The Holy Grail

I'm part of a team of three Carbon MBA students working on a consultancy project for Adnams. A very green company; their brewery is extremely efficient in keeping emissions low and their distribution centre is even greener. It's well worth a tour if you're down that part of the world.

The team is doing a fairly straightforward carbon footprint project, but the difficult bit is trying to attempt to link the carbon data to behavioural change. In Adnams' hotels up to 20% of emissions, and, possibly more, could be reduced by staff using less electricity or heat. The key question is: what would persuade staff to use less energy? The answer is the climate change equivalent of the Holy Grail.

What motivates you to actively reduce emissions? Some of you are aware of what needs to be done and act accordingly, but is an awareness campaign enough for those who are less bothered? And, what kind of awareness campaign: a softly softly approach or one that frightens them? It's not like cigarettes where a campaign might lead people to stop smoking and actually feel the financial and health benefits pretty quickly.

Perhaps competition is better. A league table of carbon emissions anyone? Each week your shop, hotel, university department, council department, business unit - you name it - competes with each other to see who has kept their emissions the lowest compared to last year. Would this work? The government likes them for schools and hospitals but has it improved standards?

What about a diktat? You will reduce emissions by 10% or...what? The sack? Less money? Perhaps it should be more positive: reach a 10% reduction and you will get half that saving. If that's a few bob, then that might motivate people.

I actually have no idea what might work the best, but our team is going to trial all three out and report the findings to Adnams. I'd love to know what you think or if you have any ideas that might motivate people. Let me know and maybe we can trial them.