Sustainable Sustainable: Encouraging sustainable behavior among residents

Research project

Start date 05 September 2023

The Sustainable Sustainable project aims to develop a practical diagnostic tool for municipalities to help them choose the most effective interventions to promote sustainable behavior among residents.

Bridging the gap between intention and behavior

Municipalities in the Netherlands have been trying for years to influence the consumer behavior of their citizens toward a more sustainable lifestyle. However, there remains a gap between intention and action: many people are aware of the urgency and necessity of changing their consumption behavior but still do not follow through with sustainable actions. How can municipalities stimulate sustainable behavior among their residents, and how can they make more informed choices when selecting effective interventions?

Effective sustainability interventions

In this project, Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences are working together with four municipalities, Almere, Groningen, Aalten, and Assen, to find practical tools that will help municipalities make better choices when selecting interventions. Each municipality focuses on a different case, such as mobility, energy, drought, or vegetarian eating. A diagnostic tool is being developed to help municipalities research the main barriers to sustainable behavior among target groups. Following this, interventions will be selected and tested in consultation with these groups. The result will be a practical diagnostic tool that enables municipalities to make smarter choices for effective sustainability interventions.

Municipalities play a vital role in encouraging their residents to consume sustainably. Policy officers try to motivate citizens to make more sustainable choices, but so far these efforts have not been sufficiently successful. Many people are aware of the need for change and are even willing to do so, but fail to adopt sustainable behavior: an intention-behavior gap. How can municipalities develop a well-founded approach to promote sustainable behavior among their residents?

The project aims to develop a diagnostic tool for municipalities to help them select the most effective interventions to promote sustainable behavior. By using this tool, policymakers will be able to design more targeted and scalable sustainability policies, making them more effective. This, in turn, will make it easier for residents to make sustainable choices in their daily lives and contribute to a more sustainable society.

Partners

The Sustainable Sustainable project is a joint initiative by Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. In this project, both knowledge institutions collaborate with policymakers from the municipalities of Almere, Groningen, Aalten, and Assen. The project is co-funded through a RAAK grant from the Taskforce for Applied Research SIA.

The project runs from September 2023 to September 2025.