Making Change Happen

Folks who play Cool Choices discover simple eco-driving habits that save money and reduce their carbon footprint. During a game of Cool Choices, card actions offer points to players who improve their daily driving habits. For example, players can earn points for their team by avoiding “jack rabbit” starts and stops, driving the speed limit, and removing extra weight from their vehicles. (Of course there are also points for choosing public transportation, biking or walking instead of driving.)

By making eco-driving habits a fun and social challenge, these changes become a simple and cool way to see increased fuel efficiency and to be more green.

Check out what our Cool Choices participants have to say about their new driving habits:

Drive the Speed Limit, Save $

“I drive around 500 miles/week and slowing down saves me close to $10/week in fuel.”

“I’ve slowed down while driving most places. As a result, I’ve seen about a 3% increase in fuel efficiency.”

“I tend to drive fast and Cool Choices has taught me about money savings to drive the speed limit and [I] walked away being less stressed and calmer when driving and taking in the beautiful scenery around me.”

“It is hard for me to give up driving all together, but I was glad to hear that it was possible to make my habits better.”

Combine Errand Trips, Follow the Over/Under 40MPH Rule

“My wife and I have made a pact to run into town only once per day.
Previous to the game we might drive into town three or four times a day… Now we make a list of things we need.”

“If we need something, we do a list and bundle the errands together.  Saves time/gas/money.”

“Learning the 40mph rule (under 40mph windows down, over 40mph use AC) was very helpful,
I never knew the threshold before but suspected there must be one.”

Choose Not to Idle, Maintain Recommended Tire Pressure 

“I will never idle my car if I have the option to turn it off.”

“My co-worker actually permanently changed her commuting habits (leaving earlier in the morning to avoid sitting in traffic and idling)
because of the game. Come on now, that’s cool!”

“[I’m] committed to checking tire pressure on a weekly basis.”

Join in and try some of these green driving tips today! 

Looking for new and innovative ways to green your workplace? The Cool Choices online sustainability game can help; our game and engagement platform collects great ideas from employees on greening the workplace and builds a buzz about sustainability at your organization.

For example, a 30-point card prompts, “Suggest a new way to save energy at work.”

This is a simple and effective way to get employee engagement—and input specific to your organization—around sustainable changes that can be implemented. In just a few minutes a day, Cool Choices makes sustainability and energy-saving measures top of mind for your employees and delivers concrete energy and cost-saving strategies. Our clients receive an End-of-Game Report (including a compilation of employee suggestions) as part of their Cool Choices implementation.

Curious about the kinds of suggestions Cool Choices participants make?

Our clients see three kinds of ideas, each providing a different engagement opportunity:

1. Hidden Opportunities for Savings

In many cases participants identify very specific savings opportunities that were not visible to sustainability leaders. In our work with a regional healthcare network, for example, a small rural clinic had developed an innovative recycling strategy; when a participant shared the idea via Cool Choices the organization’s leadership was able to replicate it in other locations. In many cases front line staff have the clearest view on where resources are being wasted; soliciting their ideas can accelerate efficiencies.

2. Support for New Organization-level Protocols

Participants often suggest practical organization-wide changes that will reduce overall resource use. In many games participants identify a number of strategies for reducing fleet costs—like new protocols for carpooling and vehicle selection. Often these ideas are not new; typically both sustainability and accounting staff had identified most of the savings opportunities previously. Leaders didn’t pursue the ideas, though, due to concerns about staff acceptance. By providing bottom-up momentum—ideas about how the organization can live its commitment to sustainability, coming from everyone across the organization versus just another cost saving idea from the folks in accounting—the Cool Choices program provided an opportunity to talk about and implement these ideas.

3. Audacious Goals

Some participants will suggest dramatic changes that are seem well beyond an organization’s current goals—like installing sufficient solar panels to power an entire factory. Within the game these suggestions provide a unique two-way opportunity for dialogue and education. Helping staff understand, for example, the number of panels required to power an industrial operation can increase staff appreciation for the value of energy efficiency. At the same time, leaders gain insights from the kinds of audacious goals participants suggest—knowing that staff support audacious goals can nudge leaders to think bigger as they update organization-wide sustainability goals.

