Download - Posters: 2010 BECC Conference Joana Abreu, MIT Portugal ... · ACEEE’s emerging technologies and state efficiency potential programs. Her present research feeds a broader interest

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Posters: 2010 BECC Conference

Joana Abreu, MIT Portugal Program, Instituto Superior TécnicoDesign of Real Time Feedback Programs: A Perspective from Experimental Research

Recent reactions (ex, www.smarturcitizens.com) to smart metering deployments (Oncor-Texas, PG&E – California) show the lack of success of “one size fits-all“ approaches. This work provides an overview of the need to carefully design demand-side-management programs and how deep understanding of the characteristics of the population and the decision-making process behind electricity consumption could help inform the theory about how to segment the population in order to maximize the engagement of individuals. A detailed analysis of the electricity consumption behavior in a small-scale experiment has been underway for 9 months. This presentation discusses the experimental design, the methods used to account for self selection bias and other internal and external validity threats and the motivations behind these individuals choosing to participate in energy awareness campaigns. The presentation focus quantitative results from a sequence of exposures to energy use information: (1) smart-meter and interface installation, which provided real time feedback and historical comparisons, (2) reinforcement, and (3) the influence of social comparison implanted via the Google Power Meter. One key intervention exposed the participants to an artificial electricity consumption reference that led those households to believe the norm was a much higher level of consumption (3 times the average). As a consequence, we expect to find substantive increases in energy use between households with this treatment and the control group. Finally, we also explore how intrinsic characteristics of the households can be correlated with specific patterns of consumption, in particular, how consumption periodicity, (diurnal versus semi diurnal-daily periods) can be correlated with levels of consumption.

Ms. Abreu is a Ph.D Candidate in Sustainable Energy Systems from MIT|Portugal Progam eho is doing research in the field of technical and social media techniques and how these influence decisions in households. She has designed and implemented experiments involving the installation of electronic meters and access real time information accessible via the home area network. She has written several winning grant applications in the energy field, the most successful of which involves the analysis of the spill-over effect from energy efficiency measures implemented in a school and how that influences consumption decisions and other behavioral aspects in the home.

Katie Ackerly, Center for the Built Environment, UC BerkeleyBuilding Intelligence Meets Human Control: A Look at red/green light window indicators

High performance buildings increasingly combine automatic and manual controls to optimize building operations and to provide occupants more personal control. However, the effectiveness of these buildings depends largely on the ability for occupants to understand the building and use control features as intended. In buildings that use operable windows in combination with mechanical systems, signaling devices (lighted signs, red/green indicators) are being used to indicate to occupants when conditions are right to open windows for natural ventilation and when they should be closed. They are popular because they are inexpensive and retain the amenity of manual window control but without foregoing building intelligence altogether. From one perspective, the devices can be seen as a way to improve occupant knowledge and engagement, and to close the performance gap. On the other hand, they could be perceived as an additional layer of complexity that interferes with occupants’ sense of autonomy. Using 16 case study buildings, we investigated how users respond to the informational controls in their buildings. Results from occupant surveys are combined with expert interviews and site observations to highlight key factors that determine how often the signals influence behavior, and how often conflicts arise with personal preferences. The study points out ways in which control algorithms conflict with how people like to use windows in these buildings, and the impact these conflicts have on building operations. Findings also highlight the importance of internal policies and office culture for enhancing positive participation.

Katie Ackerly is a graduate researcher with the Center for the Built Environment at UC Berkeley. She recently completed a Masters degree in building science in the Department of Architecture, and is now pursuing a second degree in architectural design. Prior to joining UC Berkeley, Katie conducted consumer outreach and policy-level research with the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). She co-authored the 9th edition of the Consumer Guide to Home Enegy Savings and contributed to ACEEE’s emerging technologies and state efficiency potential programs. Her present research feeds a broader interest in architectural design, efficiency and building usability.

2010 BECC Conference 1

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Jennifer Allen, Project not associated with a companyReducing Urban Traffic Congestion Through Human-Centered Ridesharing

Traffic congestion is a serious and growing problem in large urban communities throughout the United States. It impacts the lives of millions of urban commuters each weekday. It fundamentally degrades the quality of life, as well as the health, of those who regularly experience it. It wastes considerable amounts of time, fuel, and money for the individual. It is detrimental to the vitality and health of urban communities. It is damaging to the environment because it results in the unnecessary production of approximately 50 billion of pounds of carbon dioxide each year. Traffic congestion can be solved through carpooling. Traffic congestion is at its peak when commuters travel to and from work. Approximately 80 percent of commuters drive to work alone. Therefore, there is unused seating available within each single occupant vehicle. The problem of traffic congestion will be eliminated if commuters utilize this unused seating capacity. There are significant barriers that discourage the practice of carpooling. Many web and mobile phone applications have been developed to overcome those barriers, yet have succeeded in creating new ones. A dynamic form of carpooling, known as “slugging” or “casual carpooling”, exists that overcomes these barriers. While this form of dynamic carpooling is successful, primary research reveals that it can be improved, and made more desirable by enhancing the safety, reliability, and the efficiency of the practice. I have designed a mobile phone application that reduces traffic congestion in urban environments by facilitating a safe, convenient, efficient and reliable dynamic carpooling experience.

Jennifer Allen is a user experience designer and researcher. Her interest in user experience design and research stems from her desire to create innovative, intuitive, sustainable products, services, and systems which insightfully utilize technology to improve the quality of life of others. Her current research concerns the topic of human-centered sustainable transportation. She holds a Master of Science Degree in Human Computer Interaction/design from the School of Informatics at Indiana University. She holds Bachelor’s of Arts degrees in Anthropology, Computer Science, and Psychology from Indiana University as well.

Brooke Alley, PECIUnderstanding the Barriers to Home Energy Audit Participation in Utah

Helping consumers identify where they can reduce energy usage in their homes is the backbone of a community energy-efficiency movement. Before homeowners are willing to seek out high-efficiency homes upgrades, they must be educated about their energy consumption and the direct benefits to them of reducing it. In an effort to boost participation in the Questar Gas® ThermWise® Home Energy Audit Program of Utah, PECI used or commissioned several research studies to better understand consumer attitudes towards the Program and home energy audits in general, including: 1. Energy Pulse (national information about audits), Aug. 2009 2. Phone Survey (400 homes in Utah), Jan. 2010 3. Focus Groups (10 men and 10 women in Utah), Jan. 2010 4. Segmentation Study and Decile Mailing, Feb. 2010 The research revealed several barriers to Program participation, most notably procrastination, trust, and fear of judgment: • Procrastination – “It’s on my list” • Trust – Program perceived as a sales tool • Fear of Judgment – Auditors will focus on the negative and find expensive problems; people feel as if they are going to be unpleasantly judged for what they are doing wrong This presentation outlines the research process used to guide the marketing plan aimed at engaging a skeptical, fearful, and procrastinating audience in scheduling in-home or mail-in energy audits. The strategies and tactics are designed to directly address the concerns of Questar Gas customers and boost program participation.

Brooke Alley is a Senior Strategic Marketing Coordinator at PECI. She plans, manages and tracks strategic marketing efforts for the Questar Gas ThermWise Rebate Programs, including energy-efficiency initiatives for new residential construction, appliance, and home energy audits. Brooke has been with the PECI for over 2 years, focusing her efforts on regulated gas utilities. Previously, she developed and implemented strategic marketing plans for private sector companies. Brooke’s academic background is in business, marketing research and psychology. She holds a masters degree in Business Administration, with a focus on Strategic Marketing and Consumer Behavior, from Western Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from University of Tulsa.


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Michael Amato, University of Wisconsin - MadisonUsing Conservation to Promote Concern About Climate Change

Behavioral energy conservation is the most immediate, least cost option available for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing climate change. Impressive reductions have been achieved by residential conservation programs utilizing strategies including commitment, financial incentives, and social normative pressure. Such reductions have a direct and beneficial impact on climate change. However it is possible they have indirect benefits as well. The presented research demonstrates how conservation programs can be used to increase awareness of and concern about climate change, in addition to their primary goal of reducing energy consumption. �Drawing from Goal-Framing Theory, experiment 1 investigates how different messages about why individuals should conserve energy, while achieving equivalent results in terms of energy reduction, differ in the likelihood with which they cause participants to engage in subsequent pro-environmental behavior. Specifically it is predicted that messages emphasizing the big-picture reasons for energy conservation will more frequently cause general pro-environmental behaviors than messages emphasizing financial benefits. Experiment 2 follows this result, and investigates the effect of energy conservation message on individuals' support for various forms of climate change legislation. It is predicted that messages which stress financial benefits of conservation will promote a gain/loss goal frame for energy decisions, and make participants less likely to support legislation scenarios that include short term costs. �The implications and limitations of these laboratory experiments are discussed. The results suggest that type of message is important to ensure that conservation efforts have the maximum possible effect on mitigating climate change.

Michael Amato is a PhD student at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, working with faculty in the Psychology Department as well as the Environment and Resources Department. He is interested in how people make decisions about the resources they use, and practical ways to encourage more efficient use.

Maheen Aziz, George Mason UniversityFinding Symbiosis: Politicians and Scientists Although the evidence of climate change is vast and readily available, policy makers

fail to fully grasp the potential risks and overall scale of the problem because it remains obscured by the science. On the other hand, the scientific community is not yet prepared to engage in discussion of the available policy choices since it would require them to move beyond objectivity. This project will explore the ways on how to simplify the scientific information for Congressmen and women alike, so they may help move the process/implementation of new policies in the government. If the underlying issue of the scientist and congressional incompatibility is promoted, there could be recognition and easier steps towards a symbiotic relationship could blossom. Even if we catch the eye of one government official, it could be a start to revolutionary change in scientific and political arenas for years to come.

