How to Motivate People Toward Sustainable Practices

 

 

Whether you’re a city dweller or you’re living in a rural area, it can be agreed that there are ways to incorporate sustainable practices in one’s life. You may have already done many things to reduce your carbon footprint and often people tell me they long to motivate others. However you can’t rush in with a holier-than-thou attitude, because it turns people off and has the exact opposite effect. There might be people that think it’s not worth it, is too expensive, too time consuming or find it all too overwhelming – just like I did when I started my own journey.

But there are subtle ways to give a gentle nudge to other people to change their lives in order to improve their sustainability credentials, feel they are being part of the solution and hopefully reduce their carbon footprint all at the same time:

Don’t Force It

When it comes to getting others to agree or have a similar mindset to you, you’re going to want to avoid at all costs trying to force your ideas on them. That pressure is going to make someone disinterested and even turn the other way, which is something you’re going to want to avoid at all costs.  However, you can still educate them on something such as the global food security index and then let them make up their mind on the best course of action. Education is going to get further than forcing, so even when it comes to sustainability and getting people to be more eco-cautious, this is the best thing you can do.

It’s All in the Education

Environmental education gives people the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to create sustainable lifestyles. It is a critical part of enabling individuals to adapt to the rapid changes occurring on our planet and in our climate. This can be done in a lot of different ways, such as workshops (especially local-based), creating content, and so much more. Just educating people in a happy manner can surprisingly make a massive impact.

Focus on Community Action

It’s important to be a part of a community that focuses on sustainability, as a group is able to succeed more than just one individual. But having this community can also lead to more awareness and more community-oriented events taking place too, that includes electric use as well. Changing people’s behaviour to be more sustainable requires a lot of work and energy. This work is easier when the change is made in a way that appeals to people’s motivations and interests. A positive message is more effective than one that evokes guilt or fear. It is also more successful if it is repeated.

Plus, even if there is a small group making a difference in the community, it’s going to lead to a positive effect on others who will then want to help be a part of the sustainability movement. So focusing on gathering people in the community to take positive action is going to help push more people within the community to also pick up sustainable practices. Some ideas can include the following:

• Community Garden
• Community-based cleanups
• More donation bins
• More recycling bins
• Local compost bin or compost pile
• Creating a public transportation system, sidewalks, and cycle paths

Some of these will require city planning, but in the end, all of these can make a difference, even some of the smaller components.