If you’d like to engage your employees in innovative approaches to accelerate your organization’s sustainability efforts, please contact us.

Take a picture of a sustainable action, then share it!

This is a simple one, but it’s important. Did you bike to work? Do you compost? Did you switch to LED bulbs? Print double-sided? Turn off the lights when you leave a room? Snap a selfie and share it on social media. Your photo is social proof that you are doing your part and it can motivate others to act too. Social norms are powerful. Seeing images of climate success is inspiring and motivating.

Wouldn’t it be cool to see your Facebook feed or Twitter or Instagram stream filled with images of regular people stepping up to embrace sustainability and take on climate change? This is part of what happens inside a game of Cool Choices; people playing the game are inspired by one another’s sustainable actions shared in the social stream of the game. Simple actions ripple out into more and more cool choices.

Curious about what sustainable practices your actions could inspire? Take a selfie, tag us on one of the accounts below, and see how your selfie inspires actions in your social circle. This is the chance to take a selfie for a cause!

See some examples on our Instagram account. Let’s make sustainability visible!

Cool Choices on Facebook
Cool Choices on Twitter
Cool Choices on Instagram

“I did not want to let my team down.”
– Cool Choices player

Teams are a cornerstone of the Cool Choices online sustainability game and engagement platform: you must be on a team to play.

We rely on teams because behavior change is hard and research shows it’s less hard when you have social support.

“The data is clear: when individuals are accountable to a team or get encouragement from others, it has a big impact on their well-being — the more support they have, the greater chance they’ll achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle.” Social Support: Impact on Health and the Bottom Line, Dean Witherspoon

In a game of Cool Choices a team’s standing depends on the activity of all team members—which means players are accountable to each other. It’s not unusual for teammates to develop nudge strategies—ways to remind each other to play.

Think about that for a moment: employees spontaneously reminding each other to adopt sustainable practices.

Jim, I saw you turn off the light – claim your Cool Choice so that we stay in the lead!

Hey Ann, I saw you claimed points today for carpooling—nice job!  Did you remind Alana to play?

Most Cool Choices players talk about sustainability with colleagues at least once a week during the game. Those are conversations where folks are sharing their values as well as pragmatic strategies for saving energy and resources.

One of the big challenges with inspiring action around climate change is that individuals often feel powerless in comparison to the scale of the issue. Seeing friends and colleagues take action—and being part of a team that is taking action—is empowering.  Our players are part of a team and that team is part of a larger community where hundreds or thousands of individuals are taking action.

With support, regular people can reduce their emissions; they can improve the quality of their lives while reducing the waste. Teams are a critical part of that strategy.

How can you apply the benefits of team dynamics to boost engagement in your workplace or community?

Curious about how Cool Choices can help your organization? Contact us for more information.

Team “Seventhwave Wavemakers” of Seventhwave organized their own e-waste drive during their game of Cool Choices.

In a game of Cool Choices, new actions are released every day. Players compete as teams to see who can take the greatest number of sustainable actions such as biking to work, turning off the lights when leaving a room, choosing a meatless meal and recycling.

Over and over, we see teams and players get inspired during the game to take on a project that goes beyond the actions in the game.

For example, a Cool Choices team recently decided to organize their own e-waste drive. This was not something we suggested they do to earn points. The team had an idea while playing Cool Choices so they took on this larger project. Cool Choices, a game that takes minutes to play, brought this team together, got them talking and inspired a whole new initiative.

A culture that embraces sustainability is contagious. It feels good to see people around you who want to do their part, big or small. If we can make sustainability visible, we’ll inspire a ripple effect where your actions inspire mine and mine inspire someone else’s. The growing momentum creates and reinforces a sense of efficacy. The more of us the better; like the team of people pictured, let’s take sustainability beyond the game, into our homes, workplaces, consumer choices and communities.

Together, we CAN embrace (and enjoy) being more sustainable. Together, with some innovation and inspiration, we can address climate change.

