WAKE-UP CALL
Welcome to the June 2010 Wake-Up Call, Awake’s monthly
newsletter for research and news about behaviour change for sustainability.
To view this newsletter as a webpage, click here
In this edition of Wake-up Call…
·
Feature Article – Setting Goals
·
Upcoming Workshops – Cultivating Sustainability in
Australia and New Zealand
·
Upcoming Workshop - Behaviour Change Techniques to
Encourage Green Purchasing
·
Workshop Report- Cultivating Sustainability in
Western Australia
·
60 seconds with… Louise Duxbury from the Centre for
Sustainable Living in Denmark WA
·
Interesting Article of the Month – Green Buildings Are Better For
Workers
·
Exercise of the Month – Set Some Goals
Feature Article
– Setting
Goals
Making a commitment to live a more
environmentally friendly life lends itself to goal setting. There are plenty of
things we can change which are measurable, such as water and energy use, carbon
footprint, even the amount of rubbish we put in our bin. If we can measure it,
then we can set a goal for changing it. But why do we set goals? Do they make
it easier for us to act? This month’s article looks at the research relating to
goal setting, whether or not it helps us to change our behaviour, and how to best
do it.
A review of the evidence suggests that
setting goals is a powerful tool for supporting change in a variety of fields.
The gurus of “goal-setting theory” are Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, who
summarise decades of work in “Building
a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation. A 35-year
odyssey”. The authors have documented scores of studies into the
effectiveness of setting goals, and conclude that “goal-setting theory is among
the most valid and practical theories of employee motivation in organizational
psychology”.
Goals work because they provide us with a
clear, fixed direction to focus our efforts, and allow us to start to think
about ways to complete tasks. The discrepancy between our current and desired
state which a goal creates is also a powerful motivator, as people are
naturally disposed to seek consistency between these two states.
Goal-setting has been used successfully
in behaviour change efforts for sustainability in a variety of settings. One
good example is the Living
Smart program, developed in Western Australia, which incorporates
goal-setting in its approach to change household behaviour. An comprehensive
review of the approach by Lucy Sheehy for a PhD
thesis revealed that “The Living Smart group who participated in the goal
setting process was the only group to change their behaviour” (p.154).
There are a number of factors which make
a goal more effective. Firstly, challenging goals lead to a greater increase in
performance than easy ones. By creating a stretch, presumably we are more focused
and motivated. A 1978
study found that people who were set a goal of reducing their electricity
use by 20% were much more likely to reach their goal than those who were set a
2% target.
Goal specificity is also important. Locke
and Latham describe research which shows that clearly defining a goal leads to
much high performance than simply asking people to “do their best”. The latter
approach provides no external reference point, and does not set a clear
expectation of performance.
People also benefit from feedback on how
they are going towards their goal. Feedback is discussed in more depth in the October 2009 edition of
Wake-Up Call.
Other factors which influence the extent
to which a goal will result in performance include importance and efficacy. If
a goal is important to someone, they are more likely to pursue it. For this
reason, it can be helpful for people to have a role in setting the goal.
Evidence shows that where people are involved in the goal-setting, they are
more likely to be successful than if they are just told what they are to
achieve.
Self-efficacy refers to the degree to
which people feel confident and able to achieve a goal. Understandably, goal
attainment is more likely if people have a strong level of efficacy, something
which can be supported by providing them with the resources, information and
encouragement to do it.
To summarise, a few good rules of thumb
for assisting people to set goals include the following:
·
Involve them in setting the goal
·
Encourage them to set a fairly
challenging goal, but not so difficult that it will seem impossible
·
Be specific and ensure the goal is able
to be measured
·
Ensure you have a plan for supporting
them to meet the goal, through provision of information, resources or
encouragement
·
Try to create a mechanism for feedback
and monitoring so that people can see how they are going
WANT TO USE THIS
ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?
