Behavioural change for climate change

Human behaviour is at the root of climate change, and also the driving force behind climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Former LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner said that “leadership is the ability to inspire others to achieve a shared objective”. When organisations change it’s because people have started thinking and acting differently, ideally inspired by a culture change from the top – the board.

While people often talk about organisational change, directors need to create an environment in which the employees embrace and adopt new behaviours. There is no industry or organisational change without employees and other people changing their behaviours.

While human behaviour is complex and multidimensional, Covid-19 presented a number of lessons about what shapes behaviour change. It showed us the push and pull of behavioural change that’s required, and what can happen if people feel pushed too far or too fast. Similarly, we have seen the positive reactions and support some climate actions can garner, and conversely, the negative reactions and condemnation of others.

Organisational culture is critical, but it takes time to build and, consequently, to change. For employees, culture is a set of organisational norms, the “this is how we do things here”. While your employees have learned behaviours over time, education alone is also not enough to change them. Education and training, facts and figures are helpful, but they do not equate to behaviour change. Just knowing what’s right or wrong isn’t sufficient motivation to change behaviours. Smoking, for example, took a long time to reduce regardless of the well-known health impacts.

People have to understand the need to change and its benefits for them before changing their ways – they need to have a personal conviction – most often as a result of experiential learning, not “book learning”. This doesn’t mean that facts aren’t important though – facts form the foundation of public awareness of a problem.

Studies show that highlighting other people’s sustainable behaviours and financial incentives are most likely to get people to change their behaviour, followed by appeals and making personal commitments. Social comparisons and social pressure are also strong motivators to change.

In the same way that people bend to workplace norms, they also conform to social norms and key influencers. New Zealand boards are becoming increasingly aware of these social norms and influences.  This is clear from the Institute of Directors’ 2022 Director Sentiment Survey, which found that 60% of directors regarded changing stakeholder (customers, suppliers and employee) expectations as the key future trend their boards were paying attention to.

And in the same way that people can learn from each other, so too can organisations. Some companies are already leading, reaping the brand and financial benefits of their environmental stewardship.

Considerations for directors:

Are you leading from the top?

• Do your board culture and values create an environment that supports behavioural change?
• Are you taking a long-term strategic perspective?
• Are leadership across the organisation aligned?

Are you “walking the walk”?

• Are you leading consistently, considering such things as investments, capital allocation, board composition and structure, remuneration and incentives, target-setting and reporting?
• Are you resourcing the changes and the time required to implement them?
• Are you working with, learning from, and/or inspiring other organisations within your industry?
• Are you engaging more broadly with shareholders, suppliers and customers?