Making Shift Happen: Designing for Successful Environmental Behavior Change

The changemaker's guide to catalyzing environmental behaviour change for a healthy future

To tackle our urgent environmental problems and achieve positive, durable change, we must design solutions based directly on how people think, make decisions, and act.

From hotels that save water and money using simple signage, to energy suppliers that boost participation in renewable energy programs through mere enrollment form tweaks--shifting the behavior of millions for the better is possible.

Based on decades of research into what drives behavior change, Making Shift Happen provides a suite of powerful tools to transform the world. It features A to Z guidance on how to design a behavior change initiative--from choosing the right audience and uncovering what drives their behavior, to designing, prototyping, testing, and implementation.

Clear instructions and real-world examples empower you to apply hundreds of behavioral science solutions including:

• Using social norms to spread positive environmental behaviors
• Selecting and testing stories, metaphors, and values to frame information for each audience
• Catalyzing action by aligning your initiative with your audience's personal and social motivators
• Breaking bad habits and building positive ones
• Capturing your audience's attention and reducing barriers to action
• Connecting people with nature and building empathy for the environment and its inhabitants.

Making Shift Happen is a must-have guide for practitioners in non-profits, governments, and businesses looking to design successful campaigns and initiatives that shift behaviors and mindsets toward positive environmental outcomes and a better future for all.

Nya Van Leuvan, MA, is the co-founder and executive director of Root Solutions, a non-profit specializing in individual and institutional environmental behavior change. Previously, Nya was a fisheries specialist at Environmental Defense Fund where she co-authored two books on the use of market-based approaches in fisheries. She holds an MA from the School of Human Evolution and Social Change. She lives in Mill Valley, CA.

Lauren Highleyman, MS, manages projects and partnerships at Root Solutions. She holds an MS in Natural Resources and Environment, with a specialization in Environmental Behavior, Education, and Communication. She lives in Sausalito, CA.

Rod Fujita, PhD, is a leader in the theory and practice of aligning incentives with good conservation outcomes. He co-founded Root Solutions and is the Director of Research and Development at Environmental Defense Fund's Oceans Program, where he has been working to improve fisheries for more than 30 years. He lives in Oakland, CA.