Effectiveness of conservation messages to reduce households' GHG emissions: A serious-gaming experiment.

Households play a critical role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, there have been few studies of household conservation from the perspective of the nexus of food, energy, and water (FEW) consumption. This study's objective is to understand the effects of different types of intervention messages for inducing conservation of FEW resources and reducing carbon emissions at the household level in the U.S. Employing a serious-gaming approach, we developed the HomeRUN (Home Role-play for Understanding the Nexus) game, which allows players to act as homeowners and take behavioral and technological upgrade actions in a computer-simulation setting. The types of messages tested include social comparisons and resource-reduction measures across FEW sectors as well as information about the health, economic, and environmental impacts of FEW consumption. A game experiment with U.S. university students finds that social-comparison messages on food and energy consumption, but not on water, lead to significant reductions in household carbon emissions. In addition, messages associated with each type of FEW resource tend to lead to an immediate action corresponding to the particular FEW domain. These insights support a prioritization of intervention messaging for coordinated FEW conservation efforts at a household level.

The role of universities in SDGs solution co-creation and implementation: a human-centered design and shared-action learning process.

Successful implementation of solutions to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) depends on harnessing synergistic interactions among SDGs and effective engagement among a diverse group of societal stakeholders. This paper presents a framework and case study for a design and engagement process in which the university takes the lead in the co-creation of SDG solutions. The model supports university-led efforts by leveraging three elements: (i) inherent synergies across SDGs, (ii) modes of solution identification, design, and implementation, and (iii) modes of stakeholder involvement and interactions. Using an integration of human-centered design (HCD) and shared-action learning (SAL), we document a case led by a large, public, research-oriented university on how different stakeholders participated in the co-creation process to find solutions. Based on the experience of about 50 students over 4 years in support of SDG implementation in Indonesia, the initiative leveraged synergies within SDG 1, 2, and 5 (related to increasing income-generating power for women and indigenous people) and SDG 7 (use of solar energy for fish preservation and crop processing). Throughout the process, interactions with stakeholders took place during design workshop courses, community consultations, mentoring and internships programs, partnering with companies and local universities and government, site visits, and immersions in local communities. The HCD-SAL model established a system for monitoring impacts across all stakeholders, particularly how the projects helped increase communities' economic well-being. This model provides guidance for universities to develop genuine stakeholder engagement and support for finding and continuously improving SDG solutions. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11625-022-01128-9.