Ways to shift consumers towards sustainable behavior让顾客养成可持续性行为的方法

Social influence

社会影响

Humans are social animals and will follow the actions of others, especially on ethical¹ issues. When people learn they are using more energy than their neighbours, they decrease their energy usage. But what if the sustainable behavior has yet to be established? For example, how does one convince people to install solar panels if no one in their neighbourhood is doing it? A "brand ambassador" can be invaluable². Solar advocates who had installed solar panels in their own homes were able to recruit 63 per cent more residents to purchase and install solar panels.

人类是社交动物，会模仿他人的行为，在道德问题方面更是如此。当一个人得知自己的能源消耗高于邻居时，他会减少能源使用。但如果可持续行为尚未养成呢？比如说，如果整个社区都没有安装太阳能电池板，我们该如何劝这些人安装呢？这时候，“品牌形象大使”的重要性开始凸显。自家已安装太阳能电池板的倡导者可说服63%的居民购买并安装太阳能电池板。

For ethical behaviors, learning about the behaviors of others can be motivating. In one example, when business students on a college campus heard that computer science students were better at composting and recycling, they more than doubled their efforts.

就道德行为而言，人们会积极学习他人的行为。比如，当商科学生听说电脑科学专业的学生更擅长堆肥和回收时，他们会更加努力。

Habits

习惯

To build a new sustainable habit, one must first break bad habits. This is easiest when someone is experiencing big life changes, such as moving, getting married or starting a new job. In one study, people who had recently moved cut their car usage almost in half.

想要养成新的可持续习惯，必须改掉坏习惯。经历重大的生活变化时，比如搬家、结婚或开始一份新工作，最容易养成新习惯。在一项研究中，刚经历搬家的人士使用汽车的次数比以往减少了近一半。

To build new habits, it can be helpful to make the sustainable action easy to do, provide timely prompts, offer incentives³ to help get the new behavior started.

想要养成新习惯，想方法让可持续行为变得简单是关键，比如及时提醒、设置奖励措施，这些都有助于养成新习惯。

Individual self

个人

Sustainability can appear more attractive when the personal benefits such as health or product quality are highlighted. Emphasizing self-efficacy also works. When people know their actions matter, they make greener choices.

当健康或产品质量等个人利益得到提高时，可持续行为似乎变得更有吸引力。强调自我效能也可以起到作用。当人们知道自己的行为会带来影响时，他们会做出更环保的选择。

Self-consistency is also important. People like their words and actions to be consistent. Often one environmental commitment can snowball into other actions and changes over time. For example, someone who insulates their house to improve energy efficiency may be more likely to unplug electric devices when they leave for a vacation.

自我一致性也很重要。人们喜欢做到言行一致。通常，随着时间的推移，一份环保承诺可能会转变为其他行动和改变。例如，为了提高能源效率而给房屋安装隔层的人更有可能在休假时给电子设备断电。

Likewise, consumers expect companies to be consistent. In one study, when a hotel made visible environmental efforts (such as offering compostable toiletries) and asked guests to save energy, guests reduced their energy usage by 12 per cent. In the absence of visible efforts, the appeal appeared hypocritical and energy use increased.

同样，消费者也希望公司能保持一致。在一项研究中，当一家酒店做出明显的环保措施（如提供可堆肥洗漱用品）并要求客人节约能源时，客人的能源消耗降低了12%。而在没有做出明显举措的情况下，这些倡议显得十分虚伪，而能源消耗也在增加。