You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with
it:
Awake provides psychology-based
services to support the development of sustainable behaviour in individuals,
groups and organisations. Visit www.awake.com.au
for more info
Upcoming Workshops – Cultivating Sustainability in Australia and New Zealand
Dates for Australian workshops over the next few months
are as follows.
Sydney, June 29
Melbourne, July 6
Hobart, July 13
Brisbane, August
24
Dates for NZ
workshops are as follows.
Christchurch,
August 2
Nelson,
August 3
Wellington,
August 5
Auckland,
August 11
Note: Some space has been left in the schedule for groups
requesting an in-house workshop, in or near any of the locations above,
which is a great option if you have over 10 people who would benefit from the
workshop. This can take the form of a full-day Cultivating Sustainability
workshop, or a workshop customised to meet the needs of your group.
If
you are part of an organisation, green team, or community network that would
benefit from an in-house workshop, contact timc@awake.com.au to discuss.
More information, including online registration details,
is available at www.awake.com.au/cultivating.html
About the Workshop
Cultivating Sustainability is a 1-day workshop which provides
sustainability advocates with insights, models and practical tools to support
their behaviour change efforts. Anybody
who has taken on the challenge of influencing others to live and work more sustainably
will find this workshop a valuable addition to their skills.
Cost: For-profits $250pp
Not-for-profit/Government
$200pp
Individuals/Community
Groups $120pp
Feedback from attendees of recent Cultivating
Sustainability workshops included…
“Great framework for encouraging behavioural change within
organisations”
“Provided me with tools and insights to challenge me to review
how I am approaching my sustainability project”
”This workshop has given me good insight into the motivating
factors in people’s behaviour and ways to get lasting change”
“I found the workshop useful to help me learn practical and
positive/inspirational ways to change peoples attitudes and behaviours towards
sustainability”
For more information
about the Cultivating Sustainability workshop, see www.awake.com.au/cultivating.html
Upcoming
Workshop - Behaviour Change Techniques to Encourage Green Purchasing
Awake will be
partnering with ECO-Buy to present a
half-day workshop on behaviour change techniques to encourage green purchasing.
By attending this
workshop you will gain valuable insights and skills for
• Understanding the psychological drivers of
green behaviour
• Recognising what people need in order to
engage in behaviour change
• Identifying the biggest barriers to making
green factors a priority
• Changing old habits and creating new ones
• How to influence people and gain their buy-in
• How to appeal to values and use them to
engage people in change
This workshop
will benefit anybody who is involved with promoting green purchasing through
their organisation, and trying to embed a culture of sustainable
purchasing.
Date:
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010. 8.30am - 12.30pm
Location: 60L Green Building, 60 Leicester St, Carlton,
Melbourne.
Registrations: Please go to the ECO-Buy
website to register for the workshop or call ECO-Buy on 9349 0400 for
further details.
Workshop Report- Cultivating
Sustainability in Western Australia
My recent tour of
WA started in Denmark, where a diverse and passionate group of people from the
region gathered to share their experiences of promoting sustainability. The
workshop was held at the Centre for Sustainable Living
which is an outstanding asset to the local community and provides welcoming and
comfortable accommodation and workshop facilities. I fully recommend anyone travelling to that part of the world to check it
out.
Next stop was
Perth, where a full house demonstrated just how committed and knowledgeable
Western Australia is when it comes to sustainability issues.
Some of the
comments from those attending were
“Tim
took us through an excellent set of models for better understanding why people
may or may not adopt sustainable behaviours”
“The
strategies and models covered will help me to run a better River Guardians
program, to help people become more river friendly in their day to day lives”
“Practical
approaches that can be easily adopted in community education programs that
focus on sustainability”
“Thanks
Tim – I have come away with a heap of ideas & confidence to tackle my next
project”
Thanks to all
those who attended, participated and provided valuable feedback. Keep posted for
another Perth workshop before the end of the year.
