Facility managers, building owners, and engineers are always looking for innovative ways to reduce resource consumption—whether it’s energy, water, or HVAC usage. Behavioral economics offers a powerful toolkit to help nudge tenants in commercial spaces toward more sustainable choices. These insights don’t just rely on awareness campaigns but instead subtly influence behavior through small, psychological tweaks that make a big difference. Here’s how you can leverage these strategies to optimize resource use in your buildings.
Leverage the Power of Defaults
Defaults are one of the most effective nudges in the behavioral economics playbook. The principle is simple: people tend to stick with the option that requires the least effort. By setting energy-efficient HVAC settings as the default—such as lower temperatures at night or during off-hours—you can ensure tenants are automatically saving energy without needing to actively make that choice.
Real-world example: Many modern building automation systems allow FMs to set HVAC schedules based on occupancy. By default, temperatures can be lowered after 6 p.m. and raised again just before the workday starts. Tenants likely won’t change these settings unless absolutely necessary, leading to consistent energy savings across the board.
Why it works: People often assume that the default is the “recommended” option, so by making energy-saving behaviors the default, you effectively encourage tenants to adopt more sustainable practices without them even realizing it.
Provide Personalized Feedback
Feedback is another powerful motivator. When tenants receive detailed reports on their resource consumption compared to other tenants or even the building average, it gives them clear insight into their usage patterns. Personalized reports showing how much energy or water they use, along with specific recommendations for improvement, can push them to adjust.
Real-world example: A facility might use automated reports generated by its building management system (BMS) to send monthly energy consumption updates to each tenant. These reports could compare their usage to other tenants on the same floor and highlight areas where they could improve, such as optimizing HVAC usage during weekends.
Why it works: People are more likely to make changes when they have a clear understanding of their own consumption patterns, especially if they feel like they can easily take action to reduce waste.
Utilize Social Comparison
No one likes to be the outlier—especially when it comes to sustainability. Social comparison nudges work by showing tenants how their energy or water use compares to that of their neighbors or other businesses. This creates a subtle sense of competition that encourages tenants to adopt more sustainable behaviors to “keep up” with others.
Real-world example: Some buildings already use real-time energy dashboards in common areas that show how much energy different floors or tenants are using. By publicly displaying this data, tenants can see how they stack up against their peers and may be motivated to reduce their consumption to avoid being the highest user in the building.
Why it works: People are naturally inclined to align their behavior with social norms, and seeing that others are using less energy can prompt them to make changes to fit in.
Combine Social Norms with Incentives
While social comparison is effective on its own, it can be even more powerful when combined with incentives. Offering small rewards for tenants who reduce their energy usage below a certain threshold or who improve their usage compared to the building average can create an even stronger motivation to conserve.
Real-world example: Consider implementing an annual sustainability award for the tenant that achieves the most significant reductions in energy usage. This could be as simple as recognizing them in a building-wide newsletter or offering a minor rent rebate. Such incentives, when paired with social comparisons, can lead to larger reductions than using either strategy alone.
Why it works: People are not only motivated by social norms but also by recognition and rewards. Combining these factors can significantly increase participation in energy-saving initiatives.
Make Eco-Friendly Choices Easy and Accessible
The easier it is for tenants to make sustainable choices, the more likely they are to follow through. Reducing friction for eco-friendly options—like making energy-efficient settings the default or simplifying access to HVAC controls—can have a huge impact. Behavioral economics suggests that people will almost always take the path of least resistance, so making that path environmentally friendly is key.
Real-world example: FMs can implement a mobile app that allows tenants to easily adjust HVAC settings or schedule after-hours service, with energy-saving modes highlighted as the preferred or default option. Additionally, offering presets that allow tenants to schedule HVAC usage based on occupancy ensures that the building isn’t needlessly using energy when no one is around.
Why it works: People are more likely to engage in sustainable behaviors when the barriers are low. By streamlining processes like HVAC scheduling or water usage tracking, you can increase the likelihood that tenants will make resource-saving choices.
Conclusion
Incorporating insights from behavioral economics into your building’s resource management strategy can lead to significant reductions in energy and water consumption without requiring drastic changes. By leveraging defaults, feedback, social comparisons, incentives, and making eco-friendly choices easy, FMs, building owners, and engineers can subtly but effectively nudge tenants toward more sustainable behaviors. In turn, this will help reduce operational costs and contribute to a greener, more efficient building.
Sources
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