The role of a workplace campaign and a carbon footprint calculator for motivating pro-environmental habits

Household consumption accounts for around 60% of Sweden’s consumption-based climate emissions. Carbon footprint calculators have been proposed as potentially effective tools for making people aware of their climate footprint, but their success in supporting habit change has been limited. One reason may be the calculators’ inability to point to concrete action, failing to give users the agency to change their routines. In this article, we shift the focus from the carbon calculator to its social context, supported by a workplace campaign. How can a workplace campaign including a footprint calculator raise awareness about the climate impacts of everyday habits and motivate lifestyle changes? We draw upon knowledge of social psychology, emphasizing the social context as a platform for change. We studied campaigns at two workplaces – how they affected employees’ pro-environmental habits and factors strengthening and weakening their motivation. We show that workplace campaigns can help employees reduce their carbon footprint through changes in everyday habits. Companies can play an essential role in supporting such processes. On the one hand, participants in the campaigns were motivated by the companies’ engagement in sustainable lifestyles and their support for employees’ efforts to form more sustainable everyday habits. Social aspects of the campaign, such as team spirit and the presence of a strong leader, also played key roles. On the other hand, participants’ motivation was weakened because the campaign did not adequately target their current practices and foster a sense of a community. Their motivation was also undermined by problems using the footprint calculator.

家庭消费约占瑞典消费型气候排放量的60%。碳足迹（carbon footprint）计算器曾被视为帮助民众认知自身气候影响的有效工具，但其在助力行为习惯改变方面的成效却较为有限。究其原因，或许在于此类计算器无法指向具体可行的行动，未能赋予用户改变日常惯例的能动性。在本研究中，我们将研究重心从碳足迹计算器转向其所处的社会语境，并辅以职场活动作为支撑。那么，集成碳足迹计算器的职场活动，该如何提升民众对日常习惯气候影响的认知，并推动生活方式转变呢？我们依托社会心理学相关理论，将社会语境视作行为改变的支撑平台。我们对两家职场的相关活动展开研究，分析其对员工环保行为习惯的影响，以及强化或削弱其行为动机的各类因素。研究结果表明，职场活动可通过推动员工改变日常习惯，助力其降低碳足迹。企业在支撑此类转型进程中可发挥关键作用。一方面，参与活动的员工受企业对可持续生活方式的投入，以及企业对员工践行更可持续日常习惯的支持所激励；活动的社会属性层面，如团队精神与有力的领导力支撑，同样发挥了核心作用。另一方面，参与者的动机有所削弱，原因在于活动未能充分贴合员工的现有行为习惯，也未培育出社群归属感；此外，碳足迹计算器的使用问题也进一步削弱了参与者的动机。