The Greener Together program helps people live more sustainably through their daily actions and collectively reduce CO2 emissions. It works with various types of co-operatives, each with an Eco-operator, to sign up members and customers. Over 2,000 people have signed up so far, saving 467 tonnes of CO2 and diverting 19 tonnes of waste from landfill. The program has found that influencing environmental behavior effectively requires understanding behavioral psychology and using trusted messengers within social networks to promote positive role models. By nurturing green leaders, Greener Together aims to inform future cooperative initiatives around retrofitting, renewables, and continued behavioral changes.

1. Greener Together Changing environmental behaviour the Co-operative way Phil Beardmore Balsall Heath Housing Co-op & Confederation of Co-operative Housing

2. About Greener Together Helps people to live greener Focuses on small actions taken in daily life Reduces CO2 emissions collectively Funded by Defra’s Greener Living Fund

3. How does Greener Together work? 7 Consumer co-operatives 13 Worker co-operatives 8 Housing co-ops, tenant management organisations and co-housing societies 10 Community shops Each co-op has an ‘Eco-operator’ who can be a volunteer or a worker Supported by Co-operatives UK, Confederation of Co-operative Housing, Plunkett Foundation

6. Greener Together results to date 2,010 people have signed up – mostly members of co-ops, some customers, some from wider community 467 tonnes of CO2 saved 19 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill

7. Total Coverage – www.totalcoverage.coop 49 members saved 26 tonnes of CO2 (0.53 tonnes per person) plus 1 tonne of waste diverted from landfill

8. Banna Housing Co-operative 6 members saved 3.1 tonnes of CO2 (0.52 tonnes per person) plus 0.4 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill

9. Argyle Housing Co-operative – www.ash.coop 26 members saved 11.8 tonnes of CO2 (0.45 tonnes per person) plus 0.1 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill

10. The phone co-op – www.thephone.coop 150 members saved 52 tonnes of CO2 (0.35 tonnes per person) plus 2.1 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill

11. What have we learned about environmental behaviour?

12. Wrong assumptions that we make AIDA – Attention, Interest, Desire, Action – does not necessarily apply 80% of factors influencing environmental behaviour do not stem from knowledge or awareness (Blake, 1998) The remaining 20% stem from behavioural psychology During Greener Together we have attempted to adapt theories of behaviour There are a number of overlapping and interdependent models that are useful

13. Moralism, guilt and ‘denial’ Environmental activists can confuse ‘in denial’ with ‘strategic denial’ Greener Together – avoids moralism by giving positive role models and replicable examples from people they trust within their own community – working co-operatively makes a difference

14. MINDSPACE A checklist of non-coercive behavioural influences (Cabinet Office, 2010) Messenger – we are heavily influenced by who communicates information Incentives – our responses to incentives are shaped by predictable mental shortcuts such as avoiding loss Norms - we are strongly influenced by what others do

15. MINDSPACE Defaults – we ‘go with the flow’ of pre-set options Salience – our attention is drawn to what is novel and what seems relevant to us Priming – our acts are often influenced by sub-conscious cues Affect – our emotional associations can powerfully shape our actions

16. MINDSPACE Commitments – we seek to be consistent with our public promises, and reciprocate acts Ego – we act in ways that make us feel better about ourselves

17. Defra’s Environmental segmentation model

18. Protagonists and perceivers Decline of trust in authority and media trends mean people turn to trusted intermediaries to shape their opinions and behaviour (opinionleader.co.uk) Influence revolves around the interaction of two personality types Protagonists – skilled friendship makers; know a wide variety of people; persuasive; skilled at absorbing new information – they make ideal co-operators Perceivers – the majority; more likely to listen to the ideas of others; hold on to fixed opinions for longer periods; can make an idea more powerful through zealously pursuing a brand or idea

19. Protagonists and perceivers People can be protagonists sometimes (e.g. Waste) and perceivers at other times (e.g. Energy) To communicate successfully we must influence and engage with protagonists In co-operatives there is a high interaction between the two personality types

20. Legacy of Greener Together There is now a layer of green leaders in the co-operative movement This will inform future work of the co-operative movement on retrofit, renewables, behaviour

21. Legacy of Greener Together Significant additional CO2 savings can be achieved through behaviour alone A level of handholding or nudging is required but other projects show that this is cost-effective Behavioural advice should be part of any Green Deal retrofit programme Trusted messengers in existing social networks are key to changing environmental behaviour This is replicable in any community of place or of interest, not just in co-operatives

22. Thank you for listening Phil Beardmore Confederation of Co-operative Housing philbeardmore@virginmedia.com www.cch.coop