Maheen Aziz is a graduate student at George Mason University (GMU) studying Environmental Science and Policy. She was a research lead while working collaboratively on GMU's Climate Action Plan which was accepted and published in Jan. 14, 2010. She has presented her project on mitigating vending machine CO2 emissions at BECC's '09 Conference. She is also a current member of Virginia Academy of Science, where she and her group members presented an abstract on symbiosis in the Potomac River Valley. She is currently working on Fairfax County's Greenhouse Inventory and continues her studies at GMU. She is also a substitute teacher for Fairfax County Public Schools.


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Mike Bailey, EcosFrom the Trenches - Success and Failures in improving corporate energy efficient behavior

This presentation will review a number of case study examples of energy management practices being implemented by corporations in a variety of industries. Ecos engages in energy and resource management consulting through direct contract consulting with businesses as well as part of utility sponsored programs. The case studies will look at issues at the senior corporate level as well as at the level of individual facility staff. The presentation will draw from this extensive "in the trenches" experience to make observations on common behavior barriers to improving energy efficiency and efforts to overcome those barriers. The presentation will examine what a self-maintaining, continuously improving, energy efficiency focused organization looks like, and what actions are taken by individuals in those organizations. These examples of success will be compared to other organizations that continue to struggle to implement energy efficient behaviors and decision making processes. The presentation will focus on practical advice of what works and what does not. This will be reviewed both from the perspective of the organization itself, as well as from the perspective of an outside consultant that is attempting to influence an organization to change. While each individual and organization is unique and has its own issues address, common themes are often seen. Successful organizations have highly visible commitment from senior management in support of change and improved energy management. Individual managers are given resources in terms of both time and funding to research and implement energy saving opportunities. Successful organizations have SMART goals and a robust data collection process for tracking progress, identifying problems, and taking corrective action.

Mike Bailey, P.E. is the Director of Engineering Services for Ecos, an Advantage IQ company. Mike handles commercial and industrial programs working on energy efficiency solutions for both existing facilities and new construction. A licensed professional engineer in Oregon and California, he has over 17 years of engineering and project management experience in a wide range of industries, including agriculture, aerospace, oil production and refining, semiconductors, data centers, commercial construction of owner-occupied facilities, and tenant improvement projects of leased spaces. Mike also serves as a voting member of the NW Regional Technical Forum and on the board of Oregon Association of Professional Energy Managers. Contact information: [email protected]

Mekayla Beaver, GlowormHuman-Centered Design, Does It Apply Here? Human-centered design, a process that for many years was associated primarily with

gadgets and various consumer goods, is actually a key element in designing for behavior change. Whether you are looking to impact the way people behave through technology, the built environment, policy, or social constructs, design offers valuable techniques and methods for integrating human insights into the solutions we create. From sparking new ideas, to refining concepts for a particular market, these methods repeatedly drive solutions that are more effective because they also improve human experiences. Even more importantly, they help us to design solutions not only for people who are like us, but for the full range of people that we’re trying to impact. It has been shown that people are rarely able to predict their own actions if simply asked what they think they will want or think they will do in a given situation. In contrast, human-centered design methods are very effective in designing for the future because they enable us to understand not just what people say, but also what they do and why they do it. Well-established techniques such as role-playing, observing people in their own settings and open-ended interviews, as well as newer techniques such as video diaries and participatory design exercises give us tools to integrate human insights throughout the development of an idea. By drawing on the knowledge, tools, and methods from a wide variety of disciplines, we have an opportunity to really guide the direction in which change occurs.

Mekayla Ichneumon Beaver is a design researcher and human factors specialist focused on tackling social problems. She has many years experience conducting rapid, qualitative research in order to guide the design of environments, products, services, and systems for social good. Mekayla has worked with fortune 500s, start-ups, local communities, non-profits, universities, and governments to create positive change in the world. She guides teams to innovative and effective solutions, engages stakeholders through participatory design, teaches innovation, and builds capacity. Before starting her own consultancy, Mekayla was a lead design strategist at IDEO, a world renowned hub of design thinking and innovation.


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Clark Bisel, WSP Flack + KurtzThe Regulation of Zero Net Energy Buildings Zero Net Energy buildings have been mandated in California, yet our design codes are

not up to the regulatory task. Occupant behavior will largely influence the result, yet are totally ignored in current thinking. The regulation of zero net energy (starting with Title 24) is not inclusive enough for net-zero-energy analysis: •�It does not explicitly include process energy (determined by the occupants). •�The type of systems being modeled is very limiting. •�The analysis ‘rules’ are very limiting. While it is difficult to predict how zero net energy requirements will impact the industry it is important to include this issue in any discussion. The impact may be profound: •�People will not build new buildings in California – they will move to another state (another energy jurisdiction). •�People will renovate existing buildings that have an established energy entitlement. •�Building owners will view the carbon reductions that they have achieved as an asset. They will seek to monetize this asset (such as carbon trading or sale of RECs). The CEC may want to encourage (help develop) such opportunities – outside of Title 24. Will Title 24 become a continuing certification process? The accomplishment of zero net energy is only realized in building operation. Should building owner/operators submit documentation of their continued net zero energy performance. What about existing buildings – how can they be integrated into the process? Incremental improvement goals for existing buildings would be an important step in this direction. Will Title 24 mandate commissioning? If building energy is not verified and monitored research tells us building energy consumption will rise. Specific, regular follow up activities and/or on-going commissioning tasks need to be identified.

With more than 30 years of mechanical engineering experience, Clark Bisel has become a recognized industry leader in sustainable design and development, his firm having worked on the world’s largest and most complex commercial facilities. He contends that the on-going use and operations of a building (related to behavior) will guide its environmental performance to a greater extent than the original design. The design and construction processes establish the performance potential of a project, but real environmental benefits accrue only from everyday operations. Participation of building tenants may be the most important ‘missing’ ingredient.

David Bjornstad, Oak Ridge National LaboratoryGeneral Insights vs. Specific Applications: What Does Behavioral Economic Analysis Offer to the Department of Energy?

This paper describes how the emerging field of behavioral economics might contribute to the Department of Energy, by addressing the following questions: What differences exist between the standard economic rational agent model and the behavioral economics approach? Might a simple checklist of general behavioral economics topics and conclusions help EERE as it studies how best to stimulate the use of energy efficient energy-using products and practices? If so, what further contributions might focused applications that take into account the context of energy-related choices make to DOE? Answering these questions is of timely importance, as both professional analysts and popular authors increasingly speculate on how best to incorporate “behavior” into economic analyses as a complement or substitute for standard models. Analysis is grounded through consideration of selected topics from DOE’s vehicles, buildings, and solar energy technologies programs. The paper concludes that DOE has extensive investment in conventional economic modeling, but that general insights from behavioral economics can over time contribute to improved framing of research questions, model specifications and data development. With experience, new models, grounded in the context of DOE’s mission, could provide alternative insights to DOE’s traditional models ultimately leading to a new generation of models. To do this, however, DOE must create a foundation for behavioral analysis that resolves traditional arguments for market intervention, such as market failure, with the “free lunch” perspective sometimes proffered by behavioral enthusiasts.

David J. Bjornstad is an economist and a distinguished R&D staff member in the Environmental Sciences Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Bjornstad works in economic policy analysis addressing such issues as energy efficiency analysis, environmental and natural resource analysis, and science and technology policy. He employs tools of interdisciplinary behavioral economics coupled with experimental economics. Bjornstad has held a number of research and management positions at ORNL and served as staff economist for DOE’s Secretary of Energy Advisory Board under former Secretary of Energy James Watkins. He received his Ph.D in economics from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University.


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Sushanah Boston, Northwest Energy Efficiency AllianceContinuous Energy Improvement: Systemic Change for Persistent Energy Savings

The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) develops, deploys and measures a new, holistic energy management system teaching organizations how to manage energy as a controllable cost to: •�Increase profit margins. •�Shrink climate footprint. •�Enhance productivity by shifting enterprise-wide labor and material costs into a closed-loop, measurable, integrated system of activities. NEEA will present documented results of 18 successful CEI implementations with a combined 69 Million-kWh or approximately $3.5M in annual savings. � Goal: Attendees will understand benefits of energy management system deployment to track and measure persistent energy savings throughout organizational culture. Continuous Energy Improvement (CEI) Explained: NEEA’s system combines four principal elements of industrial operations (organizational structure, people, manufacturing systems, measurement), each of which provides opportunities for energy efficiency improvements. With the proper methodology and tools – industrial facilities can permanently integrate energy management into their operations to: •�Reduce energy expenses per unit of product delivered. •�Reduce operations and maintenance expenses. •�Maximize payback in energy related capital improvements. Outcomes: Overview of CEI implementation details and results, highlighting companies like NORPAC, a fruit and vegetable-processing farmer cooperative in the Northwest. Using CEI tools, NORPAC saved twenty million kWh: equal to more than one million dollars in saved energy costs. Additionally, CEI success drove corporate commitment and enterprise-wide integration of an energy management plan into company-wide operations and employee behavioral processes.

Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, Sushanah Boston�Sushanah Boston is the product development manager for NEEA's Strategic Energy Management product - Continuous Energy Improvement (CEI). She applies best practices in adult learning and communication, gleaned from over ten years of experience in educational publishing and marketing, to affect energy efficiency behavior change in industrial settings. Boston is the NEEA project manager for the Northwest Energy Management Demonstration Project, a co-sponsored pilot between the U.S. DOE and NEEA to prepare Northwest companies to qualify for ISO 50001 certification in 2011.

