Sustainability has become one of the central topics of our society. Regarding this topic, we face a multitude of challenges and issues that urgently need to be addressed in order to create a more sustainable future for all.
In recent years, my awareness of sustainability and our environment has become increasingly bigger. Therefore, I’m trying to make environmentally friendly decisions as often as possible. I don’t eat meat, I try to buy my clothes second hand or from sustainable brands, I recycle and try to avoid unnecessary packaging. At the same time, however, I noticed that many people are not sufficiently aware of the sustainability problems we face or do not know how they can make their contribution. Therefore, it is important to create more awareness for this issue and to provide offers that make it as easy as possible to see how each individual can do their part for a more sustainable society and motivate them to do so.
Existing projects
Clearly there are already existing a lot of projects and initiatives that are aiming to motivate people to do something good for the environment.
One well-known concept for avoiding conventional packaging waste is „zero waste stores“. These exist in many Austrian cities and are an alternative to conventional supermarkets. Food is available here unpackaged, from food dispensers and for filling into containers you bring yourself.
In addition to that, usually also other reusable or recyclable products are on offer (1).
Another renowned initiative to draw attention to the urgency of climate and nature conservation is the WWF’s Earth Hour. Every year, for one hour on the last Saturday in March, the lights are switched off collectively to draw attention to the urgency of nature and climate protection. Launched in 2007 by WWF Australia, this global campaign is intended to send a strong signal to international decision-makers to do justice to their responsibility to protect our nature and habitats (2).
Besides major climate protection campaigns like this one, interactive elements, gamification and personalized approaches can actively engage users in the learning process and motivate them to implement sustainable measures. It can create higher engagement and increase the likelihood that people will make lasting changes in their behavior (3).
There is a variety of media and technologies, that could be used to convey information, including interactive graphics, videos, apps, virtual or augmented reality and more. This provides multiple opportunities to present the topic of sustainability in engaging ways.
To be able to do so, it is crucial to answer some fundamental questions.
Central research-topics and upcoming steps
Since „sustainability“ is a very broad field, the research will also be very open at the beginning. The aim is to create as broad a pool of knowledge as possible on the topic.
The following questions will need to be addressed:
- How is sustainability in general defined?
- What are the problems in communicating the topic within different target groups?
– Which subtopics need to be communicated better?
– Does it make sense to focus on a specific area of the topic sustainability? - How can individuals integrate more sustainability into their lives?
- What are the most effective methods for presenting information on sustainability in an engaging and interactive way?
- How has knowledge transfer on the topic of sustainability already been implemented in the past?
– What kind of actions, apps, challenges or other interactive approaches have already been implemented in this regard and what can I learn from them?
– Which companies were involved in this? - What specific topics and subtopics should be covered?
- What levers do you need to pull to get people to change their habits?
– Do we need new approaches on how to engage people in making more sustainable choices?
– Is it possible to just impart knowledge on the topic in an interactive and engaging way to get the desired results?
Expected challenges
With all the questions that need to be answered, there also come along some challenging parts of the research.
Since sustainability is a very broad and complex topic that encompasses various aspects such as environmental, social and economic, it could be challenging to find a clear focus for the research.
Besides that, technology and tools in interaction design are evolving rapidly, so it might be difficult to find current and relevant information that reflects the latest developments.
Furthermore it might become challenging to talk to people who have a deeper insight into certain topics to find out more about them first-hand.
Overall it is to be said, that interactivity allows for a creative and effective approach to raising awareness about sustainability and encouraging people to make more sustainable choices. It helps bridge the gap between knowledge and action.
Relevant institutions
European environment agency: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en
Umweltbundesamt Austria: https://www.umweltbundesamt.at/
European Commision – Education Area: https://education.ec.europa.eu/de
References
(1) Zero Waste Austria. Zero Waste Shops – Unverpackt einkaufen in Österreich. https://www.zerowasteaustria.at/zero-waste-shops.html
(2) WWF Österreich. WWF EARTH HOUR 2023. https://www.wwf.at/earthhour/
(3) Alsawaier, R. (2017). The effect of gamification on motivation and engagement. 10.1108/IJILT-02-2017-0009
