Green nudges for reducing campus’ environmental impact

Configuration, implementation and evaluation of the impact of green nudges involving personalized messages/warnings and redesign of recycling bins.

Several international experiments on the effects of nudges reported that the participants who read messages about the local effects of climate change —thus making the problem more “personally” relevant —showed higher engagement than those who read about global effects. That was the case, for example, of a Danish town in which, after having painted green footsteps on the ground leading up to bins (an eye-catching cue), there was a noticeable decrease in the litter around the bins. This project is aimed at conducting similar experiments and at evaluating if the implementation of green nudges through personalized messages/warnings and the redesign of recycling bins and surrounding areas in two campus of our University can positively influence the behaviour of its community of students and workers. Thanks to the knowledge achieved by leading and participating to the academic research network “El Nudging aplicado a la Mejora de la Regulación” —financed and supported by the Spanish Government (RED2018‐102761‐T)— we will be able to design different types of nudges and to guide the administrative staff of the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Philology of the University of Barcelona before and throughout the implementation of such a “zero waste” strategy in order to evaluate its effects.

University buildings and surrounding green areas of the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Philology of the University of Barcelona

Yes, € 30.000 funding will be needed: - € 15.000 for the creation of personalised messages/warnings and purchase of the relative posters, signals, markings (such as green footsteps around the bins) and recycle bins. - € 15.000 design and evaluation of nudges (configuration of specific indicators and evaluation tables that can be easily understood and filled by the administrative staff of the campus of the two Faculties).

Covid-19 restrictions are not likely to affect the project if Faculty buildings are open to students and workers. Probably due to the current pandemic situation the number of people in the University facilities will fluctuate, but this will not jeopardise the project, as evaluations will be periodically made in accordance with the development of the pandemic and mostly at the end of 2022 (period in which hopefully the Covid-19 will be under control).