Joseph Bressler, US Department of EnergyLeveraging Behavior Research at the Department of Energy

From marketing techniques to agent-based modelling. Behavioral Economics has a lot of insights to offer the Department of Energy. There are four general areas where this field has played a major role. Campaigns raising awareness about energy consumption have been re-vamped. Energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies have been re-designed based on behavioral insights such as pre-programming thermostats with energy efficient defaults . Economic energy models have been reformatted to incorporate agent-based phenomena such as herd mentality. And behavioral marketing techniques are being implemented to encourage use of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. Messaging about the benefits of compact fluorescent light-bulbs over incandescents, for example, has been targeted at decision nodes by putting up posters in hardware stores or educating hardware associates.

Joseph Bressler is a Presidential Management Fellow in the office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy within the Department of Energy. As organizer of the DOE Behavior Working Group he has implemented insights from Behavioral Economics towards energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. He has a law degree and a masters in economics from the University of Buffalo where he researched the practical implications of Game Theory. Undergraduate degree from the University of Rochester.


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Sarah Busche, National Renewable Energy LaboratoryPolicy Technical Assistance: Whole Community Approach

There are many benefits to using national level experts to provide energy policy technical assistance to states and localities. Helping communities understand the options, benefits, and costs of clean energy market transformation policies allows them to make informed decisions and move toward long term energy self-reliability. Federal technical assistance is undertaken by multiple agencies and in multiple formats ranging from hard copy pamphlets to question/response call in "hotlines" to extended period on the ground assistance. This lighting talk will provide an overview of the lessons learned from completing policy technical assistance to localities on the ground. Based on experiences providing policy technical assistance to whole communities at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, this work will provide case studies to illustrate the importance of trust building and outreach in the community, in addition to high quality, timely, unbiased information on policy. The lessons learned indicate that human interaction and personality of the policy assistance team play a large role in the effectiveness of policy development and implementation. The talk is meant to spark discussion and possible expansion of the field’s understanding of best practices in provision of technical assistance to localities from the national level.

Sarah Busche is a policy analyst on the State and Local team at NREL's Strategic Energy Analysis Center. Her research focuses on state and local clean energy policy development and the multilevel governance associated with policy in this arena. She has worked with a variety of state and local governments, including the Utah State Energy Program and Colorado's Governor's Energy Office, and leads the policy analysis for the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, a partnership between the State of Hawaii and the US Department of Energy. Sarah received her M.A. in International Relations and Environmental Policy from Boston University in 2009 and her B.A. in International Affairs from Northern Arizona University in 2005.

Martin Bush, Museum VictoriaChanging Memories: The Design and Evaluation of the Fulldome Show Our Living Climate

Fulldome is a new media format involving immersive visualization in planetarium domes. Our Living Climate is a half-hour fulldome show produced by Museum Victoria on the history of Earth’s climate with the aim of engaging our audiences on the subject of climate change in order to influence their behaviour. It is aimed at a general audience aged 10 and over and has been seen by over 25000 people since July 2009 with an expected lifetime of several years. This presentation outlines the production goals, how they were realised, the audience research that shaped these decisions and measurements of the show’s impact. It also discusses strengths and weaknesses of museums in fostering behavior change. Our research shows that museums are seen as authoritative sources of information. Yet information alone is not sufficient to create behavior change. Nor do infrequent Museum visits easily lend themselves to sustained interactions. The challenge was to utilize the potential of the fulldome medium to create a memorable experience that would have a high impact. This was achieved by crafting a planetary perspective of the Earth's climate within the show that is well suited to the immersive dome format but is also intellectually strong and emotionally powerful. This decision was based on formative evaluation and our research on audience profiles. Summative evaluation to date has shown that this has been successful with a significant level of impact as measured by the amount of discussion about the show as reported by visitors after viewing.

Martin Bush is curator of Scientific Instruments and Antarctic History at Museum Victoria where he is based at the Melbourne Planetarium. He has been lead curator for a number of exhibitions and planetarium shows, including writing the script for Museum Victoria’s latest award-winning production Our Living Climate. Martin’s interests include representations of natural phenomena, third-person effects in museum design and indigenous knowledge traditions. The thesis for his Masters degree provided a revisionist perspective of the scientific work of the Ngarrindjeri man, David Unaipon.


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Amanda Carrico, Vanderbilt UniversityCommuter Choices and Carbon Footprints: A Feasibility Study Using GPS and Accelerometry to Measure Mode of Travel Choice.

Global Positioning System (GPS) and accelerometer devices are gaining in popularity among physical activity researchers due to their ability to accurately and objectively measure behavior and its relation to the individual’s surrounding environment. These techniques have great potential utility for researchers exploring the human dimension of climate change and transportation behavior. This talk will summarize the results of a recent pilot study to examine the dual environmental and health impacts of commuter choices using GPS and accelerometer devices. 40 participants were recruited on the basis of their mode of commute (personal vehicle, bike, public transportation, walking), and were asked to wear both devices for a period of seven days while going about their normal daily routine. The implementation of these measurement methods will be discussed including issues of participant compliance, the proportion of trips captured, and data reliability and validity relative to self-report. Preliminary results from this pilot will also be presented. Individuals in the four commuter groups will be compared according to their total time spent in each mode of travel, their travel-related carbon emissions, and daily physical activity levels. The influence of built environment features on travel behavior and emissions, such as the presence of sidewalks, bike lanes, and bus stops, are also examined. The feasibility of using these measurement techniques in a larger, representative sample will be discussed.

Amanda Carrico is a postdoctoral fellow with the Climate Change Research Network and the Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and Environment at Vanderbilt University. Her research examines the behavioral dimension of energy use and its contribution to climate change. This includes the application of psychological and behavioral theory to promote conservation and efficiency within the individual and household sector, as well as efforts to quantify the greenhouse gas emissions associated with individual and household behavior. Amanda holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Vanderbilt University.

Nicole Casta, PECIBut It Still Works! Reducing Psychological Barriers to Refrigerator Recycling

Background In June 2008, Energy Trust of Oregon launched a fridge and freezer recycling program. The program offers free in-home pick up and a $30 incentive. Marketing Challenge In marketing this new program, we faced some unexpected confusion and resistance to participation. Recycling something that still works seemed counterintuitive and wasteful to many Oregonians. Recurring responses included: 1)�Why would I recycle my old fridge or freezer when it still works? That seems wasteful. 2)�Doesn’t it take more energy and resources to manufacture a new fridge than to keep using my old one? 3)�I’d prefer to donate my old fridge to someone who could use it. Many Oregonians learned to opt for re-use over recycling, a challenge that needed to be overcome to reach goal participation levels. Strategy In order to educate consumers on why recycling is a better option for their old fridge, we opted to build on the success and awareness of the federal “Cash for Clunkers” program which convinced people to take old cars off the road rather than “trade them in” or sell them. We launched a media outreach campaign promoting our program as “Cash for Clunkers” for old fridges. The campaign worked in conjunction with advertising and materials educating consumers on the amount of energy and money older fridges waste and the environmentally-responsible recycling process. Results and Analysis The campaign garnered substantial print, web and broadcast coverage. Between the month prior and the month after the media coverage program participation increased 25 percent.

Nicole Casta is a strategic marketing manager at PECI. She provides marketing strategy and oversight for Energy Trust of Oregon’s New Homes and Products program including energy-efficiency initiatives for new residential construction, appliance, lighting, fridge recycling and new manufactured homes. Nicole has ten years of marketing and communications experience including three years of marketing energy-efficiency programs at PECI in Portland, OR, and seven years in Washington, DC, working with a variety of media and government relations organizations. Nicole holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Women’s Studies and Political Theory from Wellesley College.


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Tania Cheng, Faculty of Environment, University of WaterlooMessage Frame and Threat in the Social Marketing of Sustainable Behavior of Youth

Strengthening the use of message framing and threat in social marketing campaigns can play an important role in bridging the knowledge-action gap in adolescents. Message framing, based on the prospect theory in psychology, is used in social marketing to manipulate perceived behavioural outcomes and has proved successful in health-related campaigns. Using a 2 x 2 between-subjects factorial design, this study tested the effectiveness of message framing on influencing sustainable behaviour by examining the interaction of frame (gain vs. loss) and threat (social vs. physical) in ads discouraging adolescents from the case behaviour of personal vehicle use. Data were collected through a 27-item questionnaire from 250 high school-aged youth who were randomly assigned to one of four treatment conditions. After viewing a print ad, participants reported their affective arousal, perceived beneficial importance of driving, and intentions and attitudes toward driving. Overall, loss-framed messages were found to be more effective than gain-framed messages in producing negative emotions and lowering intentions to drive. The interaction of frame and threat factors had a significant effect on driving attitudes. On the perception of driving as beneficial and important, physical loss and social gain ads were found to be most persuasive. The results suggest that females may be more persuaded by social loss framing, and gain frames may be more effective for adolescents who are already engaging in environmentally sustainable behaviour. When designing future social marketing campaigns for youth, frame and threat factors as well as segmentation of the adolescent population should be taken into consideration.

Tania Cheng is a graduate of the University of Waterloo’s Environment & Resource Studies Honours program with a minor in psychology. She completed this research in collaboration with her colleague Danielle Woon as part of their honours thesis, under the supervision of Professor Jennifer Lynes. Tania was recently awarded the Faculty of Environment’s Alumni Gold Medal Award for highest academic average and outstanding volunteer activities. Tania has been involved in initiating a recycling program for the on-campus residences, facilitating workshops for the high school enrichment program Waterloo Unlimited and holding executive positions on numerous university committees.

