because of the
Transport accounts for approximately increased risk of cardiovascular disease
23% of current global energy-related and diabetes. It is also associated with
CO2 emissions and nearly three- an increased likelihood of developing
quarters of these are generated by kidney disease, osteoarthritis, several
road transport. In the US, car travel cancers, hypertension, dementia,
accounts for up to 91% of all vehicle asthma and depression. While
kilometres travelled, while in the UK, increasing physical activity can
36
“WE HAVE THRIVED

provide guidance on behaviour change
for the UK National Health Service. A
broad framework was developed which
AS A SPECIES LARGELY is soon to be updated and developed.
BECAUSE OF OUR CAPACITY TO

More recently, the government has
established a Behaviour Insights
ADAPT AND CHANGE

team to integrate evidence-based
behaviour change interventions across
government departments. This unit
has been strongly infuenced by Thaler
OUR BEHAVIOUR.” and Sunstein’s book Nudge. NUDGE is
an acronym that refers to a range of
distinct behaviour change techniques.
contribute much to obesity prevention However, the defning feature of
and weight control, the real challenge is a nudge is a change to the ‘choice
to end over-eating. architecture’ around us that in turn
changes our motivation or decisions.
These two examples highlight the For example, placing confectionery
importance of behaviour change to near supermarket checkouts is a
policy formulation. Transport policy is ‘nudge’. Thaler and Sunstein refer to
critical to meeting emission reduction anyone with the power to change the
targets, which in turn impact on the environment that prompts decisions,
maintenance of our global habitat. from doctors to supermarket managers
The fnancial viability of supporting to policy-makers as ‘choice architects’.
health services is threatened when they
are increasingly burdened by health To help policy-makers employ nudges
problems resulting from over-eating. and other behaviour change techniques
Unsurprisingly, then, governments have the UK Institute for Government
become increasing concerned with has produced a checklist of change
understanding behaviour change. processes organised around the
acronym MINDSPACE (Messenger,
Political acknowledgement of the Incentives, Norms, Defaults, Salience,
need for behaviour change Priming, Affect, Commitments and
Ego). Each of these processes can
Many governments have taken an be translated into specifc behaviour
interest in the science of behaviour change techniques relevant to particular
change. Here we focus on recent UK behaviours and policies.
developments. In 2007 the government
commissioned the National Institute for In 2011, the Committee on Science
Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to and Technology of the House of Lords
Governments, Nudging and Effective Science | 37

“THE KEY
into behaviour change. The inquiry
concluded that nudges may not often
work alone. So the key question is:
QUESTION IS: which nudges may be effective, when

and for whom? And which other
behaviour change techniques should
WHICH NUDGES
nudges be combined with to optimise
their effectiveness?
The inquiry also highlighted the

MAY BE EFFECTIVE, importance of evaluating behaviour
change interventions. If the science
WHEN AND FOR of behaviour change is to advance,

we need to know what works and
what does not. It is not enough to ask
WHOM?” participants in a behaviour change

