Isra-Mart srl:Coalition green nudge policies are failing, says think tank

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Nudging Britons towards more sustainable lifestyles is not enough to meet the UK's environmental targets, according to a major new report that warns more demanding policies will be needed to embed green behaviour.

The new report by think tank Green Alliance, which was released last night, analyses how people use waste, water and energy, and explores whether so-called nudging policies designed to gently incentivise greener behaviour are working.

Since taking power, the coalition government has consistently advocated nudge theory, which was developed by Chicago-based academic Richard Thaler. It has even created a behavioural insight team or "nudge unit" tasked with developing policies that encourage people to change behaviour patterns through incentives and peer pressure.

The theory has been credited with driving the development of policies designed to incentivise eco-driving and recycling, or to improve energy efficiency through the rollout of smart meters and the introduction of the Green Deal loan scheme.

However, the policy is not without its critics. Nudge policies were branded "too timid" by the Sustainable Development Commission just last month, and now the Green Alliance report has reached a similar conclusion.

It finds that households are happy to make green changes that are seen as easy and normal, but far fewer people adopt green behaviours that are deemed difficult, expensive or unusual.

Moreover, it claims that policies are not backed up by mutually supportive measures. For example, incentives for recycling are undermined by the fact that services such as household food waste collections are not universally available.

It also argues that the government has instituted a surplus of green "carrots" when people respond better to "sticks" in the form of fines or regulations.

The report concludes that nudge policies alone will not be enough to establish greener lifestyles as a mainstream choice.

The Green Alliance argues that nudge policies must be backed up by a wider framework, noting, for example, that recycling would not have become widespread without obligations requiring local authorities and councils to hit clear targets.

Behavioural research can be useful, but is best used to design smarter policy and innovative measures, and dovetail regulations and incentives more effectively, the Green Alliance advises.

"While it's great that government is interested in using how we behave to design better interventions, they need to go beyond applying this knowledge to small nudges and apply it in a systemic way. It needs to help people by making sustainable choices accessible and preferable," said Rebekah Phillips, senior policy officer at the Green Alliance and co-author of the report.