To promote pro-environmental behavior, there is a growing trend of applying behavioral science approaches in public policy. This study aimed to improve waste separation rates in the offices of the Fukushima prefectural government by developing and testing nudge labels that incorporated simplification, reminder, and question-form message. Four departments in the building were selected for the experiment: two departments (one environmental and one non-environmental) were assigned to the intervention group where nudge labels were displayed, while the other two departments (one environmental and one non-environmental) served as the control group. The rate of plastic contamination in burnable waste was measured and compared between the groups. The results showed that the intervention group reduced the contamination rate by 6 percentage points, or approximately 38%, compared to the control group. Moreover, this reduction effect further increased two weeks after the intervention ended. These findings suggests that intuitive clarification of the rules, reminder and question-form message can enhance compliance with pro-environmental behavior.

Authors:
Kaori Uetake, Policy Nudge Design Japan LLC., Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Kaori Uetake is currently CEO of Policy Nudge Design Japan LCC. and doing PhD in Nara Women's University, Japan.

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