study whether they noticed or liked
the intervention. We need to measure
undertook an inquiry into behaviour
behaviour before and afterwards
change which the UK government
among samples who do and do not
responded to. The committee made
receive interventions to assess their
a variety of recommendations to
effectiveness. While this seems obvious
government on how it might: use the
to most scientists, unfortunately it is not
best available evidence on behaviour
the norm in commissioning of behaviour
change; best communicate with
change interventions. Consequently,
behaviour scientists; commission large-
the inquiry noted an unfortunate
scale research into the population-
dearth of rigorous, long-term
level effects of behaviour change
evaluations of interventions designed
interventions; ensure that behaviour
to change behaviour using population-
change interventions are properly
representative samples. Research of
evaluated so that lessons can be
this type is required by policy-makers
learned; work with industry to bring
if they are to identify interventions
about behaviour changes; and tackle
which are ready to be rolled out across
issues such as food labelling, marketing
populations. The main implication of
aimed at children and a reduction in
this observation is for the funders of
car usage. research. Such trials are very expensive
and require long-term fnancial support.
Research challenges highlighted by Co-operation among funders to identify
the House of Lords inquiry potentially effective interventions
worthy of such support and testing
The House of Lords inquiry highlighted is needed.
a series of challenges for research
38
Towards a science of However, further progress will depend
behaviour change on systematic analyses of what is
included in more or less effective
The content of behaviour change behaviour change interventions –
interventions is crucial to their and for whom.
effectiveness. So understanding
what content is associated with Effective behaviour change
effectiveness for which behaviours interventions are needed to resolve
is fundamental. Unfortunately, the a variety of global challenges facing
absence of standardised defnitions of humanity. Politicians are increasingly
behaviour change techniques included aware of the need to use effective
in interventions can make it diffcult behaviour change interventions to
to specify exactly what was in an promote national well-being. This
intervention and, therefore, impedes places a responsibility on behavioural
accurate replication. scientists to develop broad and
inclusive frameworks to understand
Nudge, MINDSPACE and other lists change processes and mechanisms
of approaches to behaviour change at individual, group, societal and
provide useful pointers to the defnition international levels. Moreover,
of core behaviour change techniques. we need to match well-specifed
behaviour change techniques to these
key mechanisms of change.
“EFFECTIVE
BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
INTERVENTIONS
ARE NEEDED TO
RESOLVE A
VARIETY OF GLOBAL
CHALLENGES FACING
HUMANITY.”
Governments, Nudging and Effective Science | 39
EXITING THE VALLEY
OF DEATH
SIMON ZADEK, INDEPENDENT ADVISOR; SENIOR VISITING FELLOW, GLOBAL GREEN GROWTH INSTITUTE
Start-up companies have named the

most dangerous moment in their
development as the ‘Valley of Death’ -
the moment between proof of concept
and the beginning of mass production
and signifcant sales. It is the place
where most dreams perish in the face of
conservative capital markets that doubt
an entrepreneur’s abilities to beat
the competition.
Sustainability has reached its own valley

of death. After two decades of intense transformation, we are, in
activities, we have excellent data on practice, celebrating incremental
the nature and scale of the problem, changes in the spirit of increasingly
an abundance of cases of successful desperate optimism.
experiments, and the growing attention
of political and business leaders. Yet we Yet although we bemoan the lack
cannot leverage our insights, resources of much-needed speed-to-scale in
and passion to contain our production advancing the sustainability agenda,
of carbon, manage the scarcity of scale is something we know a lot
water, or dampen the speculative about - in selling mobile phones, going
fuctuations in the price and availability to war, watching the World Cup, or
of basic foodstuffs. De-materialised in catalyzing fundamentalism in its
products, rentalised markets, renewable many forms. Markets, governments,
power and sustainability standards are and communities in action have been
amongst the social innovations that societies’ three historic instruments for
have provided inspiration and advances achieving scale. Business, the world’s
in offering consumers greener choices. most fashionable vehicle of change
Yet whilst our call to arms has been for over recent decades across richer
40
“MARKETS, GOVERNMENTS, Government and the power of

public policy
AND COMMUNITIES Government, after religion, is arguably

our most venerable institution for scaled
ACTION HAVE
action for the broader interest - in
principle, at least. Most obviously, it does
IN much to defne what should not be done,
set out through the rule of law. Fiscal
BEEN SOCIETIES’ THREE policy also plays a critical role in driving
consumer behaviour, with feed-in tariffs
HISTORIC INSTRUMENTS (or their equivalent) crucial for advancing

renewables, whilst perverse fossil fuel
subsidies encourage unsustainable
FOR ACHIEVING SCALE.”

