Hi all, Jack Johnson is a Hawaii-based folk musician who is actively involved in sustainability initiatives. He runs a campaign called “All at Once”, which is a collaboration between him and green charities that promote fan involvement at his concerts. One of the things he does is to encourage fans to support sustainable, local food systems. There are a variety of ways to do that, of course, but one of the most interesting ways that he promotes fan involvement in this regard is through public commitments at his concerts. There is an area at each of his concerts where you can “Capture your commitment”. The fans hold up a sign with a commitment such as “I will eat a locally grown meal every week” or “I will compost my food waste”. The fans can then search for their photo after the show, as it is published on the All at Once website. The All at Once campaign also encourages fans to capture their commitment at home, a local farmers market, or a community garden. They can simply choose a commitment, take a photo/video of that commitment, and then share it on social media using the following hashtag: #AAOLocalFood. Commitments are effective in promoting a variety of sustainable behaviors. One of the key elements of effective commitments that the All at Once campaign has captured well is that commitments should be made public (i.e. witnessable by others). This is illustrated in a study that compared private versus public commitments to conserve electricity and natural gas. Some study participants were asked if their names could be published in the local newspaper. Those who agreed to this public commitment saved significantly more energy than those in the private condition. Notably, even after the researchers told the study participants that their names would not be published, they continued to save energy. Simply asking for their names to be made public resulted in a 15% reduction in natural gas and a 20% reduction in electricity used. Why are public commitments so effective? This may have to do with our motivation to be recognized as consistent. It may also have to do with our desire to enhance our public image and identity. The need for social approval has been shown to influence many behaviors, whether sustainable and healthy or not. In addition to commitments being made public, they should also be durable, meaning that the commitment is in place for a significant period of time. This is not necessarily the case for the All at Once campaign, as the commitment being made here is a one-time occurrence. In your programming, you may want to consider public commitments with call backs or a follow-up of some kind that ensures participants’ commitments are both public and durable. To read more about Jack Johnson’s All at Once campaign, click here. To read more about the use of commitments to influence sustainable behavior, consider purchasing the 4th edition of Dr. Doug McKenzie-Mohr’s Fostering Sustainable Behavior book here.