Curious about how Cool Choices can help your organization save money and get sustainable? Contact us and we’ll get back to you with more information.

Can a game prompt change? Can people have fun while addressing serious issues like climate change?

Learn the benefits of a game-based approach in this free 30-minute webinar.

You’ll come away from the webinar with new tips you can begin using immediately in your own sustainability efforts!

March 18th | 12pm-12:30pm CST
(1pm-1:30pm EST)

Register Now

Cool Choices recently co-hosted the Eighth Annual Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council (WSBC) Conference at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. WSBC’s conference features businesses talking frankly about their efforts on the path to sustainability. The tales are insightful and inspiring—I always leave the event feeling a bit more optimistic about our ability to address the enormous climate challenges ahead of us.

Our event host, UW-Oshkosh, for example: the Sierra Club ranked UW-Oshkosh the third greenest university in the nation. It was terrific to hear how local officials had accomplished this, engaging the whole campus around sustainable practices, despite a tight budget. Their story was echoed in a variety of other presentations where business leaders talked about saving energy, reducing waste, measuring impacts and mobilizing employees.

Locally made coffee mugs at #WSBCC! Much more sustainable than disposable plastic cups!

And it is not just about the presentations. I also talked to a variety of attendees who were working on innovative projects to green facilities, operations and even supply chains.

The community also highlights the benefits of businesses leading on climate change mitigation. As policy leaders negotiated toward an agreement in Paris, business leaders in Wisconsin talked about their real-world efforts to reduce carbon emissions while increasing profits.

Part of the bliss of coming together each year as a community of business leaders working on sustainability is that it feels good to tell your story to someone who faces similar challenges. The congratulatory pats mean more when they come from someone who knows firsthand how hard it is to shift an organization’s orientation. WSBC has built a community of practitioners and the community is strong, supportive and inspiring.

Posted by Kathy Kuntz, Executive Director at Cool Choices

More about the WSBC Conference

One of the most compelling aspects of this event is the networking. As usual, I was able to build new relationships. I heard about some difficult challenges and about a few outstanding victories. I helped a few people make connections that will make their quests easier and I heard a story or two I will share in the coming months to inspire others. I encourage you to experience this conference in 2016 to reap the benefits of networking with other business leaders engaged in sustainability efforts.

The WSBC Conference is Designed for:

• C Suite Officers, Board Members, Senior Managers
• Small Business Owners, Plant Managers, Sustainability Coordinators
• Green Teams
• Students Interested in Sustainability

The Cool Choices online sustainability game draws from a variety of social sciences to inspire and create behavior change, cut costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Cool Choices staff are long-time presenters and participants at the Behavior, Energy and Climate Change (BECC) conference. This event brings together an eclectic group of researchers, practitioners and advocates focused on environmentally sustainable behaviors. We were excited to represent our approach to game-based behavior change at the conference this year.

The 2015 BECC conference provided some terrific insights. For example, a recurring theme at BECC is the power of local. This year several presenters shared research showing that people are more responsive to messages with a local slant—it turns out that a locally-recognizable skyline in a Facebook post will increase clicks.

At Cool Choices we’re acutely aware that local is relevant and that it motivates—it’s why we implement our game and engagement platform within specific communities (within a business, across a city, or as part of an energy efficiency program). The Cool Choices game builds upon on our players’ sense of community, showing them that others in their community are adopting sustainable practices and that, cumulatively, those practices add up to significant impacts. So, just how do we “show” local actions and values in terms of sustainability within an online game environment?

• Social stream: An active social stream within the game platform lets players post photos of their sustainable actions, share sustainability tips or projects, and leave comments on and “cool” the posts of others in their community.
• Teams and Leaderboard: Cool Choices is a team game. Players often tell us they play, and keep playing, because they don’t want to let their team down. Players can check their team or individual standings within their community on the leaderboard.
• Cumulative Data: Players can see the estimated cost savings generated from their community’s efforts. This number builds with each day of game play. At the end of a game each client also receives an impact report.

Learn more about how Cool Choices makes sustainability visible.

