Speaker
Description
[Background]
Individuals' contribution to climate change through day-to-day behavior is rapidly on the rise. To limit further temperature increases, substantial global changes need to occur, including in individuals’ daily behaviors. Smartphone apps can be used to facilitate behavioral changes toward sustainable living by providing individuals with the proper information, tips and strategies, reminders, feedback, gaming experiences, and social connections with other users.
[Project description]
The CAMPAIGNers project (Citizens Acting on Mitigation Pathways through Active Implementation of a Goal-setting Network) is a collaborative effort to explore the potential for low-carbon lifestyle changes in 14 cities (9 in the EU) using a mobile app. The project aims to develop feasible plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to actively engage citizens in climate action by helping them adopt more climate-friendly lifestyles. Their feedback will provide data on behavioral patterns, barriers to change, and motivators, enabling cities to develop policies that promote low-carbon lifestyles for their citizens.
[Progress 1]
In a pilot study, we examine how perceptions of intervention messages, environmental and demographic factors via mobile apps affect individuals' engagement in lifestyle changes. After presenting a set of sustainable lifestyle Challenges to 1,333 adults in the United Kingdom, we asked them about their willingness to accept the Challenges and their motivation to change their behavior. Analyses showed that feelings of guilt and positive emotions (e.g., inspiration), anticipated positive environmental impact, and perceived social support all led to greater engagement with the Challenges. In addition, individual biospheric values, environmental concern, organic food consumption, and women and younger adults also increased willingness to accept the app's sustainable lifestyle Challenges, and motivation to change behavior. In contrast, perceived threat to freedom and difficulty of the Challenge decreased engagement. Finally, people preferred Challenges related to household energy use, local consumption, and resource waste to those involving a plant-based diet, active transportation, and local collective action.
[Progress 2]
The core tool, the Climate CAMPAIGNers app, has been developed and is now live. The current app features, in 11 languages, a carbon footprint calculator, lifestyle Challenges based on the pilot study, a community section to see how much impact each city has made and to connect with other users, and rewards for completing Challenges. The development and management of the app involves collaboration between the private sector (digital solution developers), the public sector (municipalities to implement and disseminate the tool), and the academic sector (researchers to develop effective lifestyle Challenges).
[Conclusion]
We expect that the Climate Campaigners app will provide important data and insights for the scientific community and serve as a basis for policy recommendations. Some descriptive data so far and the collaborative efforts to engage citizens in the participating cities across Europe will be discussed.
References
Kim, B., Torfadóttir, R., Klöckner, C. A., & Vesely, S. (Under review). Can smartphones promote sustainable living? Part I: The role of challenge perceptions in a mobile app intervention.
| Keywords | lifestyle change, mobile app, citizen engagement, climate change mitigation |
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