Nudging
Introduction and Purpose
Nudging is a method of presenting people with choices, but where the most desired choice is framed as the default one, to optimise the likelihood of it being chosen. Nudging is “any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people’s behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives. To count as a mere nudge, the intervention must be easy and cheap to avoid” (Thaler and Sunstein, 2008 pg. 8). Nudging works by subtly shaping the context in which choices are made, making desired actions easier, more visible, or more appealing without restricting alternatives.
According to Hertwig et al., 2025, nudges can be broadly grouped into two categories:
- Architectural nudges – interventions that alter the framing or presentation of available choices, such as the placement of products, default options, or visual cues that influence decision pathways.
- Educative nudges – interventions that provide information, reminders, warnings, or feedback on others’ behaviour to enhance awareness and support informed decision-making.
Nudging is used extensively to influence ‘green’ choices and behaviour in the workplace. The pro-biodiversity choice should be framed as the default one. Examples have included:
- Reducing the number of office car-parking spaces while increasing the availability of bike racks to promote active and low-carbon commuting (if the workplace is easily and safely accessibly by bike)
- Removing individual desk bins to encourage the use of centralised recycling and waste stations.
- Adjusting thermostat settings to more energy-efficient default temperatures.
- Switching off printers automatically after periods of inactivity and setting double-sided printing as the default.
- Reducing plate sizes in office canteens to minimise food waste.
- Introducing more live plants within office spaces, creating shared responsibility for their care.
- Providing free packets of plant seeds in communal areas to encourage biodiversity engagement at home or work.
- Installing insect hotels and bird feeders in visible outdoor areas, fostering connection to nature and collective care practices
Key Features
Timeframe:
- A Nudging intervention can be implemented in 3 to 12 months. Shorter projects of around 3 months may cover the design, testing and rollout of a single nudge, while larger or more complex programmes involving multiple behavioural changes across departments can extend up to a year.
Materials Required:
- Access to research tools to identify existing nudges and assess their relevance in an organisational context.
- Resources to support implementation, such as visual prompts, signage, or physical materials like insect hotels.
- Budget to fund the development, delivery and evaluation of the Nudging strategy.
- Monitoring tools to observe and assess employee behaviour, ensuring that data collection follows GDPR requirements and ethical good practice, including transparency and informed consent where necessary.
- Feedback tools to gather employee perspectives on the Nudging strategy, supporting continuous improvement and ethical reflection on its effectiveness and impact.
Skills Required:
- Project management and leadership to plan, coordinate and implement the nudge strategy across departments.
- Evaluation and assessment to monitor behavioural outcomes, measure impact and inform ongoing refinement of the strategy.
- Research to identify, adapt and contextualise proven pro-biodiversity nudges from other organisations or sectors.
- Financial and budgeting to conduct cost–benefit analysis and allocate resources efficiently.
- Communication and engagement to explain the purpose of the nudges clearly, foster trust and encourage participation among employees.
- Ethics and data governance to ensure transparency, informed consent and full compliance with GDPR and organisational ethical standards, when monitoring behaviour or collecting feedback.
Potential Impact:
- Strengthened protection and restoration of biodiversity through everyday workplace practices that contribute directly to ecological improvement.
- Development of a workplace culture where pro-biodiversity actions are understood, valued and embedded within organisational identity.
- Long-term behavioural change among employees, with sustainable practices becoming habitual and self-reinforcing.
- Visible contribution to the organisation’s biodiversity and sustainability goals, demonstrating leadership and accountability in environmental governance.
- Enhanced organisational reputation, both internally and externally, as a forward-looking and environmentally responsible employer.
- Improved staff morale, motivation and sense of collective purpose, supported by participation in meaningful environmental action.
Instructions
To implement Nudging within an organisation, use the following steps as a guide:
- Define the behavioural goal, clearly identify the specific behaviour you wish to encourage. The goal should be concrete, measurable, and aligned with organisational objectives and employee practices. E.g. encouraging staff to reduce single-use plastics, switch off unused equipment, or choose more sustainable commuting options.
- Understand the decision context, analyse how employees currently make choices related to the target behaviour. This includes understanding the physical, social, and organisational environments that shape decision-making. Consider factors such as workplace layout, available resources, time pressures, social norms and management expectations, that may either support or hinder the desired behaviour.
- Select the type of nudge, determine whether an architectural nudge (altering how options are presented, for example through defaults or visual cues, e.g. setting double-sided printing as the default on office printers or placing recycling bins in more visible locations) or an educative nudge (providing information, feedback, or reminders e.g. email reminders about biodiversity events such as an iNaturalist BioBlitz or sharing feedback on team energy use) best suits the situation. In some cases, combining both can strengthen impact.
- Design and test the intervention, develop the nudge so that the pro-biodiversity or sustainable choice is the easiest, most visible and most rewarding option. Pilot it with a small group of employees to assess clarity, usability and potential unintended effects.
- Ensure ethical integrity, be transparent about the purpose and nature of the nudge, avoid manipulation and respect employees’ autonomy. Where data are collected, ensure compliance with GDPR and organisational ethical standards, and obtain ethical approval if required.
- Implement and communicate, roll out the nudge across the organisation, using clear messaging and, where appropriate, feedback showing collective participation to establish social norms.
- Monitor and refine, track behavioural outcomes using appropriate indicators, gather feedback from employees and adjust the nudge design as needed to maintain effectiveness and fairness over time.
When designing the nudge for your business context, consider the following best practice advice:
- Involve employees in the design process to ensure legitimacy and relevance. Participatory design allows staff to identify context-specific barriers and propose practical adjustments.
- Embed ethical principles throughout implementation. Transparency, respect for autonomy and protection of personal data, help build trust and reduce the risk of perceived manipulation.
- Establish clear indicators and review processes to track outcomes and maintain accountability. Regular evaluation helps sustain impact, identify diminishing effects and prevent unintended consequences, such as burden shifting or unequal impacts across staff groups.
- Communicate openly about the purpose and design of the nudge so employees understand how and why changes are being introduced.
- Combine nudges with supportive interventions, such as training or feedback loops to enhance understanding and strengthen long-term behavioural change
Rationale
Nudging is grounded in behavioural research showing that small, carefully designed changes to the choice environment can shift decisions in reliable ways. By lowering cognitive effort and making the preferred action the easiest and most salient option, nudges align everyday behaviour with personal values and organisational aims. Defaults, clear cues and strategic placement are effective, because many workplace decisions are habitual and rapid. When introduced transparently and explained, nudges can also prompt reflection that links individual actions to collective goals. Repeated exposure to consistent prompts supports habit formation, which helps the change persist beyond the initial campaign.
Benefits:
- Influences behaviour without coercion or reprimands, reducing resistance and maintaining employee autonomy.
- Can be implemented at relatively low cost, often through small adjustments to existing systems or environments.
- Aligns everyday employee actions with organisational goals, sustainability targets and wider business values.
- Helps establish pro-biodiversity and environmentally responsible norms within workplace culture.
- Supports long-term behavioural change, as actions become habitual and persist while the sustainable option remains the default.
Links to Resources
Green Nudges offers examples of green nudges
The Behavioural Insights Team have created a Little Book of Green Nudges
Siaw-Chui Wee et al., 2021 offer a freely available systematic review of research conducted on Nudging to promote pro-environmental behaviour.
