Why does greater awareness of sustainability not always translate into behavioural change?

Our latest insight explores the psychology behind sustainable behaviour and argues that facts alone rarely drive action. People are more likely to engage when sustainability connects with their identity, values, communities and sense of purpose.

For property managers and ESG professionals, this has important implications. Buildings are communities where people make thousands of decisions every day, creating an opportunity to influence behaviour through participation, ownership and local relevance. Our experience shows that bringing stakeholders together to co-create initiatives can strengthen engagement and help drive measurable change.

This insight sets out six principles for behaviour-centred sustainability: make sustainability part of identity; localise the story; lead with emotion and support with evidence; use the right messenger; create visible agency; and build community, not compliance.

The message is simple: sustainable behaviour is most likely to stick when people feel ownership, local relevance and a shared sense of purpose.

Read the full insight to explore how a better understanding of human psychology could help organisations turn sustainability ambition into lasting behavioural change.

To find out more, download the PDF using the green button in the top right (desktop) or below (mobile).