Changing Defaults for Sustainability

Last week I wrote about how when we’re presented with a choice, most of us stick with the default option. One commenter noted that it has worked for her family with gluten-based snack food.  I bet it was far less painful than convincing her teenagers to forsake their cookies!  Since then, I’ve been thinking about defaults that could be changed within systems to promote sustainability.  I’ve listed a few below, but I think countless defaults exist.  They are just so embedded in our system that we may not even notice they are there.

Household

• Bike v. Car – If you have a garage, make your bike your default option by parking it behind your car so that you would have to move the bike in order to take the car.  Store your helmet and all-weather riding gear right there so that you don’t have any excuses.
• Lock the dishwasher – I think this one could go both ways.  You could end up with hand washed dishes or you could end up with a massive pile of dirty dishes in your sink.  Take it or leave it, but I’m definitely locking mine.
• Turn the thermostat down – I have to be pretty darn cold to get up and turn up the heat.  If there’s a throw blanket, a sweatshirt, or a warm cat closer than the thermostat, I’ll always use those instead.
• Reusable lunch bags – Buy reusable lunch bags and give up those little paper lunch sacks.  Also, buy large containers of things like yogurt and chips.  Prepackage them in reusable containers so your kids can just grab them out of the fridge.  No more snack-sized packaging.
• Water bottles and drinking fountains – Stop buying bottled water and make reusable water bottles your household’s default option.

Corporations / Businesses

• Office kitchens – No more disposable cups and plates.  See if you can get your office kitchen’s disposable dishware replaced with real dishes.  Not only is it better for the planet, but it will save your company money in the long run.
• Thermostat – Again, change the thermostat a little.  It doesn’t have to be a huge amount, but letting it get a little cooler in the winter and a little warmer in the summer can make a big difference.  Make adjustments to the dress code if necessary.
• Bike v. Car – If your company charges for parking, make sure the company is providing adequate space for bicycle storage.  (This is less of a change of default as it is reduction of barrier to entry, but it ties in with the default bike v. car change on the household level.)
• Paper or plastic – Remember when grocery stores used to ask you if you wanted paper or plastic?  What if they asked you if you wanted a bag?  Or said nothing and only bagged your item by request?  DC just implemented a $.05 bag tax, but I bet a simple change in the default option would do much to change behavior everywhere else.
• Meatless options - Many restaurants are introducing more vegetarian menu items, but what if more meals were cheaper default non-meat dishes to which you could pay to add the meat?  (Some restaurants already do this with some items, particularly salads and pastas.  I absolutely love it!)

National / Global

I think changing defaults gets harder at the national or global level.  Not only is it more difficult to enact change, but the defaults themselves become more complex and difficult to identify.  I think the morality of changing defaults also comes into question.  For instance, what if publicly regulated utility companies made recycling services the default.  Right now, at least in our area, recycling is opt-in.  We had to sign up for it.  Would more people recycle if it were the default and they had to opt-out?  Would it be ethical for a company to do that?

For those who think no, then why do we find it acceptable that our credit card companies regularly add additional services to our accounts as default.  We then have to opt-out of these services.  In fact, on my to do list for today is making a call to cancel some sort of “payment protection blah blah” that I am being billed for at $14.95/month.  I didn’t ask for this service – my credit card company changed the default and it showed up on my statement.  We tolerate this behavior from a variety of corporations, and the government often is met with resistance when it attempts to step in and regulate these behaviors.

How would our political system change if you were automatically registered to vote when you turned 18, instead of having to opt-in connected with your driver’s license renewal or a separate registration process?  I don’t know the answer, but I would imagine that changing that default would change something.

What do you think?  More defaults to add to the list?  Thoughts on the ethical ramifications of influencing behavior through defaults?  Can you think of international or global defaults that could be changed?

(Did  you miss last week’s related post, On Changing Behavior? Make balancing your life easier by having updates delivered directly to your e-mail.)