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Ben Goedegebuure, chief global strategy officer at Maritz, and Maria Düthorn, event manager at Siemens AG, spoke on the Convene podcast from Convening EMEA 2023.
In the last week, I’ve read that 2024 is likely to be the hottest on record and that in Las Vegas, which suffered a record-breaking heat wave earlier this summer, there were three straight nights where the temperature never fell below 94 degrees F. There also was a new study reporting that, if we don’t change course, the current generation is likely to witness the end of the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia, the largest coral reef on the planet.
The news left me feeling both profoundly sad and uncertain that the kinds of large-scale, cooperative changes that are needed to prevent the worst effects of climate change will ever happen. And I’m far from alone in my reaction, according to research conducted by Per Espen Stoknes, a psychologist and economist who is co-director of the Centre for Sustainability and Energy at the Norwegian Business School in Oslo.
The world’s scientists have been reporting on climate change and the effects of carbon emissions on the planet’s ecosystem for more than two decades, but just hearing the facts alone isn’t likely to motivate change, Stoknes told the audience at TEDGlobal in New York City in 2017. In fact, when faced with dire news about climate change, we are likely to react with fear and respond with one or more inner defense mechanisms that keep us from engaging in action, including distancing ourselves from the predictions, becoming numb, or denying reality. “Denial doesn’t really come from lack of intelligence or knowledge,” Stoknes said. “If we keep silent, [or] ignore or ridicule facts about climate disruptions, then we might find inner refuge from fear and guilt.”
The good news is that it’s possible for us to move ourselves and others beyond those reactions, Stoknes said in the TED talk, “How to Transform Apocalypse Fatigue into Action on Global Warming,” by drawing on what we’ve learned from behavioral science and psychology. The evidence that behavioral science can play a key role in motivating people to act to cut carbon emissions has continued to grow since Stoknes’ work was first published nearly a decade ago.
The following five evidence-based strategies offered by Stoknes have been adapted to the events industry, with help from Ben Goedegebuure, chief global strategy officer at Maritz, and Maria Düthorn, event manager at Siemens AG. Goedegebuure and Düthorn talked with Convene Digital Media Editor and podcast host Magdalina Atanassova about sustainability in the events industry at PCMA’s Convening EMEA 2023 in Copenhagen, Sept. 20-22, on the Convene podcast, “A Positive Sustainable Narrative for Events.” They are:
1. Leverage social networks. In a 2023 study that compared six different methods of motivating people to change their behavior, social comparison — seeing what the people around you are doing — came out on top. “If I believe my friends or neighbors will do something, then I will, too,” Stoknes said. Events are organized around existing social networks and/or creating new ones, so they are fertile ground for organizers to influence behavior. Don’t be afraid to “talk loudly” about what you are doing and why, advised Düthorn. Say: “Please use public transportation. You don’t need a shuttle for every meeting. But you really have to address it.”
2. Send supportive messages. Instead of framing sustainability around doomsday scenarios, reframe sustainability actions as positive and supportive. “We can reframe climate as being really about human health,” Stoknes said, by pointing out that eating more plant-based food is both good for your health and good for the climate. In the same way, bringing a reusable bottle to refill with tap water isn’t an inconvenience, it’s a way to stay healthy — tap water has fewer microplastics than water in plastic bottles.
3. Make it easy. “Nudge” is a term used by psychologists to describe a small push that influences people’s choices. You can nudge event participants to take smaller portions to avoid food waste by providing smaller plates or make it more likely they will choose more plant-based foods by making them the first selection, before meat, on buffets, or using more appealing labels. You can also nudge event participants to recycle by making bins easy to find and to use, or ask volunteers or paid staff to stand by at mealtimes to help demystify the process.
Communicating with event participants about sustainable measures in advance smooths the way, said Düthorn. Attendees aren’t left standing at the airport, not knowing how to take public transportation to their hotel or the event venue and they know to bring a water bottle, she said. “Prepare them in advance, so it’s just easy.”
4. Motivate with feedback. Let people know, both at your event and within your organization, about the impact of their collective actions. Maritz estimates the environmental footprint of their client events in detail, ranging from the impact of business vs. coach travel down to the differing amounts of carbon emissions of wine, spirits, or beer, but planners can do what their budgets allow. An environmental education program for elementary students on Bainbridge Island in Washington brought the amount of food wasted at events down to nearly zero by literally weighing the food waste in the dining hall the first night, and reporting on the campers’ daily progress.
5. Tell better stories about sustainability. Our brains love stories, Stoknes said, “so we need better stories of where we all want to go. We need more stories of the heroes and heroines of all stripes that are making real change happen.” From Goedegebuure: “The one thing I think our industry needs to learn is how we tell the story without being nagging. You need to be able to tell a story to people about why you’re doing this.
“Environmental sustainability is about eating the elephant. The problem is so huge and there’s so much to do and people get scared,” Goedegebuure added. “It’s a long and a step-by-step process,” Düthorn said, “but every little step in the right direction is a good step.”
Listen to the full episode below or visit the Convene Podcast page, where you will find all our episodes.
Barbara Palmer is deputy editor of Convene.