The Little Book of Green Nudges

Install smart meters with feedback displays

Indicate food “use by” dates clearly

Tongji University , China, encourages students to sort garbage and recycling correctly with waste-sorting game machines. CASE STUDY

How? For food packaged and sold on campus, such as sandwiches, provide a single label type to tell consumers how long the food is good for (“use by” a certain date), information that stands out and is unambiguous. This prevents people from getting confused by other labels (e.g. “best before” and “sell by” dates) and throwing out food when it is still edible.

How? In student halls of residence and university department buildings, provide smart meters for electricity, gas or water that show how much is being consumed in real time, and include information on the associated costs, making the impacts of consumption obvious and personally relevant.

Who might be involved? Campus building managers, university administrators

Who might be involved? Campus catering coordinators, food companies

Personalize messages

How? Address communications and campaigns to recipients by name when possible, and tailor them to specific interests or circumstances. For example, students living in campus buildings might get different energy-saving tips than those living in off-campus accommodations.

Who might be involved? Campus sustainability coordinators, student sustainability groups

The Little Book of Green Nudges 17