You can have the most energy efficient heating and cooling system in the country, but if people change the temperature settings, or leave the doors open, or block the sensors they will not work as efficiently as designed. You can have recycling bins on every floor, but if people aren't using them, you are still generating waste.
This is where behaviour change comes in. The Sustainability in Singapore behaviour change programme trains you to run effective and engaging campaigns within your organisation to make it easy, fun, and desirable for people to carry out the behaviours that will make your organisation more sustainable, and at the same time help to make your organisation better for employee wellbeing.
Sustainability in Singapore is an employee engagement training Programme created by Global Action Plan UK for on behalf of BCA and SGBC, in order to support organisations in Singapore to reduce their carbon impact, improve their overall sustainability and employee well-being through behaviour change.
23,000+
staff reached through training, experiences, games, signage, induction and more
18,000
kilograms of CO2 saved... and these savings will continue year on years as the changes are embedded in the organisations
12
organisations, including offices, hotels, supermarkets and even a wildlife reserve have taken part to change behaviours
68
behaviours improved, from taking the stairs instead of the elevator or adjusting air conditioning settings to reconsidering how and where people work within a building
"The campaign material is a real eye opener. It is shocking to know how big DP's environmental impact is. So shocking that it encourages change.”
– DP Architects
"I have noticed that our team members are able to appreciate the importance of sustainability and promoting quality of living for our present and future generations.”
– Rainer Tenius, General Manager of Swissôtel Merchant Court, Singapore
At GIC, they wanted staff who were able to use the stairs more to contribute to overall health, and reduce energy consumption. Part of the campaign involved the use of motivational messages on walls which linked taking the stairs to having a healthy lifestyle
How the programme works
Some equipment and lights were being left on unnecessarily. By talking to key staff, providing clear signage and self-help instructions and giving green apples with messages to staff, the "kill a Watt, save a dollar" campaign really took off.
Our behaviour change approach draws on over 25 years experience and well-known frameworks such as EAST, BJ Fogg’s model and Community Based Social Marketing. The Sustainability in Singapore programme trained key staff in identifying behaviour change opportunities as well as designing and implementing effective behaviour change campaigns.
Working with a behaviour change coach, participants came together in person or online for behaviour change training. These workshops helped participants understand the behaviour change process in depth, going through clear examples and helping them understand how to apply the learning to their organisation.
Following the workshops, participants worked through the behaviour change process with the support of their coach, being guided step by step through how to implement an effective campaign, identify its impact, and communicate its successes.
What we've learned
At DBS, staff used games and fun activities to improve recycling rates.
- Clarity is essential
Consistency and clarity in the key messages of the campaign makes it easier to engage your target audience and embed the actions into daily life. - Motivations are different for different people
While a business is often motivated by monetary savings or reputational improvements, team members are interested in gaining new knowledge, acquiring new skills and creating a better work environment.
- Timing is critical
The success of a campaign can be massively influenced by what else is happening in a company at the same time. Make sure that staff have the capacity to get stuck into the changes that you are trying to make happen, and make the change as easy for them as possible.
“Through gamification, we learned and encouraged one another on how the trash should be disposed without contamination in the transparent bins allocated”
– DBS
Our funders and partners
Sustainability in Singapore is a user engagement training Programme created by Global Action Plan on behalf of BCA and SGBC, in order to support organisations in Singapore to reduce their carbon impact, improve their overall sustainability and employee well-being through behaviour change.
Get involved
Would you like to run a behaviour change campaign across your company, city or country?