60 Seconds with….. Louise Duxbury,
Manager of Centre for Sustainable
Living Denmark WA
What first got
you focused on sustainability?
I was involved in the early 80s resisting the proposal for a nuclear
power station in Western Australia. It
made me interested in where our energy came from, the options for delivering
energy and why this option was being promoting.
It was clear to me that the decision making had nothing to do with
sustainability!! I went back to
University to do an honours on Energy Policy to work out what the barriers were
for householders to embrace solar hot water services and energy
conservation. I was also involved with
the Franklin River Tasmanian blockade which successfully stopped the damming of
a river which is now world heritage area.
This provided an early training in behaviour change management for
sustainability and showed that positive change is possible. I learnt that as a society we travel
particular paths in our private and collective lives based on history and habit
and to change from the grooves we have made needs deliberate attention to
reviewing our values, visioning different paths forward, creating a awareness
of the need for change and then ensuring people have the capacity to change, at
the same time we need to deal with the human psychology of change. I helped establish several groups include
Green Skills Inc where I have worked for 20 years and more recently the Centre
for Sustainable Living managed by Green Skills.
What is the
sustainable choice you have recently made of which you are most proud?
Invested in netting my whole fruit orchard and am picking hundreds of
fresh persimmons that the birds would have enjoyed!
What is a less
sustainable choice that you are not so proud of?
I am planning
a journey back to Nepal – will be visiting a Nepalese Permaculture organisation
and providing them with fundraised support while there.
Interesting Article of the Month – Green Buildings Are Better For Workers
Where?
Green Buildings
and Productivity
By Norm G. Miller,
Dave Pogue, Quiana D. Gough, and Susan M. Davis
Journal of
Sustainable Real Estate
Volume 1, Number 1,
2009. Pages 65-89
What is it about?
This article
reports the results of a survey of over 500 tenants of “green” buildings to
assess the effect on productivity and sick days.
What did they
find?
55% of
respondents reported that productivity had improved since moving into a green
building, while 45% found that employees were taking fewer sick days. Respondents
reported an average of 2.88 fewer sick days in their current green office
versus their previous non-green office. The authors discuss the findings in
terms of the annual savings and benefits which would result from this
improvement. Although tenants pay a premium for green buildings, the authors
say “based on the results here, these premiums of only 5% to 10% are a bargain.”
What can we take
from this?
Most organisations
want to know the effect of green initiatives on the bottom line. Research such
as this provides invaluable evidence that investing in green has a tangible
payback. It also demonstrates that people thrive in a more natural environment.
While the authors discuss the likely reasons for the improvements in terms of
such physical attributes as lighting and ventilation, it may also be that
people in green buildings feel more relaxed and in harmony with the world,
which is bound to make them feel better.
Exercise of the Month –
Set Some Goals
The research
reviewed in the feature article above outlines
the importance of setting goals, and reveals some key elements of successful
goal-setting. This months exercise provides an opportunity to set or review
some goals for ourselves and others.
1. Identify
some sustainable behaviours for which you would like to either set or review
some goals (for yourself, or others). For example, you may wish to set a target
for household energy or water use.
2. For
each behaviour, ensure you write down specifically what you wish to achieve.
Consider the following
a. Is
the goal challenging enough? Could you make it a bit more of a stretch?
b. Will
you be able to measure attainment of the goal?
c. Is
there a process by which feedback can be provided along the way?
d. Have
you ensured that any necessary support, information and resources will be in
place to assist with achieving the goal?
If your goals tick
all of these boxes, then there is a strong chance they will be achieved. Good
luck!
The exercise of the month provides
a tool to help you get engaged, inspired, aware and in action around
sustainability. Feel free to use it on your own, with a friend, or in
your work. If you do use it with others, please tell them where you got
it!
About Awake
Awake provides
psychology-based services to support the development of sustainable behaviour
in individuals, groups and organisations. Visit www.awake.com.au
for more info
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