Changing behavior is arguably the most challenging aspect of building a more sustainable economy and society. In fact, two of the other often-cited challenges – technology and finance – have their own significant behavioral component. The problem of which new technology will be widely adopted has been an area of study for technology firms for decades. The pioneering and Nobel-prize winning behavioral research on Prospect Theory by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky spawned the area of behavioral finance, now widely applied despite the challenge it poses to the long-prevailing orthodoxy of “market efficiency”. (For some, it was welcomed because of that challenge, but that’s another story…)
Considering a gender-based component to behavior change just adds to the challenge. A recent article published in the Solutions Journal entitled “Making Green More Macho” takes on this topic and is well worth reading (the title alone should make it worth a look). It’s written by Edwin Stafford and Cathy Hartman of the Center for the Market Diffusion of Renewable Energy and Clean Technology at Utah State University.
The fact that there is a gender gap in “green” and by extension sustainability, will likely not come as a surprise to most people. The authors do provide some interesting perspective on that, though, noting that as women control 85% of household spending (because they still bear most of the household responsibilities), they are the natural target for green product marketing.
The focus of the article, though, is the success of the “Don’t Mess with Texas” campaign and its lessons for overcoming the green gender gap. Despite what many people today assume, “Don’t Mess with Texas” is not the state’s official motto. That campaign, in fact, is a green campaign – created in 1984 to address a big litter problem on Texas roads.
The article is food for thought on addressing behavior change for more than just litter in Texas.