Report – Sustainable Behavior
(Introductory edition*)
* Please note: This paper can also be presented in greater strategic depth for public and private audiences. Contact us for details.
Summary: What does it take to sustain the right behaviors over time? Many groups still use 'guilt' and apocalypse imagery to motivate adoption. And they talk about unfairness to next generations. But are these the most effective messages?
In 2007, Vermillion began research into sustainable behavior. A credible research report from the early '90s told us that most adults 'get' the risk of unmanaged environmental impacts. However, we see that when they vote as citizens and consumers, they are driven by different factors. It’s clearly not a straight line between knowing what to do, doing it, and having that successfully reinforced over time.
This report examines the dominant moral reasoning theories and their application to the challenges of motivating sustainable behavior—and suggests what will be more effective approaches going forward.
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First Edition: April 2012
Intended audiences:
SD practitioners, NGOs, public agencies and UN Stakeholders
David Peters
David consults with progressive groups on the role of design in enabling positive social change. Based in San Francisco since 1996, he has directed major projects for The Ocean Conservancy, San Francisco Planning + Urban Research Association (SPUR), U.N. World Environment Day 2005, and Ernst & Young. During his years in New York, David led innovation teams to develop new client-facing technology services for T. Rowe Price and Citibank.
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Brian Innes
Brian helps Vermillion improve the public conversation around sustainability. His expertise in the areas of communications, agriculture science, consumer labelling and public affairs makes him an essential counsellor.
He holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons.) in agriculture from the University of Guelph and a Master of Science in agricultural economics from the University of Saskatchewan. His research focused on quality assurance policy and how consumers apportion trust to groups involved in food labelling. He went on to gain a global understanding of the interface between politics and policy in an internship project that took him to the legislatures of Ottawa, Brussels, London, Edinburgh, Iqaluit, Quebec and Washington, D.C.
Today, he is a strategic communications and public affairs consultant with a leading global firm. Brian provides counsel and research to a variety of clients in the public and private sectors.
Brian Innes (Ottawa, Canada)
Brian helps Vermillion improve the public conversation around sustainability. His expertise in the areas of communications, agriculture science, consumer labelling and public affairs makes him an essential counsellor.
He holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons.) in agriculture from the University of Guelph and a Master of Science in agricultural economics from the University of Saskatchewan. His research focused on quality assurance policy and how consumers apportion trust to groups involved in food labelling. He went on to gain a global understanding of the interface between politics and policy in the Parliamentary Internship Programme, where he experienced the legislatures of Ottawa, Brussels, London, Edinburgh, Iqaluit, Quebec and Washington, D.C. As part of the program, Brian managed legislative, communication and strategic projects for the industry critic from the Bloc Quebecois and the Conservative parliamentary secretary to the minister of national defence.
Today, he is a strategic communications and public affairs consultant with a leading global firm. Brian provides counsel and research to a variety of clients in the public and private sectors.
Matt Palmer
To fulfill Vermillion’s mission to improve public literacy with accurate, useful and high-impact media – and to attract people to constructive insights into full-spectrum issues – we need guidance and production assistance from world-class talent. Enter Matt Palmer.
Matt has been in film for the past 20 years as a writer, director and producer working in drama and documentary. His newest project is a multi-format feature (TV series, web doc, education) called Unintended Consequences, looking at the externalities of the energy systems that many regions will need to transition from high-carbon to low-carbon economies.
Matt's current Vermillion project
Working with Randy Bradshaw Matt will film and post-produce the first web- and broadcast- ready episodes of the Innovators in Sustainability project—filming later this year.
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More credentials
Matt's won several writing and directing awards, including a Silver Hugo from the Chicago International Film Festival; he was part of the team that won a Canadian New Media award for Best Online Program.