Mohit Chhabra, Navigant ConsultingMotor Mouth: Stop Talking About Market Transformation and Quantify it.

The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) intervened in the region’s motor market increase the overall fleet efficiency by changing the behavior and thought pattern of end users, market actors and local repair shops. To achieve this end they funded education and outreach activities, including the foundation of the Green Motors Practices Group (GMPG); a regional organization of motor service centers that have joined together to improve their repair practices and decision making processes. NEEA has since exited this market and allowed the GMPG and other market actors to supply the region’s demand for more efficient motors. This study validates the initiative’s impacts and quantifies these effects in terms of energy savings attributable to behavior-change related to market transformation. This study focused on an evaluation of behavior-change indicators associated with EASA’s Tech Note – 16, a guideline for efficient motor rewinds, and sale of NEMA premium motors in the region . For both indicators and sales, this study identifies current market trends and a baseline to help quantify program efforts. This was done by interviewing market actors, local repair shops for rewinds and conducting a regression analysis on publically available data on regional and national motor shipments. The study concluded that through its initiatives, NEEA had helped save more than 45,000 MWh through 2009, including almost 15,000 MWh in 2009 alone.

Mr. Chhabra (Senior Consultant) has been working with Summit Blue/ Navigant Consulting since March, 2007. Since joining Summit Blue, Mr. Chhabra has analyzed the potential, cost-effectiveness, and impacts for several energy efficiency and renewable energy measures, including the effect local climate variations have on the effectiveness on these measures. He currently helps manage energy a portfolio of evaluation projects for Unisource Energy in Arizona. He is currently completing his MS in Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder, he holds a BE in Mechanical Engineering (with First Class, honors) from the University of Pune, India.


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Jenny Chute, Menlo Atherton High SchoolBehavior Change OR Climate Change: A Student Taught High School Program

Climate change curricula, competitions, carbon calculators, assemblies and events make up the mix of climate change activities targeting high school students and their schools. Most of these activities aim to change environmental awareness and knowledge, few target behavior change. The “Behavior Change OR Climate Change” four session edutainment focused program embedded in Social Cognitive theory is student-developed, student-taught and evaluated. Fifteen high school leadership students working with an adult volunteer developed an energy, food, and transportation 30 minute video infused imagery salient power point presentations and accompanying behavior change materials. Participating students were also given a “Behavior Change Kit” composed of items like power strip, tire gage, shower coach, clothes pins etc. This presentation describes Phase Two results of a wait list control group design of six 9th science grade classes in a diverse comprehensive public high school in CA. The 155 student participants were mostly Hispanic with about one half on the subsidized lunch program. Energy and food behavior measures were in acceptable ranges of reliability (Cronbach’s alphas of .78 and .73). Transportation behavior had low reliability. There were significant differences in the wait-list control group and program groups in total and energy behavior. Food and transportation behavior were not significantly different. There were significant increases in knowledge. Changes in social norms, self-efficacy and family action are also discussed. Students rated the videos and student teachers as the most effective components of the program. Challenges included student teachers missing classes to teach, 50 minute class sessions, and classroom control.

Ms. Chute is a Senior at Menlo Atherton High School and has been involved in the Behavior Change OR Climate Change curriculum project since she was a sophmore. She also presented with others Phase 1 of the project at BECC2009 in Washington D.C.

Marilyn Cornelius, Stanford UniversityGlobal Identity, Climate Change, and Behavior Change The disparate magnitudes and distributions of adverse impacts of climate change

require human cooperation beyond conventional boundaries and allegiances. This suggests a need for global identity or a sense of connection with people around the world to achieve global cooperation. However, is global identity useful at the local level – specifically to motivate individual behavior change to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? We hypothesized that increased global identity would be associated with increases in behaviors that lower greenhouse gases. We examined an existing measure of global identity in a new population-based sample of teenagers participating in a study of energy-related behaviors. We tested the reliability of this measure in our sample and evaluated its relationship with targeted behaviors. Our hypothesis was confirmed, suggesting the potential utility of global identity as a motivator for energy use reduction. We recommend further study of global identity as a motivator for behavioral change to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Marilyn Cornelius is a doctoral candidate in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources at Stanford University. Marilyn integrates climate change, behavioral sciences, and design process to study residential energy use reduction. Her projects include an experimental high school curriculum that reduced energy use, a study exploring global identity is a motivator for energy-related behavior change, which she will speak about today, and an investigation of barriers and alternative low-energy behaviors for homeowners that will inform other ARPA-E projects at Stanford. Marilyn is from Fiji and her background is in environmental resource management with the United Nations Development Program.


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Carleen Cullen, Cool The Earth, Inc.Cool the Earth, Inc.’s Primary School Program: Program Efficacy

School climate change programs abound, yet, few focus on behavior change and few evaluate program efficacy. This presentation describes the Phase 1 results of the Cool the Earth program evaluation, which includes focus group data, process evaluation of actions carried out by families in five schools, and a pilot online behavioral survey. Cool the Earth, a program for elementary schools, aims to increase conservation actions in families by engaging children at school, outside the classroom. The family behavioral approach incorporates awareness via plays with characters such as Koda, the polar bear and Mr. Carbon in school-wide assemblies; a behavior action coupon book requiring parent signatures; school-wide goal setting; and monthly school lunch time activities. The annual program is in its 4th year in some schools. Currently the program is conducted in over 100 schools, 14 states, and 3 countries. To date, focus groups yield program refinement information such as parental perception of incentives contrary to conservation messaging; an understanding of parent child engagement with mother and child cooperation leading household change; and school institutionalization ideas particularly homework applications. Preliminary analyses of process evaluation data show that student body level of engagement (coupons turned in) varies by school, year of program, and grade with highest engagement either in the 1st or 2nd year, and high engagement in 2nd grade. Currently we find that K-3rd grade students turn in about 30-35% of their coupons. Additional analyses extend these results as well as examining data from the online survey of 50 families.

In her role as co-founder and executive director of Cool The Earth, Carleen draws from a wealth of experience, having successfully created an international company in the technology field. She began her entrepreneurial endeavors as a partner in a start-up venture, Ovid Technologies, which became a successful medical information technology business. Carleen has a BA in English Literature from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA.

Andrew deCoriolis, Lucid Design GroupEmploying a Socially Networked Resource Monitoring Tool as a Platform to Organize a National Electricity and Water Reduction Competition on College and University Campuses

How can colleges and universities leverage competition between organizations and groups to motivate students to conserve electricity and water in their residence halls? What socially normative groups inspire action and behavior change? How do schools utilize socially networked technology to increase student engagement? To address these questions the Alliance to Save Energy and Lucid Design Group have organized the Campus Conservation Nationals, the first national college and university electricity and water reduction competition. The goal of the CCN is to conserve resources by creating socially contextualized groups of competing schools that motivate participation and increase the behavior change impact of the program. The pilot year of the program is currently under way with 40 participating schools, and the competition begins November 1st, 2010. The presentation will summarize the organizing efforts to date, including surveys of participating schools taken before the competition begins, and preliminary results of the savings achieved. We will report how competition outcomes vary based on different socially normative competition groups, such as head-to-head rivals, geographically identified groups (city, state and regional) and other self identified groups (such as liberal arts schools or athletic rivals). We will also discuss how different campus stakeholders, who may not typically be involved in sustainability work, have been involved in the organizing effort and how their involvement influenced the success of the competition. Finally we will be discussing the impact of a socially networked technology platform has been on communicating the standings and results of the competition and influenced the outcomes.

Andrew deCoriolis is the Sustainability and Customer Programs Manager for Lucid Design Group. He was a Compton Mentor Fellow (CMF) in 2007. His project focused on fostering a vibrant food system in Chicago and improving access to healthy affordable food in underserved communities. The project was part research, advocacy, policy, community organizing, and business development. Prior to the Compton Fellowship, Andrew spearheaded the deployment of CityWheels Carsharing (CWC) a start-up carsharing company in Northeast Ohio. Andrew currently runs sustainability programs at Lucid Design Group (LDG), a smart-grid software company that provides real-time resource consumption information for buildings. Look for the 2010 Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN), an electricity and water reduction competition on college and university campuses.


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Linda Dethman, The Cadmus GroupLooking at the Man in the Mirror: Changing Ourselves, Our Industry

We know a lot about how people's brains work (e.g., see John Medina's, Brain Rules ). We have a wealth of social science research that demonstrates people are often driven by non-rational thinking (e.g., see Dan Ariely's Predictably Irrational). And, we have strong proof what influences people to change what they do (see Robert Cialdini's Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive). Then, why do "we" ( the energy efficiency industry) often persist in doing the same old things to get people to use less energy and live with a lighter footprint on the planet? Why do we continue with incentive programs where the only message is payback; use incomprehensible names like compact fluorescent light bulbs and h-axis washers; prefer dense language to sell ideas even when we know "vision trumps all other senses"; make programs inconvenient; demand payment even when it would be cheaper and more effective to give some high efficiency items away for free? And why are we so slow to trust compelling "evidence" (e.g., the power of norms demonstrated by O Power's, Cialdini's "hang up your towel" experiments, and Energy Trust of Oregon's "Solarize" program that broke down barriers to solar installation like never before)? Why do we persist in wanting to change people's knowledge and attitudes when the social science literature tells us that changing these things often have little impact on behavior change? Part of the answer to all these questions is that we in this industry are human, subject to all the same habits, anchors, irrationalities, and brain wiring as everyone else. This paper will explore how we need to swallow our own medicine and convince ourselves and others to try out radical approaches to behavior change.

