Habitually green: integrating the concept of habit into the design of pro-environmental interventions at the workplace

Abstract

In the course of sustainability strategies many enterprises and organisations have implemented measures to promote pro-environmental behaviours at work, including sustainable resource use. This task, however, often represents a challenge because many daily behaviours of the employees are based on habits and routines that are very difficult to change. This article discusses pro-environmental behavioural interventions in the corporate environment with a particular emphasis placed on habit formation. In reference to common behaviour change interventions and habit formation theory, we discuss how to enhance the design of behaviour change programs and support their implementation at the workplace in order to facilitate the process of habit-formation. The identified habit-enabling adjustments can be used to achieve a permanent reduction in the negative environmental impact of companies and thus become an integral part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental Management System (EMS) strategies.