Consumer Power: How the public thinks lower-carbon behaviour could be made mainstream

Article

Changing the public's use of energy at home and on the move is critical for reducing the UK's overall emissions contributing to climate change. However, beyond the environmentally inclined, there is a very substantial group of people who are doing very little in response to communications and policies designed to promote behaviours and choices that will reduce emissions. This report presents the findings of an investigation into why this has been the case, and into how behaviour that produces fewer emissions - which we refer to as 'lower-carbon behaviour' - can be stimulated among some members of this group.

Changing the public's use of energy at home and on the move is critical for reducing the UK's overall emissions contributing to climate change. However, beyond the environmentally inclined, there is a very substantial group of people who are doing very little in response to communications and policies designed to promote behaviours and choices that will reduce emissions. This report presents the findings of an investigation into why this has been the case, and into how behaviour that produces fewer emissions - which we refer to as 'lower-carbon behaviour' - can be stimulated among some members of this group.

We believe that the findings, which we summarise below, will be of value to anyone interested in designing communications, products, services and policies aimed at increasing the uptake of lowercarbon behaviour - from energy utilities to car manufacturers, train operators and the UK tourist trade, as well as government and environmental campaigners.

Accompanying this report is the Communicatons guide for mainstreaming lower-carbon behaviour, which provides 10 principles for making climate change communications more effective.

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