Green Gamification
Motivating Sustainable Behaviour Through Games
The path towards a sustainable future in dense urban environments will be paved by all of us who reside in or commute to such areas every day. As highlighted in our previous article, the challenge is to engage and motivate citizens to help achieve the sustainable goals of their own urban environment.
Resource-efficient transport systems are gaining increased attention and have become an important objective for cities and international organizations.¹ But even the most innovative and expensive mobility policies implemented by public bodies are prone to failure if they do not increase the awareness of inhabitants and inspire them to make positive changes.²
The question then becomes:
“How do we incentivise people to be more aware of their environment and change their unsustainable habits?”
Gamification is one approach with proven results.
What is Gamification?
The concept of smart and sustainable cities comes to life when citizens get involved, and the method of gamification has already proven to be very effective catalyst. The term became more widespread in 2010 and represents the “application of game principles and design elements in non-game contexts”.³ It is also described as an more informal umbrella term for the use of video game elements in non-gaming systems to improve user experience (UX) and user engagement.⁴ In the course of the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme, Horizon 2020, the European Commission has recognized the importance of mainstreaming the application of gaming technologies, design, and aesthetics to non-recreational contexts to create social and economic benefits.⁵
Gamification is about motivation, fun, rewards, competition, and challenges. It hooks us by meeting our basic human needs for achievement, appreciation, reciprocity, and a sense of control over our little corner of life.⁶
It aims to engage and motivate people to achieve their goals; in our case, it is used to incentivise positive changes in behaviour to help people improve their urban environment.
The purpose of gamification is to incorporate mechanics and rewards that make people use the system, bring in friends, and keep coming back. This brings users’ motivations in line with achieving the desired results. As noted by two leading experts in this area, Gabe Zichermann and Christopher Cunningham,
“only by carefully unpacking consumer emotions and desires can we design something that really sticks — and only through the power of gamification can we make that experience predictable, repeatable, and financially rewarding”.⁷
In today’s competitive battle for attention, games are the most effective tool for leveraging technology, rising above marketing noise and engaging the socially networked consumer.⁸ Users play these games with the goal of obtaining status and reputation, as well as to earn rewards, material or virtual. The most widely used gamification elements include points, badges, and leaderboards, and more complex reward structures include levels, paths, challenges, missions, feedback, and user powers.⁹
Gamification in Practice
When gamified programs were implemented in Australia to encourage citizens to walk and cycle, the result was that 35% of car trips to school were replaced with sustainable transportation options.¹⁰
In Singapore, a program was introduced aimed at motivating citizens to use public transportation outside of rush hours. Participants were included in a raffle and received rewards. In 2012, after 6 months of testing, the result of the program was an estimated 8% shift from rush hours to normal hours.
Other green-oriented companies such as Recyclebank attract users by awarding points for taking sustainable actions like recycling, saving energy, and learning about environmental topics. Customers can also earn points by taking quizzes and making pledges. These points can then be redeemed with reward partners for various products and services.¹¹
How can we use the principles of gamification to reduce our unsustainable transport carbon footprint?
Stay tuned for our upcoming series of posts to find out!
[1]: European Commission. White paper 2011 — Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area. (link)
[2]: Kazhamiakin R., Marconi A., Perillo M., Pistore M., Piras L., Avesani F., Perri N., Valetto G. (2015). Using Gamification to Incentivize Sustainable Urban Mobility; 10.13140/RG.2.1.2622.2166; page 1. (link)
[3]: Huotari K., Hamari J.; 2012; Defining Gamification — A Service Marketing Perspective, Proceeding of the 16th International Academic Mind Trek Conference, page 18.
[4]: Deterding S., O’Hara K., Sicar M., Dixon D., Nacke L. Gamification: Using Game Design Elements in Non-Gaming Contexts. (link)
[5]: European Commission. H2020-Gaming and Gamificaiton. (link)
[6]: Hommes V. Using green gamification for fun and fame. Published on GreenBiz.com. (link)
[7]: Zichermann G., Cunningham C. Gamification by Design. O’Reilly Media, Inc. ©2011.
[8]: Kamal A. The Not-At-All-Distant Future of Green Gamification. Published on GreenBiz.com. (link)
[9]: Deterding S., Dixon D., Khaled R., and Nacke L. From Game Design Elements to Gamefulness: Defining ”Gamification”. (link)
[10]: M. R. Zica et al. 2018 IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng. 294 012045. (link)
[11]: Hommes V. Using green gamification for fun and fame. Published on GreenBiz.com. (link)
