Table 2.
Summary of included publications.
| Publication | Country | Sector | Intervention type | Effectiveness (++ / + / o / –) | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aiken (2018) | UK | Energy | Social influence via motivational interviewing, energy audits, and reimbursement | + | Community |
| Araña and León (2016) | Spain | Mobility and consumption (tourism) | Social influence via message framing, time pressure, or pricing policy—RCT using a field experiment with fully consequential choices | + | Policy |
| Asensio and Delmas (2015) (in Wynes) | See Wynes (USA) | See Wynes (energy) |
See Wynes (information and feedback campaign integrating social marketing messages and non-price incentives—RCT incl. survey data) | See Wynes (+ overall, ++ in subgroup with children) |
See Wynes (individual) |
| Barata et al. (2017) | Portugal | Energy and water | Information and feedback campaign—controlled trial incl. survey data | + | Individual |
| Beitzen-Heineke et al. (2017) | Germany, Austria, Italy | Consumption | Structural measures—zero packaging grocery stores as an alternative retail concept | + | Community |
| Benka-Coker et al. (2018) | Ethiopia | Energy | Structural measures—provision of technology, i.e., less GHG-emitting ethanol cookstoves in (a) a Refugee program and (b) low-income urban intervention | + | Community |
| Börner et al. (2015) | Netherlands | Energy | Information campaign | + | Individual |
| Bohdanowicz et al. (2011) | Europe | Energy, water, waste | Policies regarding the sustainability of a hotel chain | + | Policy |
| Boso et al. (2019) | Chile | Energy | Structural measures—governmental replacement program to replace 39,000 wood-burning stoves in the municipalities of Temuco and Padre Las Casas by 2020 | + | Policy |
| Brand et al. (2014) | UK | Mobility | Structural measures—new walking and cycling infrastructure | o | Community |
| Büchs et al. (2018) | UK | Energy | Tailored information trial using a carbon calculator interview (RCT) | o | Individual |
| Carrico and Riemer (2011) (in Staddon) | See Staddon (USA) | See Staddon (energy) |
See Staddon (General information, peer education, and feedback) | See Staddon (+) |
See Staddon (community) |
| Casals et al. (2020) | UK | Energy | Gamification | + | Individual |
| Cellina et al. (2019) | Switzerland | Mobility | Gamification including feedback and social influence (comparison); RCT study design | o (+ in systematic routes in one region) | Individual |
| Chiu et al. (2020) | Taiwan | Energy | Feedback and social influence (persuasive technology, comparison with peers, and rewards) | + | Individual |
| Cornelius et al. (2014) | USA | Energy, food, mobility | Information, goal setting, social influence, gamification, feedback in a classroom setting; cluster-RCT study design | + | Community |
| Damsø et al. (2017) | Denmark | Energy | Policies and structural measures like renewable energy provision as a default for a municipality | ++ | Policy |
| Dawkins et al. (2019) (Review) | OECD-countries | Consumption | Policies and structural measures | o /+ (depending on the study) | Policy |
| Dowd et al. (2012) | Australia | Energy | Social influence incl. tailored information, goal setting, and feedback for low-income participants | ++ | Individual |
| Fisher and Irvine (2016) (Review) | Netherlands (N = 1), UK (N = 3) | Energy | Social influence incl. information, commitment, and feedback | ++ | Individual |
| Hall et al. (2013) | Australia | Energy | Social influence incl. general information | + | Individual |
| Hammed et al. (2018) | Nigeria | Waste (recycling) | Social influence incl. practical education | ++ | Community |
| Happer and Philo (2016) | UK | Not specified | Social influence via media messages | o | Individual |
| Hoicka et al. (2014) | Canada | Energy | Policies and structural measures—provision of audit/tailored information and technical solutions/retrofit improvements for house owners (incl. reimbursement in programs 2 and 4) | ++ | Individual |
| Howarth and Roberts (2018) | UK | Energy | Policies and structural measures—provision of audit/tailored information and suggestions for technical solutions/retrofit improvements to households incl. governmental incentive structure (paying back a loan attached to the house via energy bill) | o | Individual |
| Howell (2011) | UK | Energy, food, mobility | Social influence via message framing using a movie | o | Individual |
| Howell (2012) (in Fisher) | See Fisher (UK) | See Fisher (energy) | See Fisher (Social influence incl. information, commitment, and feedback) | See Fisher (++) | See Fisher (individual) |
| Iweka et al. (2019)(Review) | See Fisher, others not specified | Energy | General information (energy labels, prompts), tailored information (energy audits), social influences (norms, block leader), goal setting and commitments, feedback, gamification, incentives | o (general information, incentives) + (tailored information, norms) ++ (commitments, goal setting, feedback, gamification, block leaders) |
Individual, community |
| Jacobsen et al. (2013) | USA | Energy | Policies and structural measures—state-sanctioned, green-electricity options program to fund the development of renewable energy systems incl. commitment (“municipality pledge”) and earning points for residential signups to earn incentives for the community (solar panels) | ++ | Individual, community |
| Jorgensen et al. (2021) | Australia | Energy | Information—two experiments with students in residential halls (as consumers, who are not billed for energy consumption) with information about reducing energy consumption during the peak demand period—additionally, experiment 1 used normative feedback, and experiment 2 used normative feedback and prompts/reminder notifications at different time points, RCT study design. | + | Individual, community |