Linda Dethman has worked for over 25 years with programs that help people live more sustainably. She is known for drawing upon many sources in her work to develop innovative ideas for energy efficiency programs. She is often an invited speaker to national and international energy efficiency conferences.

Tawanna Dillahunt, Carnegie Mellon UniversityUsing Web 2.0 Tech to Encourage Environmental Behavior

As the climate crisis receives increased attention, many organizations are creating websites and/or social games that encourage users to take green actions; however, little is known about the success of these and other web 2.0 applications. We will survey past work on key topics such as recruitment, retention, and viral spread for social web applications. We will then survey past work looking specifically at green web applications such as Farmville, and explore what features are associated with success. Finally, we will talk in depth about our own experiences with a specific Web 2.0 application, StepGreen.org. StepGreen.org provides encouragement for green behaviors by leveraging popular social websites such as Myspace and Facebook to show progress and suggestions for green actions. Users of StepGreen.org commit to actions and then report which actions they have fulfilled. They can view their progress on a graph, or see a visualization of a polar bear ecosystem grow on a MySpace or Facebook client. We will discuss lessons learned from our 32-person pilot study, and our current open iterative deployment of the system, which began in the summer of 2007. Our presentation will provide insight about motivation, reflection, recruitment and retention, and inform the design of other green Web 2.0 sites.

Tawanna Dillahunt is a doctoral student at Carnegie Mellon's Human Computer Interaction Institute and is advised by Jennifer Mankoff. Tawanna’s research interests include using social and ubiquitous computing to motivate and encourage positive behaviors in the domain of environmental sustainability. She has explored energy use in low-income communities and is currently studying barriers to saving energy in these communities such as conflicts between landlords and tenants. Tawanna holds a B.S. degree in Computer Engineering from North Carolina State University, a M.S. degree in Computer Science from the Oregon Graduate Institute at the Oregon Health and Science University and was a software engineer at Intel Corporation for 7 years before pursuing her PhD.


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Jamie Drakos, The Cadmus Group, Inc.Banking Actual Savings from Behavioral Change Utilities, environmental groups, the federal government and even Tide laundry

detergent are encouraging residential consumers to save energy through simple behavior changes. Do customers act on this information? How do their behavior changes impact energy use? This is a challenging but important question for utilities, program managers, and program evaluators to answer. The Cadmus Group, Inc. has been evaluating the impacts of utility energy-efficiency programs for over ten years, and is at the forefront in establishing savings parameters and protocols for behavioral change programs. In this presentation, industry-approved EM&V approaches will be introduced and compared, and three program case studies will be presented for discussion. We will review the program design, the energy (kWh and therm) impacts of each program and the methodologies employed for estimating behavioral change savings. Finally, we will examine utility commission rules in several states for utilities generating and claiming behavioral change savings. Our presentation will be supplemented with a Cadmus paper describing the detailed methodology for calculating energy impacts from behavioral changes.

Jamie Drakos has more than 10 years of experience doing training, facilitating and strategic planning for programs serving low-income populations. As an Associate at The Cadmus Group, Inc., she provides expertise in development, delivery and evaluation of energy education programs around the United States and in Canada. She has led evaluations of energy education programs in seven states. In addition, she has designed trainings and curricula for energy education programs serving over 5,000 participants annually. Ms. Drakos has also assisted several utilities in calculating savings from their behavioral change programs and reporting those savings to their commissions.

Dana D'Souza, Skumatz Economic Research Associates (SERA)Why do NEBs and NTG Matter Especially for Behavioral and Educational Programs?

Current practices in evaluation tend to shortchange behavioral and education / outreach programs, because they are rarely set up using good experimental design, there is chatter in the marketplace, and myriad other contributing reasons. However, even if these impacts were estimated accurately, the impacts of these programs would be underestimated for two key reasons: •�They omit the indirect impacts associated with these programs – and our research shows these “non-energy benefits” (positive and negative) are significant and positive, based on the education and behavioral programs we analyzed from around the nation. •�Most utilities (conforming with regulators) either assume a net-to-gross (NTG) estimate of one, assume portfolio-wide NTG ratios, or estimate only free ridership and omit spillover. Again, our research shows this omission is very significant for behavioral and education / outreach programs we analyzed. This poster summarizes the rationale behind the NEB and NTG effects for these types of programs and provides graphical highlights examples of the effects estimated for several classes of programs around the US. The poster examines the size of the omitted effects, along with recommendations.

Dana D’Souza is a Research Analyst with the Boulder-based research and consulting firm Skumatz Economic Research Associates (SERA). She has conducted projects evaluating energy efficiency programs including five low income programs, a social marketing program, a single-family new homes program, a multifamily program, and two commercial programs. She conducted extensive literature reviews for three projects, covering various evaluation topics including non-energy benefits, impact evaluations, net-to-gross, and persistence. She worked on projects analyzing outreach / education campaigns, conducted door-to-door intervention visits for a social marketing project, and conducted nationwide interviews to assess under- and over-performing projects and best practices. She has previously spoken at AESP and BECC, and her undergraduate degree is from San Diego State University.


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Cathy DuBois, Kent State UniversityGreening the Behavior of the Next Generation of Citizens

The ubiquitous notion that college students are ‘green’ has swept the nation in recent years. Increasingly students have expressed desires to prepare for green jobs and careers, and institutions of higher learning have responded with sustainability-related certificate and degree programs. However, this vocal group reflects an early minority of students, as large numbers have yet to truly embrace sustainability. To examine the more typical college student, we collected data at a university with a nascent sustainability presence. Thus, our data better represent the student norms across the nation, as compared to campuses with leading sustainability programs. We employ both quantitative and qualitative analyses to examine data from 750 residence hall students. Our investigation of student behaviors reveals that their actions fall far short of stereotypical ‘green’ ideals. This finding holds for those who espouse strong environmental values, as well as those who hold environmentally indifferent values. The gap between ideals and actions arises from a combination of factors that reflect such barriers as lack of knowledge, the pressures of convenience and availability, and cost. We also examine student attitudes and knowledge about sustainability, who/what students attend to for green-behavior guidance, what they expect of the university regarding education about sustainability, and the impact of residence hall sustainability programs on a range of sustainability-related behaviors. Our data speak to what universities can do to inform and impact the behavior of students. Through a variety of sustainability initiatives, universities can seize the opportunity uniquely theirs to shape a sustainable future.

Dr. Cathy DuBois, an associate professor of Human Resource Management at Kent State University, has published articles on a variety of HR-related issues, and has recently focused her research on Sustainability. Her research has been presented at a host of international conferences and published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, the Academy of Management Review, and Psychology of Women Quarterly, among others. She has provided consulting services to a number of firms. Dr. DuBois serves as the chair of the Academic Programs and Residence Hall Subcommittees of the Kent State University Sustainability Task Force.

David DuBois, The Social Design GroupStrategy and Behavior: An Empirical Look at Frontline Sustainability Leadership

Recent years have witnessed an upsurge of organizational interest in environmental sustainability (ES). This interest is evident in consumer marketing campaigns, mission statements, the formation of committees, and in the hiring of sustainability managers to organize their ES initiatives. Given that organizations have a wide array of issues and opportunities upon which to focus and a growing array of strategies for implementation, the purpose of this study is to identify the strategic and tactical choices that have guided these early stage development efforts. This study specifically focuses on the job of Sustainability Manager in university settings. This job is the frontline leadership position in organizational environmental sustainability efforts, and hence may especially reveal how organizations are deploying their resources for this vital goal of ES. To provide a comprehensive view of early stage sustainability efforts, we conducted the following three activities: (1) analyzed university mission statements and websites as an indication of organizations’ ES goals and commitment; (2) analyzed job description data for the position of Sustainability Manager to identify the tactics and concept of operations for ES programs; and (3) conducted job analyses of the behaviors of Sustainability Managers, to determine what they were actually doing and how they allocate their time across tasks. In addition to providing information required to support the job of Sustainability Manager (e.g., training needs), this study contributes to the important goal of informing our understanding of the social aspects of organizations’ sustainability efforts, as reflected in strategies and managerial behavior.

Dr. DuBois is an industrial/organizational psychologist whose consulting and research interests focus on training, job performance, and environmental sustainability. He is the founder and principal in the Social Design Group, and founder and president of Psychological Systems and Research, Inc., where he has conducted research and consulting for the past 15 years. Dr. DuBois is an active member of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychologists, American Psychological Society, and the American Psychological Association.


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Patsy Dugger, Ecos ConsultingISO 50001 Does Behavior: An exploration of key success factors

ISO 50001, the new international Management System Standard for Energy, specifies requirements that enable commercial and industrial organizations to sustain continuous improvement of energy over time. Developed to apply to organizations at all levels of energy management maturity, the standard does not establish absolute requirements for energy performance, but instead defines required practices and behaviors at multiple levels of an organization that support continuous improvement of energy utilization, including: Top down management support and policies, clearly established roles and responsibilities, energy targets and action planning, monitoring, measurement and analysis of key performance indicators, and competence, training and awareness activities. Scheduled for launch in May of 2011, the standard, if widely adopted, has the potential to influence up to 60% of the world’s energy use. This paper will discuss the key existing organizational barriers to sustained energy performance improvements, and will explore the opportunities to overcome these barriers through implementation of the new standard, focusing on three areas in particular that will be argued to have the most influence on the success of the program and the persistence of savings: Top down support and specific targets, continuous energy performance feedback over time, and energy awareness and training. The paper will draw on organizational case studies from the Northwest, California, Canada and Texas to illustrate how these specific elements have influenced the success or failure of energy management programs implemented.

