Behavioral science initiatives to reduce individual’s carbon footprint - improved data collection to rigorously evaluate what works and on whom

Research Project, 2019 – 2023

This project aims to advance science and develop new tools, knowledge, and methods to support sustainable consumption of products and services. The project contains two integrated parts to help reach this aim. First, the project aims to evaluate the effect of providing information about carbon footprint in combination with various nudges have on individuals consumption and lifestyle choices. This is done through the Svalna service and a recruitment of a representative sample of the Swedish population. Svalna uses financial transaction data, supplied by users voluntarily with their BankID, to estimate individual’s carbon footprint and give users various type of feedbacks and services related to their own and other’s climate impact. Based on a randomly drawn sample from the Swedish population, transaction data will be collected and tracked on all participants, while a randomly chosen subsample will be exposed to all, or parts of, Svalnas services. The data collection process will help reach the second aim of the project, which is to develop new and innovative data collection methods to better understand and map the Swedish populations’ consumption patterns, individual greenhouse gas emissions and lifestyle choices. New insights into the effects of services such as Svalna can underpin the development of similar public and private initiatives that aim to induce individual reductions in carbon emissions and promote more sustainable lifestyles.