Real-Time Feedback in Resource Conservation: State of the Research and Policy Implications

Resource consumption creates societal problems at many levels: Pollution of the environment leads to economic and social costs from health consequences, and scarcity of resources fuel regional tensions and conflicts. A key problem in resource consumption is the lack of visibility and behavioural control of resource use by households as they engage in their daily behaviours. In this talk, Prof Goette will provide an overview of the research that tries to restore visibility and behavioural control by providing individuals with real-time feedback on resource consumption. Presenting evidence from three randomized controlled trials in Switzerland and Singapore to show how real-time feedback can reduce resource use in meaningful ways. Prof Goette will discuss the cost effectiveness of such interventions, and outline policy and research challenges in scaling up the behavioural interventions for policy. Demonstrating with this example how research and policy can, and should, interact in order to advance, both, behavioural research and evidence-based conservation policy.