As Director of Ecos’ Commercial and Industrial Utility Solutions, Patsy Dugger manages the development and implementation of programs that support holistic and integrated energy performance improvement in both buildings and systems. Patsy has over 15 years of experience in the energy efficiency field. Before joining Ecos, Patsy worked at Honeywell DMC focusing on small commercial efficiency solutions, and most recently spent 9 years at PG&E developing commercial and industrial programs, focusing on integrated demand side management solutions for targeted market segments.

Heba Elsharkawy, University of NottinghamHow can the Code for Sustainable Homes deliver the UK zero carbon homes?

The housing sector entails a significant part of the UK’s environmental impact, accounting for over a quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions. As a result, the UK government has set the target of zero carbon homes by 2016 and has placed the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) on top of its agenda. However, policy instruments have not often succeeded in imposing robust building codes and standards for limiting domestic energy consumption. Accordingly, how can the UK government ambitions be achieved; both in terms of effectively applying the CSH, and ensuring the individual, household and organisational pro-environmental behaviour? The paper discusses two key elements proposed to support the UK achieve its aspiration through the effective delivery of the CSH. Firstly, the government is to set a clearly laid-out target for the level of carbon reduction required from each Code home. This is to help the users understand their targeted carbon reduction and how it is interpreted into their home energy performance, besides helping the government evaluate and monitor the performance of these homes. Secondly; policy makers are to consider planning properly tailored policy packages -making the right choices, and picking the accurate combinations of policy tools- that appropriately address the occupants of the Code homes. If decision makers are to consider changing environmentally disruptive activities, they need to understand the nature and causes of those activities.

Heba ElSharkawy is a PhD researcher and part-time tutor at the University of Nottingham. She has a BSc and an MSc degree in Architecture. She has been working as an architect and environmental researcher at a leading consultation firm in Egypt for the past 8 years. Heba has been a lecturer assistant at three national and international academic institutions in Egypt for the past seven years. She is currently in the second year of her PhD research in the Department of Architecture and the Built Environment. Her research focuses on optimising policy instruments as a strategy for driving a positive environmental behavioural change.


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Ellie Farahani, University of TorontoTapping into Office Energy Savings: Hardware, Software & Occupant Behavior

Electricity consumption feedback has been demonstrated to be an effective conservation strategy in residential settings with studies showing up to 15% savings. Studies in this field generally frame feedback information towards encouraging personal benefits – mainly in terms of dollars saved. However, there are two criticisms of this approach: first, studies have shown that people tend to over-discount financial figures in the distant future; second, this form of feedback does not directly trigger conservation attitudes. Thus, when financial or other external incentives are removed, behavioral changes will likely not persist. Rather than dollars saved, we consider framing the feedback to align with conservation attitudes. Though studies have shown that attitudes do not necessarily predict behaviors, using temporal construal theory (TCT) in the behavioural economy we reason that this is, in part, because existing attitudes and high-level goals exert lesser influence at the decision point than low-level construals and feasibility factors. We are developing a framework that integrates these feedback strategies with antecedent triggers. Building on established community-based social marketing (CBSM) techniques, we hypothesize that combining this approach with vivid feedback will encourage reduction in consumption. By bridging the TCT, CBSM and energy consumption feedback literature, this research will provide empirical support for a theoretical mechanism explaining how information presentation combined with CBSM and feedback can influence behavior over the long term. This research is also generating an ethical guideline for the design of CBSM and feedback approaches.

Ellie Farahani, an atmospheric physicist from University of Toronto, MBA from Kellogg School of Management, has been working on climate change and ozone loss issues in the high Arctic for the past 10 years. She has monitored greenhouse gases and worked on the IPCC climate models. While working for the SPARC project at WCRP, UN she is collaborating with the Center for the Environment on a research project that brings together researchers from the engineering and social sciences to study Conservation Demand Management from a holistic perspective. Ellie’s specific focus is on developing effective international climate adaptation projects.

Elah Feder, University of Toronto Sustainability OfficeFrom Saving Paper to Saving Energy: Lessons from a Paper Conservation Program

In Canada, pulp and paper accounts for 30% of industrial energy and is one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters, making paper a major target for energy conservation. More importantly, the appeal of paper conservation allows it to serve as a “foot-in-the-door,” easily garnering initial support, then causing participants to identify as capable environmentalists, prepared to adopt more challenging projects. In 2009, the University of Toronto Sustainability Office launched a behaviour change campaign for paper conservation. It has not only achieved substantial measured savings, but positively engaged students, administrative staff, IT staff, and faculty. Our program integrates key behaviour change principles. First, we establish favourable choice architecture, making conservation choices the default. Second, no financial incentives are added, so individuals are motivated by intrinsic benefits and moral values, and when making decisions outside of the program context, their motivations to conserve are likelier to persist. Third, we rely on “loss aversion,” framing objectives in terms of avoided waste, rather than potential gain. Finally, we establish social norms, informing individuals about the participation of their peers. We are keen for audience feedback on what we believe is one of the main advantages of paper programs: sustainability concepts are more easily communicated with respect to paper than with less concrete manifestations of energy. Through paper, we introduced the concept of life cycle impacts and counteracted the single-action bias wherein recycling is the primary pro-environmental behaviour, sidelining reduction and reuse. Understanding these concepts is even more critical as participants transition to larger projects.

Elah Feder is a Project Coordinator at the University of Toronto’s Sustainability Office, where she currently runs the paper conservation program and works with her colleagues to reduce the energy consumption of the university through both technological upgrades and behaviour change programs. Her primary interest is in understanding how behaviour change programming, technology, and policy can interact to effect significant and enduring environmental rehabilitation and protection. She completed her MSc in Evolutionary Biology in 2007.


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James Fine, Environmental Defense FundA Gold Standard for Equity in California's Cap-and-Trade Program

As California develops its climate change plan, policymakers are compelled to consider potential risks and benefits for disadvantaged and low-income communities. Cap-and-trade design features could provide predictable, ongoing incentives for community actions and opportunities for local organizations to lead in combating global warming. By linking local actions to carbon markets, California can respond to the climate crisis and environmental injustice. A framework is needed to create compliance-grade emissions reduction credits from community-level actions. Based on pilot study results, technical advisory committee input, and review of other social programs linking energy and equity, we propose a “Gold Standard for Equity (GSE)” analogous to the Gold Standard developed to recognize high-quality offsets projects under the UNFCCC’s Clean Development Mechanism. Our GSE acknowledges inherent uncertainties and distinct advantages of working with large populations, and balances needs for verification rigor and delivering environmental and economic benefits to disadvantaged communities. Our GSE seeks well-documented, localized co-pollutant reductions and economic benefits. Potential GSE approaches include: • Establishing performance benchmarks and project-specific baselines to estimate emission reductions that go beyond "business-as-usual;" • Pre-certifying specific measures to provide greater predictability of anticipated carbon market rewards; • Use statistical sampling methods to evaluate program outcomes; • Design for a portfolio of services to minimize transactions costs and provide holistic solutions. Our presentation will summarize our paper accepted for publication in Environment Magazine.

James “Jamie” Fine (Ph.D, Energy and Resources Group, University of California at Berkeley, B.S., Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania), is an economist in the global warming program at Environmental Defense Fund. In addition to applied economics, Dr. Fine has extensive experience working with environmental justice communities in urban air quality planning. His ares of research and advocacy include: - the design and implementation of cap-and-trade and other market-based policy - modeling the economic, air quality, and health risks of policy decisions - meaningful involvement of public stakeholders in environmental planning.

Wendy Foslien, Honeywell International, Inc.Framework for Modifying User Behavior and Minimizing Energy Usage

With the rapid growth of information rich devices and data exchanges information on energy is much more accessible to the users. Although the information access is accessible, its impact on modifying user behavior to promote energy conservation and sustainability measures is still limited. There is a lack of system architectures that support integration and ubiquitous presentation of relevant information to the user at the right time and place within the context of their environment. Such system concepts should not only present information to the user but also modify their behavior so that they are driven toward energy conservation and sustainability. To address these challenges, we propose a framework based on a system architecture that provides persistent and relevant data and serves up energy usage content to devices that are accessible to the user. Honeywell is building a Home Energy Manager (HEM) that will integrate relevant data from multiple sources and provide recommendations to modify user behavior. The HEM would also serve as a ubiquitous information source for other devices and enable direct user interaction. We also present associated user interface and interaction designs, which promote a better understand and provide meaningful recommendations to the user within the context. We propose that to modify user behavior it is very critical to present energy usage information, provide recommendations, enable direct interaction between user and system, and offer immediate feedback about the impact of user’s actions. In summary, this framework would be very beneficial for modifying user behavior and minimizing energy usage.

Wendy Foslien is an Engineering Fellow in Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions Labs. She performs research in systems and control analysis, with an emphasis on the development of mathematical and statistical analysis software applications and the visualization of time series numeric data. Ms. Foslien develops analysis tools for commercial building energy consumption. These tools are integral to Honeywell’s energy management offerings, and allow energy analysts to rapidly scan data from hundreds of buildings to find anomalies in energy consumption. Ms. Foslien holds a B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.


