Behavioral Science Tools to Strengthen Energy & Environmental Policy

Abstract

To increase consumers’ conservation of energy and other resources, government agencies, utilities, and energy-related businesses can complement regulatory and market-based policies with simple and effective behavioral interventions grounded in extensive behavioral science research. In this article, we review 13 behavioral tools that we find especially promising. Collectively, these tools help meet four behavioral objectives: getting people's attention; engaging people's desire to contribute to the social good; making complex information more accessible; and facilitating accurate assessment of risks, costs, and benefits.