lifestyles. Governments have soft as well
as statutory and fscal instruments. The
decline in smoking throughout wealthier
nations resulted from a combination of
nations, can in quick time sell billions public education and a gradual restriction
of packets of crisps, tens of millions of in social space for exercising the habit.
cars and millions of handguns. If the Public education, from classrooms to
price is right, businesses can innovate, billboards, has played a major role in
produce and deliver, and citizens will socialising a deeper, inter-generational
turn out en masse and do the right appreciation of sustainability, from climate
thing, namely buy. But the logic of to waste to health management. And
the business community has, to date, governments are big spenders, with
limited its ability to deliver sustainability- contestable public procurement globally
aligned products and services at scale. amounting to US$4-5 trillion annually,
Today’s backward-facing markets, in the and some have indeed moved, albeit
main, only reward companies for doing slowly, in greening this voluminous
the right thing on the margin. Despite purchase of goods and services.
exemplary businesses, innovative
products, technological advances and Public policy counts in achieving scale,
the fact that most people do care about and so enabling business to do what it
other people and the planet, most does best in ways that are sustainability
profts are still made by selling lots of aligned. The nexus between business
stuff that is produced, and then used, and government is critical in shaping
in environmentally unsustainable and options facing citizens as consumers,
often socially-destructive ways. voters, employees and investors. Both
together have the power to make or
prevent change, complementing
Exiting the Valley of Death | 41

Social norms and collective action
“PEOPLE FROM EVERY Citizens’ norms of concerns and

behaviour in large part defne the
WALK OF LIFE WILL difference between nations like
Denmark and Korea, and those failing
JOIN TOGETHER, to progress, such as the US. These are

in no small part shaped by governments
DESPITE THEIR HUGE

alongside business. After all, citizens
did not stand up and demand the
internet, they merely responded to
DIFFERENCES, TO the increasingly persuasive offer. Yet
this closed loop is not the entire story.
CHALLENGE WHAT IS JUST Germany’s decision to green its power

system was built on a deep sensibility
PLAIN WRONG.”
of its citizens towards the environment,
just as others have tapped national
sensibilities, including problematic ones
each others’ strengths and offsetting like nationalism and other aspects of
each others’ weaknesses. The US’s identity. At a far smaller scale, after all,
environmental shortfalls can be support for ‘fair trade’ products from
directly attributed to the power of coffee to cotton was born in Europe’s
businesses that beneft from the status churches, community centres and
quo, whatever the cost. Meanwhile, political movements. Major events can
Denmark’s new government has come also be important turning points, such
to offce with a mandate to double the as Japan’s recent nuclear disaster.
country’s carbon emission reduction
targets to 40% by 2020 and to deliver People, that is, citizens acting together,
an energy system powered largely by are our third way of fracturing and
wind by the same date, providing a seeking to replace incumbent social
strong domestic basis for building its norms and outcomes that are no longer
next generation of global exporters. acceptable. The Arab Spring in Tunisia,
Similarly, the Korean government Egypt and elsewhere demonstrate
is driving forward with the nation’s vividly that people can and do rise
business community, an integrated together and say ‘enough’, even to
green economy with every intention those with the destructive power and
of taking global markets by storm. the willingness to exercise it.
Brazil and China, also, are leading in
shaping domestic policies to incentivise OccupyWallStreet - and its thousand
green business, whilst simultaneously or so companion protests - show us
advancing their immediate that people from every walk of life
development agendas. will join together, despite their huge
42
differences, to challenge what is just workplaces and schools, and only

