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Adapt messages to your primary target audience’s needs

Many programs found that market research can help identify, segment, and characterize audiences to understand how to prioritize them. A comprehensive evaluation of over 140 programs across the United States found that programs had greater success when they identified specific target populations...

Green with Envy: Neighbor Comparisons and Social Norms in Five Home Energy Report Programs

Author(s)

Kira Ashby and Hilary Forster, Consortium for Energy Efficiency,

Bruce Ceniceros, Sacramento Municipal Utility District,

Bobbi Wilhelm, Puget Sound Energy,

Kim Friebel, Commonwealth Edison,

Rachel Henschel, National Grid,

Shahana Samiullah, Southern California Edison

Publication Date

2012

Organizations or Programs

National Grid,

Southern California Edison,

Puget Sound Energy,

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD),

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComED)

This paper explores ways in which program administrators are using social norms to spur behavior change and, as a result, curb energy use. In recent years, home energy reports (HER) programs have applied the concept of social norms to the energy efficiency context. These feedback programs inform customers of how their energy consumption compares to their neighbors' and provide other information about their usage, with the goal of enticing customers to change their energy use behavior to improve their relative neighborhood ranking.