Earth Day: A Billion Acts of Green Uses Behavioral Science to Get People Involved

April 21, 2011

On Friday, April 22 people around the world will mark the 41st annual Earth Day. We here at Tendril are always thinking of improved ways to help manage energy usage, so that every day better serves the earth.

We were intrigued to see that this year’s Earth Day is leveraging some of the same behavioral science principles we are using in Tendril Energize™—our suite of consumer engagement applications—in A Billion Acts of Green®, a global campaign to drive voluntary efforts to improve the environment by encouraging individuals and organizations to undertake acts of sustainability, and to share their pledges online. Every Act registered on the site will be counted toward an ultimate goal of reaching one billion actions in advance of the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012.

Pledges range from simple individual actions, like riding a bike instead of driving, or using cold water when doing the laundry, to bigger actions like organizing community climate meetings or large scale tree plantings. Users can create their own profiles to showcase their Acts of Green and share them to help inspire or support others. A Billion Acts of Green is designed to prove that real change occurs when millions of people commit to it with their actions and share their pledges.

From our own experience working with our utility partners to engage consumers in managing residential energy use, we know how critical it is to provide insight, choice and control so that people can successfully take steps to change their behavior. A Billion Acts of Green similarly encourages people to adapt, modify and compare behavior, based on personal goals and motivators all in a supportive online community.

We look forward to watching as more and more people pledge Acts of Green, share their experiences and show the world that when people are meaningfully engaged, they can change their behavior and maybe even change the world.

If you haven’t yet, take a minute to visit A Billion Acts of Green online, make a pledge, see what other people are doing, share your story and get engaged. You’ll find it’s much easier and a lot more rewarding than you ever imagined.

Happy Earth Day!