plain wrong. But these dramatic cases in the end at the point of purchase.
also illustrate the potential poverty Shaping new social norms that underpin
of social movements that can declare citizens’ collective action is a task
‘enough’, but do not identify, cohere where businesses and governments
and secure the next steps. Although have an important catalyzing role to
these unfolding histories are far from play. Government policies are a product
complete, the concern from Cairo to the of artful politics, occasionally inspired
City of London is that these cathartic by crisis and leadership, shaped by
societal experiments might fail to deliver business interests, and underpinned
the much-needed new economics. by the ultimate need to satisfy the
There is no sign that the Muslim public in all but the most despotic
Brotherhood is concerned with Egypt’s cases. And, fnally, to achieve scale,
dirty and weakened economy. Equally, progressive businesses will have to help
there is no obvious sign that the US and to create the political space to shape
UK governments are inclined to respond the right enabling policies, edging to
to OccupyWallStreet’s call for reform one side their resistant competitors,
of the fnancial sector, the lifeblood and mobilising citizens’ support in
or life-taker of the real economy, with encouraging governments to do the
anything but platitudes or worse. right thing. Only with such alignment
will public policy play a fulsome role,
Exiting sustainability’s valley of death opening the opportunity for us to exit
is not about public policy, business sustainability’s valley of death.
initiative, or citizen action – it is about
all three and their dynamic alignment
with each other. Citizen actions that
create scaled change will be collective,
not necessarily on the streets, but as
social norms confrmed in bars, taxis,
Exiting the Valley of Death | 43

Unilever PLC
Unilever House
100 Victoria Embankment
London
EC4Y 0DY
United Kingdom
www.unilever.com/sustainability Produced with

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BEHAVIOUR CHANGE AND

“THE CHALLENGE It won’t be easy to make sustainable

REQUIRES US ALL will inspire others to take action.

20 THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER

24 VISIONS AND ACTIONS FOR

30 TECHNOLOGY HOLDS THE KEY

42 EXITING THE VALLEY

Along the way we’ve learnt a great deal

Developing the Five Levers

Several years ago, I was part of a team

“FOR MANY YEARS WE

ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO lifecycle and about half of our water

EAT MARGARINE INSTEAD use, as distinct from manufacturing or

OF BUTTER... AND TO Our Five Levers for Change helps provide

BRUSH THEIR TEETH encouraging consumers to use less hot

Five Levers for Change

We developed the Five Levers for

Inspiring Sustainable Living: Unilever’s Five Levers For Change | 7

make it The US’s number-one haircare brand,

Inspiring Sustainable Living: Unilever’s Five Levers For Change | 9

First, we selected our target audience

• ‘Barrier’ insights which revealed

“THE FIVELEVERS that the lack of understanding about

FOR CHANGE OFFERS A

TO THINKING ABOUT • ‘Motivator’ insights which

BEHAVIOUR CHANGE new habit of brushing twice a day

Then we undertook some exploratory

Inspiring Sustainable Living: Unilever’s Five Levers For Change | 11

INCREASES THE for dad in the campaign. We recognised

LIKELIHOOD this appeals to a father’s desire of

PROGRAMME.” children’s bedtime.

Results are very encouraging with

CREATE WIDESPREAD is potential for this approach to be

CHANGE.” The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan

And, most importantly, we are

Inspiring Sustainable Living: Unilever’s Five Levers For Change | 13

Why are we humans such a greedy Two types of consumption

Machine’ talk at TED, the non-proft

“WE CONSUME TO to signal status. Evolutionary psychology

SHOW OFF. a result we are tuned to always want

THE OLD AND BUY THE also adaptive to admire, to emulate,

LATEST PHONE BECAUSE those who had ‘more’. Displaying your

SEEN AS OLD ftness and more gene copies in the

Consuming Passions: Why Do We Consume? | 15

to purchase taxes that make a distinction

Consuming Passions: Why Do We Consume? | 17

Around 16% of humankind is resources of the planet on which

If the whole of humanity were to

This example considers only one small

USED AS A POWERFUL gesture, that of turning off the tap

MEANS TO POSITIVELY savings when a family, a community,

TRANSFORM where water is consumed, such as

The Transformative Power of Individuals | 19

But let me repeat: the process starts

A single British or American citizen

Of course, the more individuals

The Transformative Power of Individuals | 21

“GLOBALLY, and use. The energy used to heat our

SUSTAINABILITY IS consumption in the EU) and the water