Changing behaviors is hard, so for practitioners like us, the annual BECC conference is also an opportunity to trade strategies—to share what’s working, to commiserate about the challenges, and to remember that we’re not alone in this quest. Being part of a community of people who are promoting sustainable practices is powerful. Just as the Cool Choices sustainability game shows that people’s small actions add up, BECC reminds us that our efforts are part of a growing international movement to address climate change. Being part of a community feels good.

In addition to attending conference sessions; Cool Choices led a post-conference workshop on using games as a behavior change strategy, “Want Change? Make it a Game!”, shared our efforts to grow our game into a movement in a conference session, and a presented a poster on how games allow colleagues to coach one another on sustainability.

Curious about how Cool Choices can help your organization save money and get sustainable? Contact us and we’ll get back to you with more information.

Did you know entire communities are playing Cool Choices to mobilize around sustainability initiatives?

Recently, Green Madi­son launched a city-wide game of Cool Choices in Madison, Wisconsin. Residents and employ­ees from more than 40 Madi­son busi­nesses and orga­ni­za­tions such as UW Health, Amer­i­can Fam­ily Insur­ance, MG&E, TDS Tele­com, and the Greater Madi­son Cham­ber of Com­merce are tak­ing part. The Cool Choices game cal­cu­lates car­bon and energy sav­ings as play­ers log their sus­tain­able actions on a daily basis.

Everyone’s efforts in the city-wide Cool Choices game count toward Madison’s entry in the George­town Uni­ver­sity Energy competition.

“Madi­son has a secret weapon in the nation-wide Energy Prize: A game-based-impact approach that inspires and unites every Madis­on­ian around sus­tain­abil­ity! Cool Choices has demon­strated results, and will let res­i­dents and employ­ees from busi­nesses large and small com­mu­ni­cate with each other on how to improve our city,” said Dan White, CEO at Fil­a­ment Games.

The “social stream” within the game plat­form pro­motes aware­ness of addi­tional Green Madi­son ini­tia­tives designed to help Madi­son res­i­dents save money.

“Employ­ees at Reynolds Trans­fer & Stor­age are tak­ing part in the city-wide game of Cool Choices because we see this as an easy and fun way to be more green and to help Madi­son reduce our energy use as we com­pete for the George­town Uni­ver­sity Energy Prize” said Ben­jamin Reynolds, Direc­tor of Oper­a­tions at Reynolds Trans­fer & Stor­age. “We hope even more busi­nesses and Madi­son residents will join in and take part.”

Are you comfortable providing direction to your peers?

According to a recent study, most of us are not—the lack of hierarchy makes it awkward for us to nudge a colleague when they are not following protocols.

This is a big deal. We know people are deeply influenced by the behaviors of others and this study tells us that it’s typically uncomfortable to influence peer behaviors. That means there’s enormous opportunity for unsustainable practices to spread across our organizations.

Envision a scenario where Joe leaves equipment running even though the office policy is to shut off equipment at the end of the day. Bill is unlikely to correct Joe because, well Bill’s not Joe’s boss so, really, it’s none of his business. And besides, Joe brings in home-made muffins sometimes and Bill likes muffins. So the equipment stays on, which ultimately affects Amy and Mike’s behaviors too; they see that others leave the equipment on so they do the same. The office policy is largely irrelevant in the face of increasingly pervasive social norms.

Cool Choices game shakes up this dynamic. Games give people permission to coach other players (especially team mates). Within the context of a game Bill will likely tell Joe to shut off the printer—because leaving it on is killing their team standing. And, instead of withholding muffins, Joe will probably laugh at Mike’s team spirit but he’ll also turn off the equipment. And the interaction might prompt Joe to coach Amy “hey, you’d better shut off the copier; Mike’s determined that we’re winning this game.”

We see this all the time. Playing a game gives people permission to coach, to talk to colleagues about their practices. And, because the conversations are within a game setting, the interactions feel appropriate to all parties. Ultimately Cool Choices inspires people to talk to each other—directly—about sustainable practices within their community. And those conversations lead to amazing results.