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Michael Greenberg, BeSmarter LLC“BeSmarter®: Peer Leadership, Competition and Objective Goal Setting Produces Strong Home Conservation Achievement and Participation Levels”

Need/Rationale: �There is a need in K-12 schools for cost-effective, easy-to implement programs producing meaningful, positive behavior concerning community energy and other resource conservation. The BeSmarter program does so by reframing at-home conservation as a team sport. BeSmarter’s objective, team-based program creates objective “goal lines” to provide consistent opportunities for peer leadership and influence by example. We obtain efficiencies and increased accuracy from encouraging teams rather than individuals to allow broad adoption, protect privacy and to provide significant conservation outcomes. Evaluation: Our first pilot began with five student “captains” at a two home rooms in a school’s fifth and second grade. In the first six weeks, the student’s on their own initiative had expanded the program. Two thirds of each grade’s students participated, committing to unexpectedly significant energy and water conservation goals (3 to 10 times expectations), and completing a ten minute online survey confirming new knowledge acquired from their peers and BeSmarter materials. Our presentation will include these outcomes and updates on programs that will run in the Fall 2010. Methods: BeSmarter Team-Based competitions allow for grade vs. grade, school vs. school and larger continuous competitions. The flexible game structure encourages to prioritize desired behavior. Our content focuses on broadly accessible, objectively measurable improvements in home Water Conservation and Peak Energy Use (“Peak Tweaking®”). The Team Structure encourages self-initiated collaborative effort, intercommunication on relevant issues, interfamily communications and leadership by example.

Michael Greenberg is the founder of BeSmarter LLC. Mr. Greenberg is an experienced attorney, software architect, entrepreneur and inventor. Mr. Greenberg’s experience includes work with interactive learning systems, including adaptive learning for treating learning disabilities. The BeSmarter team includes software designers, educators and a statistician that worked collaboratively with Mr. Greenberg to develop and test BeSmarter’s unique point system.

Joanna Gubman, Navigant Consulting, Inc.Overcoming Split Incentives in Office Buildings: The Utility Role

Ninety percent of California’s commercial office space is leased, creating a circumstance in which the parties that need to invest in building retrofits (owners) have little economic motivation because the financial benefits of lower operating costs typically flow to tenants through lower rents. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as the “split incentive” barrier. In 2007 and 2008, Navigant Consulting worked with senior real estate professionals to develop a Green Leases Toolkit that provides a structured approach for realigning investments and benefits between building owners and their tenants to substantially increase adoption of energy efficiency and other green measures in their buildings. Since then, others have built upon Navigant’s Toolkit and come up with their own green leasing tools. Class A buildings – high quality office space in large urban areas that command premium prices - are the primary adopters of green lease principles because of the higher sophistication and awareness of green building costs and benefits by Class A owners and tenants. However, even within this market, implementation of green leasing remains slow. Utility incentive programs can play a significant role in substantially accelerating green leasing adoption by redesigning their programs to directly address the “split incentive” problem. We will present a framework and recommended approaches to modifying traditional utility programs to address the organizational and behavioral barriers to green leasing. These recommendations have broad applicability to all leased buildings throughout the U.S.

Joanna Gubman is Assistant Program Manager for the California Sustainability Alliance, and a Managing Consultant in the Energy Efficiency & Sustainability Strategies group of Navigant Consulting’s Energy Practice. Her experience has focused on analyzing technologies and policies to improve energy efficiency, including analysis and implications of the Big/Bold Initiatives of the CPUC Long Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan (net zero energy new buildings and widespread adoption of whole-house retrofits); identification & promotion of emerging technologies for utility energy efficiency incentive programs; and development of corporate sustainability initiatives. Ms. Gubman holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.


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Mohammad Halimi, SUNY State University of New YorkKey Factors Affecting Energy Efficiency Decisions in a University Campus

At a university campus, decisions regarding energy efficiency involve a wide array of stakeholders and are influenced mainly by behavior, finance, hierarchy of authority, and security. The following study attempted to enlist the factors that influence energy efficiency decisions made at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. The study includes four main parts: literature review, interviews with stakeholders, survey in the campus community, and quantitative analysis of available data. Literature study dealt with the decision making theories proposed by various researchers to highlight behavioral factors with specific focus on students’ behavior which leads to a multi-criteria decision analysis model. Interviews with all stakeholders including Energy Management Officers, Resident Assistants, Campus Police, and building managers was the qualitative part of study which helped to find important factors usually ignored in this case like friction between energy management officers and police departments with two different priorities. We also noticed that cross-departmental authority and hierarchy of preferences affect the decisions. A comprehensive questionnaire survey was conducted on the Earth Day 2010 in the campus with complete response from 273 participants to gauge the opinion of the campus community regarding various aspects of energy efficiency behavior and what they think about important factors in energy and behavior topic. Data analysis of energy consumption was carried out to reveal the energy usage patterns on campus and to draw attention to any loop-holes present in the existing system. It shows that there is a large portion of energy waste on campus that has remained unexplained. We conclude that energy efficiency should be addressed in the socio-technological context. To improve the effectiveness of decisions at Stony Brook campus we recommend establishing a formal decision making process, involving student unions, social networks to make improvement in energy consumption in the campus.

Mohammad Halimi is a PhD candidate at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is enrolled in the “Technology, Policy, and Innovation” program interested in Energy and Environmental Systems. With a background in Engineering and Technology Policy, he is now doing his research with focus on social and behavioral aspects of energy efficiency. The second topic of his interest is recent innovations in financing energy efficiency programs including Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program. His current position is Teaching Assistant at the Department of Technology & Society at SUNY Stony Brook.

Rachel Hansen, PECISay What? Using Segmentation Research to Guide Targeted Messaging

Marketing Challenge Segmentation research often languishes after completion because implementers and utilities are not sure what to do with it beyond the obvious (targeted direct mail lists or media planning). Strategy PECI wanted to maximize the value of the five state segmentation study done in 2009 for PacifCorp by using it to target distinct messages to hard-to reach markets. The demographic and psychographic profiles outlined areas of commonality and differences across the target geographies. We combined the minimum number of segments required to reach over 50% of the audience in each state. We then overlaid this data with “True Touch Message Types”. The results showed two message types that would be likely to resonate across the entire customer base, and an additional three message types that would be effective in certain geographies. Research into Action The next step was to take these five possible message types and turn them into design and copy that pertained to our energy-efficiency measures. We stuck with common messaging where it made sense due to economies of scale, and implemented targeted messaging in California and Wyoming. This presentation will show a method for creating a messaging matrix and a process for tying it to strategy and tactics. Background The Rocky Mountain Power/Pacific Power Home Energy Savings Program is a demand-side management program that offers customers cash incentives for making energy-efficient upgrades to their homes. The program encourages one-time energy efficiency actions and long-term behavior change to decrease the amount of kilowatt hours used.

Rachel Hansen is a Senior Strategic Marketing Coordinator at PECI. Ms. Hansen designs and implements strategic marketing plans that encourage behavior change in residential utility customers. Working closely with trade allies, consumers and market partners, she has helped the Home Energy Savings program exceed kWh savings goals year over year. She graduated from Minnesota State University with a B.S. in Mass Communications with an emphasis in public relations. Prior to PECI, Ms. Hansen’s work focused on non-profit public relations and national publication sales and marketing. She is part of the ENERGY STAR® Sustained Excellence award-winning team.


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Marcel Harmon, M.E. Group, Inc.High Performance Refers to People Too A building’s energy signature and general impact on the environment are highly

dependent on the behavior of its building occupants and O&M personnel. Conversely, occupant satisfaction, productivity, and health are all highly dependent on the nature of the building they occupy and how it is operated and maintained. Any “High Performance”/LEED/Green facility that doesn’t actively take these reciprocal relationships into account during design, construction, retro-commissioning, and occupancy isn’t truly “high performance”. In addition, the life cycle costs analyses performed when deciding whether or not to build or retrofit “green” typically focus on the costs/savings relative to the building and its systems themselves. The very real and much more extensive costs/savings associated with occupant productivity and health, employee and tenant turnover rates, employee engagement, etc., are more often than not ignored or only cursorily examined. Not only does this greatly short change the financial arguments for building green in general, it can drastically skew the analysis for deciding which specific sustainable elements to include in any given project. This presentation will provide an overview of how the reciprocal relationships between occupants and their buildings impact the performance of both. Attendees will learn how methods from the social sciences can be used to account for human factors and integrated into typical design, retro-commissioning, and building O&M processes to help ensure that “High Performance” buildings are truly high performance. Case studies from schools to Federal office buildings will be used to demonstrate the points made.

Dr. Marcel J. Harmon is a licensed engineer with over fifteen years of consulting engineering experience in the building construction industry. He has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico and is a former partner in Human Inquiry, an anthropological consulting firm specializing in the evaluation of the built environment. He currently heads up the Human Inquiry services for M.E. Group’s Green Services division, an engineering and sustainable consulting firm. Dr. Harmon often writes and lectures on the need to better understand the reciprocal relationships between people and the built environment.

Zach Hartle, evolve environment :: architectureDesign & Social Change As a firm, we have worked on over 100 green buildings and from experience we have

learned that educated occupants can be the number one means by which to create the greatest reduction in energy costs. A change in behavior within a sustainable building often translates to a change of behavior towards a sustainable lifestyle. Recently, we have begun directing our work towards a policy of simply not making sustainable buildings, but making sustainable "users" as well. Our main focus in this shift to impart sustainable awareness is discovering news ways to communicate information and ideas to people in meaningful and memorable ways. We approach this mission with two questions: How can data and information assist our formation of sustainable policy, space, architecture, and design? How do we begin to access, interface, assess, and impart this new information in a way that supports behavioral change? Although the means by which we test our ideas are fluid, we have categorized the methods we have employed in four areas: 1. Quantifiable Sustainability : finding ways to visualize issues of sustainability, e.g. carbon, which do not have an easily correlated visual metric 2. Visualizing & Communicating Information : how do we get past brochures and wall signs to create a spatial experience that relies on engaging the inhabitants of a space 3. Metrics & Engagement : using both metrics and meters to engage people to “game” their usage through consistent monitoring 4. Art as an Initiator of Sustainable Change : creating spatial installations and public art which brings to question a person's daily routines and energy expenditures Although we as a society have caused the problem, we are optimistic that we have now become the best solution. Design has the opportunity to challenge our thinking, affect our behavior, and begin getting us back on the path of a sustainable future.