| Keall et al. (2015) | New Zealand | Mobility | Structural measures—public investment in infrastructure for walking and cycling plus social influence (social marketing) compared with a control group (two other cities with similar characteristics) | + | Individual |
| Kelly et al. (2013) (Review) | Not specified | Food | Social influence, goal setting, feedback, general information; six studies were RCTs | o/+ (depending on the study, changes were not maintained at follow-up) | Individual |
| Kurz (2018) | Sweden | Food | Nudging (changing menu order and visibility of dish—vegetarian dish was moved to the top of the menu and visible at the point of decision-making) compared to control restaurant with similar characteristics | + (positive change maintained even 13 weeks after intervention) | Individual |
| Laakso (2017) | Finland | Mobility | Social influence and commitment—household has to sell one car and receives free travel cards for local (bus) services incl. survey data and follow-up | ++ (the positive change was mostly maintained at follow-up) |
Individual |
| Largo-Wight and Wight (2013) | USA | Waste (recycling) | Structural measures and nudging—adding indoor opportunities to recycle cans and bottles compared with only-outdoor-receptacles control | ++ | Individual |
| Malan et al. (2020) | USA | Food | Education—one-unit seminar course “Foodprint seminar” at universities regarding food systems and sustainability incl. surveys to assess climate change self-efficacy amongst other things | + | Individual, community |
| Marchand et al. (2015) | UK | Energy | Policies and structural measures—provision of audit/tailored information and suggestions for technical improvements to households incl. free of charge installation | + | Individual |
| Matsui et al. (2014) | Japan | Energy | Feedback on electricity usage and general information compared to control | o (- for one household because of their changed circumstances during intervention) |
Individual |
| Meloni et al. (2011) | Italy | Mobility | Policies with an activity-travel-measurement app and personal weekly maximum amount of personal carbon emissions (cap) incl. commitment and general information | + | Individual |
| Morris et al. (2016) | Australia | Energy | Policies and structural measures—solar city project; social influences (in-home energy assessment incl. tailored information and free-of-charge replacements/installations), commitment, gamification (competition), and residents asked to host solar panels of power providers on their roofs to reduce emissions without direct benefit | ++ | Individual, community |
| Mrkajic et al. (2015) | Serbia | Mobility | Structural measures—providing a secure bicycle parking facility incl. survey data, comparison with control | + | Individual |
| Nishida et al. (2016) | Japan | Energy | Policies—Cap-and-Trade Program for energy consumption-related emissions in buildings incl. goal setting and social/organizational approaches (performance disclosure and certification system) | ++ | Policy |
| Ornaghi et al. (2018) | UK | Energy | Social influence—motivating messages incl. general or tailored information about window management during the heating season compared to control with similar characteristics | + (changes maintained at follow-up for tailored information) | Individual |
| Quested et al. (2013) | UK | Food | Social influence incl. education—Love Food Hate Waste messages, recipes, tips, and training to encourage the use of food rather than a reduction in waste | + | Individual, community |
| Reeves et al. (2014) | UK | Energy, food, mobility, consumption | Social influence—Support for community-led actions and initiatives | + | Community |
| Revell (2014) | UK | Energy | On-site energy audits incl. tailored information, installing easy measures and suggestions for further technical improvements for households plus survey data | + (but no actual behavior change) | Individual |
| Ro et al. (2017) (in Iweka) | USA | See Iweka (energy) |
See Iweka (Gamification incl. online game, receiving credits for completed tasks, team competition, leaderboard) | See Iweka (+) (+ and positive behavior changes maintained at follow-up) |
See Iweka (individual) |
| Ruiz-Tagle and Schueftan (2021) | Chile | Air pollution | Nudging and information—information sign as a magnet above the stove's setting, including visits/phone calls to households; RCT incl. survey data) | + | Individual |
| Schultz et al. (2015) | USA | Energy | Social influence (social marketing)—in-store and school-based events to make people purchase and install LED light bulbs, incl. commitment, education, and rebates compared to control stores | + for electricity consumption behavior change | Individual |
| Sintov et al. (2016) | See Wynes (USA) | See Wynes (energy) |
See Wynes (Gamification [competition with incentives], general information, and feedback on electricity usage plus survey data) | See Wynes (+) |
See Wynes (individual) |
| Staddon et al. (2016) (Review) | USA (N = 10), UK (N = 5), Netherlands (N = 3), Canada (N = 2), Sweden (N = 1), and Singapore (N = 1) | Energy (N = 22) | Social influence via volunteers in workplace, meetings, general or tailored information and education, feedback, goal setting, gamification (competition and challenges), structural measures (e.g., building renovation) | ++ (eight studies), + (12 studies) | Individual, community |
| Wang and Boggio-Marzet (2018) | Spain | Mobility | Education—eco-driving training to apply emission and fuel consumption-reducing techniques | + | Individual |
| West et al. (2019) | UK (N = 1), Sweden (N = 1) | Energy, food, consumption, mobility | Tailored information using a Carbon Footprint Calculator | o | Individual |
| Wynes et al. (2018) (Review) | USA (N = 15), Denmark (N = 4), Sweden (N = 3), China (N = 1), India (N = 1), South Africa (N = 1) | Energy (N = 29), food (N = 6), mobility (N = 5) | Nudging (food, energy), information, feedback, social influences incl. goal setting, commitment, gamification (competition) | +/++ depending on the study | Individual |