Many brands encourage consumers to lead environmentally friendly lives, but just a few of them explain how. Unilever has outlined five core principles, or so called ‘Levers for Change,’ that help brands convince their consumers that sustainable behaviour is a good thing and convert these simple ‘eco actions’ into consistent habits. The consumer product giant has released an e-book titled ‘Inspiring Sustainable Living,’ where one can find a plethora of expert insights revolving around the theme of consumer behavour as well as tips on how to change people’s attitudes and make them adopt more environmentally sustainable lifestyles.

“A huge part of our environmental impacts come from how people use our products; two thirds of the greenhouse gas impacts across the lifecycle and about half of our water footprint is associated with consumer use. So inspiring consumers to adopt new sustainable products and behaviours is fundamental to achieving the goals set out in the Unilever Sustainability Living Plan,” says Paul Polman, chief executive officer, Unilever.

In the book, they present a model, which includes five basic approaches that can lead to a positive behavior change, which can have an effective and lasting impact. While Levi’s is primarily communicating with consumers, explaining them how to treat jeans properly to save water and power, Unilever is targeting other companies and brands, telling how to motivate people to adopt new behaviours.

Unilever has outlines ‘The Five Levers for Change’, which are:

1. Make it understood.

2. Make it easy.

3: Make it desirable.

4: Make it rewarding.

5: Make it a habit.

Read about them in the 44-page book, which can be downloaded here. “We have been working hard to distil those critical areas of behaviour change insight that we all need to use to engage consumers. We are publishing our approach because we think that there are wider benefits from sharing our work with others,” adds Polman.