With 2030, the interim target year for international carbon neutrality, just four years away, a report published in September by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) titled "BEHAVIOR CHANGE TO ACHIEVE NET ZERO: Best Practices and Examples for Engaging with Tenants" indicates that approximately 80% of CO2 emissions from building operations, which account for about 30% of global CO2 emissions, originate from the exclusive areas of individual and corporate tenants. Given this background, tenant behavior change is essential for successful energy conservation and sustainable initiatives in building operations.
Based on our own examples, we will introduce the key strategies for promoting tenant behavior change highlighted in the report: financial and legal incentives, recognition and awards, gamification, green nudges, green defaults, and tenant education.
1. Financial and Legal Incentives
According to the report, both financial and non-financial incentives are effective in promoting tenant behavior change.
Financial Incentives
In Japan, the use of financial incentives, such as gift certificates, is a common method for soliciting tenant cooperation. However, in other countries, more significant financial incentives, such as rent or utility bill discounts (in Europe and the US, it is common for owners to cover utility costs and then bill tenants), are reportedly observed.
Legal Incentives
Legal incentives refer to economic and institutional measures stipulated by law to encourage specific behaviors. Unlike "incentive schemes" that motivate employees within a company, these are established by national and public institutions as policies to guide individuals and businesses toward desirable actions. The report highlights New York City's Local Law 97, which imposes penalties for GHG emissions exceeding a baseline for properties above a certain size, allowing a portion of the penalty costs for emission violations to be passed on to tenants through rent increases. It also cites France's Décret Tertiaire (Tertiary Decree), which mandates both building owners and tenants to report energy performance, clarifying responsibilities in lease agreements to encourage collaboration on environmental measures.
2. Recognition and Awards
The key to recognition and awards programs is to make tenants feel that their energy-saving and environmentally friendly actions are being valued. When tenants can confirm their contributions, it encourages the habituation of sustainable behavior and is also expected to have the effect of increasing loyalty.
3. Gamification
Gamification is a method used in many educational apps that incorporates elements of quests and competition to naturally guide user behavior. For example, our environmental wellness education game "Sustainable Challenge" invites users on an adventure to collect "Sustainable Berries" by answering quizzes. By awarding badges and points based on achievement and visualizing progress in a ranking format, it is possible to increase tenant participation in energy-saving activities.
4. Green Nudges and Framing Effect
A "nudge" is an English word meaning to gently push or prompt, and it refers to a method of designing systems and choices based on human behavioral characteristics to guide individuals in a desirable direction. The framing effect, on the other hand, describes how people's judgments and actions change depending on how information is presented. For example, the widespread use of signs in public restrooms saying "Thank you for always keeping this area clean" can be considered a result of validation through the framing effect.
In a demonstration experiment conducted at KDX Toyosu Grand Square in cooperation with the Institute for Building Environment and Energy Conservation, as part of an environmental ministry demonstration project, we measured the difference in effects between loss framing (a message like "if you don't do XX, then YY will happen") and gain framing (a message like "if you do XX, then YY will happen"). By combining framing and nudges, it is possible to guide tenants toward green choices.
Related articles:
Decarbonization Demonstration Project to Promote Decarbonization in Offices Through Behavioral Science (Nudge) - Demonstration Experiment Utilizing EaSyGo
5. Green Default
Green default is a strategy that sets the easiest choice as the environmentally friendly one. For example, by setting the default for lighting and air conditioning to energy-saving mode, tenants can engage in sustainable behavior without conscious effort. This method is highly effective for automating and habituating energy-saving actions.
6. Tenant Education
Tenant education is an indispensable element for establishing behavioral change, and GRESB even includes a section on providing "ESG guides." Tenant education initiatives are carried out through various mediums, such as holding tenant events, providing information in move-in materials, on bulletin boards within the building, and on digital signage in elevator lobbies and cars.
By combining diverse strategies to encourage tenant behavior change, overall building energy efficiency and sustainability can be enhanced. It is crucial for real estate operations aiming for net-zero to comprehensively implement key measures such as financial and legal incentives, recognition and awards, gamification, green nudges, green defaults, and tenant education. However, a common concern for real estate owners and asset managers is the lack of resources to efficiently implement these initiatives, such as organizing awareness events or providing information through posters and apps.
We offer a tenant engagement platform and services for organizing events and content to efficiently execute these measures. We provide EaSyGo for offices and large residential properties, and ResiGo for small to medium-sized residential portfolios, both of which encompass key functions to support behavioral change, including gamification, tenant education, and incentive design.
For details on each service and implementation examples, you can request materials below. Please use them to strengthen tenant collaboration and improve building sustainability.