As a recent graduate, Zach brings unique, early professional experience to a team. His education and professional experiences have focused on the ability of design to both communicate information visually and spatially. Through his opportunities working with his current firm, evolveEA, he continues to explore the role of the environment and its application to the design of human interaction, perception, and experience. His most current work focuses on the ability to integrate sustainability and design into the built environment.


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Zeke Hausfather, Efficiency 2.0Disaggregating Monthly Residential Bills Into End-Uses We developed a model to disaggregated monthly residential bills for electricity and

natural gas into space heating, water heating, appliance, and cooling end-uses. The model is based on the Department of Energy Residential Energy Consumption Survey and supplemented by zip-code level housing stock and demographic data as well as user-specific data from county property tax assessment records. It can be used in the context of online energy audits to allow users to see how their bills break down month-to-month over the course of the year, and to better target energy efficiency recommendations to specific households

Zeke Hausfather is an energy systems analyst and environmental economist with a strong interest in conservation and efficiency. He has previously developed a roadmap to sustainability for Hawaii, which is currently being implemented on the big island. He has also worked as a systems modeler for an environmental consulting firm. He received a bachelor’s degree from Grinnell College, a master’s degree in environmental science from Vrije Universiteit in the Netherlands, and another master’s degree in environmental management from the Yale Forestry School.

Kristin Heinemeier, WCECCompliance: How do Contractors Assess Risk in Doing Unpermitted Work? (and Why?)

It has been estimated that permits are obtained for fewer than 5% of air conditioner replacements in California homes. This means that 95% of jobs never comply with nor verify the energy efficiency measures of California’s Title24 (not to mention incurring the health and safety concerns of unpermitted work!). An HVAC-Utility alliance—comprised of contractors, distributors, unions, code officials, utility program managers, verification providers, and researchers—has identified that there are substantial behavioral elements to the problem. They have conducted a simple survey of building contractors throughout the state to gauge over time the contractors’ assessment of the risks of getting caught, and the reasons for opting to take the risk. Based on responses to this survey, the alliance has identified several ways to address the contractors’ and homeowners’ concerns. The alliance is: •�designing a flyer to explain the energy code to potential customers, so that they understand why bids that include efficiency measures will come in higher than those that do not comply with the law, •�designing a series of alternative forms that greatly reduce the daunting stack of paperwork required for Title 24 compliance, •�working with the state contractors’ license board to institute a continuing education credit so that more contractors will take advantage of training that is already available, and •�monitoring stepped up efforts by the state contractors’ license board to identify and take action against contractors who do not take out permits.

Kristin Heinemeier is a Principal Engineer with the Western Cooling Efficiency Center at UC Davis. Dr. Heinemeier has over 20 years of experience in building operation-phase efficiency issues. Previously, she worked with Portland Energy Conservation, Inc, was the technical director of the Brooks Energy and Sustainability Laboratory at Texas A&M, and developed products for Honeywell Home and Building Controls. She is currently the Program Manager for the Western HVAC Performance Alliance, and was formerly the administrator of the California Commissioning Collaborative, and the chair of ASHRAE's technical committee on Building Commissioning. Kristin has a Ph.D. in Building Science, and is a Licensed Mechanical Engineer.


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Candice Howarth, University of SouthamptonChanging Travel Behaviour: The Impact of Targeting Tailored Climate Change Information

Strategies aimed at reducing CO2 emissions centred on behavioural changes are increasing in popularity to fill the gap left by technological and political measures. Awareness campaigns deliver communication tools to individuals to inform on steps to reduce the environmental impacts of travel behaviour. In spite of this, statistics show that travel behaviour remains unsustainable and due to its perceived indispensable nature, shifts to more sustainable practices remain a challenge. Postal questionnaires and focus group results identified three clusters according to attitudinal traits and travel behaviour. 43.9% of individuals showed strong sustainable aspirations yet high motorised travel, 29.8% demonstrated strong sustainable aspirations and used sustainable travel modes, and 26.3% projected a strong feeling of environmental apathy, a lack of sustainable engagement and were heavy users of motorised modes. Perceived barriers to behaviour change identified within each group depended implicitly on perceived personal gains and losses as well as a lack of awareness on the availability of options to facilitate changes. Habit, misperceptions of modal emissions and environmental impacts of travel, cost, convenience and lack of incentives to change were all significant determinants of sustainable attitudes. Climate change information packages were produced and found to successfully reduce perceived barriers to change and increase willingness to engage in sustainable travel when these were tailored to specific clusters identified and highlighted the personal benefits of travelling sustainably. Respondents also highlighted a need for clear and transparent information on peer, political and industrial engagement in order to alleviate fears of free-riders and encourage widespread changes.

Candice is a PhD Researcher at the University of Southampton in the UK, she has a Masters in Climate Change and a degree in Meteorology. She has developed a climate change information framework based on identifying and targeting perceived barriers to behaviour change and providing information packages to specifically defined target groups to facilitate their changes in behaviour. She currently carries out research on the impact of climate change information in influencing sustainable travel behaviour and is very keen to expand this to other types of behaviour. She is also open to job offers!

John Howley, Maryland Energy ReportMaryland’s Energy Efficiency Challenge The “EmPOWER Maryland” initiative aims to overcome the state’s “lost decade” of

energy efficiency through cutting energy consumption 15 percent by 2015. Early results suggest the plan may already be slipping, based on reports to the state’s utility commission which will be summarized. Critics urge a re-doubling of traditional efficiency strategies with a more expansive cost-benefit test and more aggressive information campaigns. However, to meet proclaimed goals, Maryland will need to break with the traditional "rational actor" model of consumer behavior. Recent theoretical innovations point to very different ways of motivating consumers and businesses to pick up the "dollar on the sidewalk." The presentation will review alternative approaches being employed elsewhere that show promise and merit consideration by decision makers. The presentation will analyze data from utility company filings with the state utility commission.

John Howley edits MarylandEnergyReport.org and has a master’s degree in economics from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst. He has two decades of experience in government relations and public policy, including ten years as Public Policy Director for the Service Employees International Union. Maryland Energy Report focuses on climate and energy issues at the state level in the context of multi-state, restructured power markets.


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Dune Ives, Milepost ConsultingThe BetterBricks Approach: Ensuring lastingness of behavior change through embedding energy efficiency into the DNA of commercial office real estate companies.

BetterBricks is a program of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and works with commercial office real estate property managers, developers and asset managers to achieve greater energy savings across their portfolios. Underlying the program is a key goal to begin to transform the commercial office real estate market such that energy efficiency and energy management are viewed as strategic priorities. Further, our approach seeks to embed this focus into key business activities that help to ensure lastingness of these priorities regardless of the incentives available in the market or who is at the helm of the company. Integrating individual and organizational behavior change theory, the framework and approaches used to accomplish these goals take a systemic perspective on the organization’s business needs and opportunities. In addition, at each stage or our approach, we work to ensure 1) leadership has set an appropriate course in alignment with the company’s culture and constraints; 2) cross-department teams are empowered that serve to infuse creativity into the project, manage and evaluate project pilots and begin to eliminate the silos that can work against a great idea; and 3) the company is transparent in its efforts and communicates its progress and opportunities to its key stakeholders. Results from our early successes and opportunities to transfer our learning to other industries and market sectors will be shared.

Dune Ives, Ph.D. is the founder and President of Milepost Consulting, Inc, and brings over 15 years of experience helping private and non-profit clients define, measure and achieve their organizational objectives. Dune is on Faculty with Presidio School of Management where she teaches in the MBA program on the topic of climate change strategy development. She is also a member of Nobel Laureate Al Gore’s organization The Climate Project and serves on the Regional Leadership Council for the National Wildlife Federation. Dune holds her Ph.D. in Psychology with an emphasis in research and evaluation methodology.

Yoko Iwaki, Columbia Business SchoolCultural Indicators of Energy Saving Behaviors: A Case Study of the United States and Japan

An online survey of Americans (N=500) and Japanese (N=500) residents provided data on residents’ energy saving behaviors, environmental and climate change attitudes, and willingness to accept policies to curb carbon emissions. This study aims to investigate cultural differences in environmental behaviors and attitudes in relation to climate change, and focuses on two main questions: (A) What are the cultural differences in environmental behaviors and decision processes between Americans and Japanese? and (B) How can differences in environmental behaviors and willingness to accept climate change policies between Americans and Japanese be explained (e.g. by social norms)? In addition, we measure inter-temporal discounting, which refers to the tendency of people to discount future outcomes in relation to present-day outcomes, as well as how closely connected the participant feels towards other people and the environment. These measures will also serve as predictors for pro-environmental behaviors and attitudes. Identifying the cultural differences between Americans and Japanese participants will add to the small but growing literature on cross-cultural comparisons in the realm of climate change.

Yoko Iwaki is a sixth year doctoral candidate at Columbia Business School in the Department of Management. She holds a bachelor’s degree with honors from Cornell University in human development. She was a Visiting Scholar at Oxford University from 2001-2002 where she studied psychology, philosophy, and physiology. Her current research interests include cross-cultural differences in environmental decision-making, the role of worldviews and social norms in influencing environmental behaviors and attitudes, and the different ideological perspectives and social networks that are prevalent in the American climate policy domain.


Download - Posters: 2010 BECC Conference Joana Abreu, MIT Portugal ... · ACEEE’s emerging technologies and state efficiency potential programs. Her present research feeds a broader interest

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