The Power of Messaging to Reduce Water Consumption

Now that the U.S. may be seeing light at the end of the long COVID tunnel, we are taking stock of what we have learned from this difficult period. One lesson that is likely to endure is the power of “COVID messaging” to change behavior. This new understanding may serve us well in other areas, including facility management and, taking this a step further, water conservation and water reduction strategies.

?One of the earliest COVID-related messages came from Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of the World Health Organization (WHO). In March of 2020, when the pandemic was first confirmed, Ghebreyesus gave the following statement:

I have a message for young people: You are not invincible; this virus could put you in hospital for weeks or even kill you. Even if you don’t get sick, the choices you make about where you go could be the difference between life and death for someone else.

The power behind this message was that it appealed both to the self-interest of young people –?this virus could put you in hospital for weeks or even kill you?– as well as the public good –?the choices you make … could be the difference between life and death for someone else.

Historically, it has been believed that the most effective messaging strategies designed to change human behaviors are those that focus on self-interest. “According to classical economic theories of decision-making, people care only for their own welfare,” writes Jillian J. Jordan of the Harvard Business School. “This perspective would suggest that self-interest should be the strongest motivator.”1

?This does not matter whether the message comes from WHO director Ghebreyesus and involves COVID, actors making public service announcements on television, or flyers posted by facility managers encouraging building users to “wash their hands” after using the restroom or “turn out the lights” upon exiting.

However, a recent COVID messaging study conducted by Jordan and two other researchers suggests that messaging that focuses on the public good can have as good if not greater impact on changing behaviors, and this is where facility managers and water reduction strategies come into the picture.

?Their study,?Don’t Get It or Don’t Spread It, concludes:

We never found self-interested framing to be more effective than prosocial framing (messaging for the public good). Our findings align with evidence that people are moral actors who care for others, are motivated to avoid appearing selfish, and that regard for others is especially strong.

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Messaging and Water Reduction

With this in mind, is there a way to get the message to a large number of people – for instance, all those located in a commercial facility – that they are doing good for everyone by reducing water consumption? After all, as this is being written, it is estimated that half the continental U.S. is experiencing varying degrees of drought conditions.

One method that proved effective and changed water behaviors in an entire town occurred in Belen, Costa Rica. With just over 20,000 people, Belen had few concerns about water for decades. But climate change and antiquated water infrastructure resulted in large amounts of water lost to leakage throughout the system.

To get the entire community aware of the amount of water they use and to take steps to reduce consumption, the government began a general messaging campaign. Then they took the following steps:

·??????Those people using more water than their neighbors were mailed water bills with red stickers on them and a “frowning face.”

·??????Consumers using less water than their neighbors received bills with a green sticker and a “smiling face.”

·??????A third group, the control group, received traditional water bills with no red or green messaging stickers. 2

After eight months, it was found that the entire town, including the control group, had reduced water consumption somewhat, primarily because of the general messaging campaign. However, those consumers receiving the red sticker bills reduced consumption the most, about 2 percent.

Although a relatively small reduction, with 20,000 water consumers, it was still significant, especially because it was accomplished in just eight months.

So, how can we apply something similar in a commercial building?

Is it possible a facility management company could post messages congratulating users of one facility because they are using less water than a comparable facility next door?

How about using the red sticker routine, gently criticizing tenants of one facility because they are using more water than their next-door neighbor?

Messaging works. Managers are encouraged to think creatively. Further, the study by Jordan and colleagues suggests that people may be more motivated to change their behaviors if they realize it is the best for everyone.

Many facility managers are now taking what we call “mechanical” steps to reduce water consumption. They are installing water-using technologies that use water more efficiently as well as no-water restroom fixtures.

As significant as this can be, we must go further. We need to change behaviors, so that the people using these facilities are doing their part, using less water, and making this a new, long-term behavioral change.

?Klaus Reichardt is CEO and founder of Waterless Co, Inc, Vista, Calif. Reichardt founded the company in 1991 with the goal of establishing a new market segment in the plumbing fixture industry with water efficiency in mind. Reichardt is a frequent writer and presenter, discussing water conservation issues. He can be reached at [email protected].