We designed and conducted three randomized control trials in partnership with a large biopharmaceutical company operating over 160 plasma donation centers, with the aim of promoting sustainable behaviors in a workplace setting. Specifically, we focused on reducing operational errors that led to dropped collection materials, long freezer door open times, and improper recycling practices. To achieve these goals, we employed social norms to nudge employees towards 1) reducing wasted collection materials, 2) minimizing the duration of freezer door openings, and 3) improving recycling practices. We found an average reduction of roughly 70 percent in plastic waste from dropped collection materials and the costs associated with these materials. The frequency of freezer door alarms decreased by over 80 percent, and the duration of alarms decreased by over 45 percent, depending on the empirical specification. We also observed a roughly 40 percent reduction in uncollapsed cardboard, with no statistically significant results for other types of contaminants. Importantly, for each of the interventions, we do not find evidence that the treatment effects waned over time or affected business operations. Our study provides significant implications for promoting sustainable behaviors in a workplace setting, filling an important gap in the literature on the effectiveness of nudges in the workplace.
Authors
Laura Cappellucci, Lan Ha, Jeremy Honig, Christopher R. Knittel, Amy Vetter, Richard Wilner
Related Organizations
- Acknowledgements & Disclosure
- As is customary in economics, authors are listed alphabetically. Cappellucci, Honig, Vetter, and Wilner worked on this project as part of their day-to-day responsibilities at Takeda. Takeda funded the implementation of the experiments including expenses related to signage and training. Ha and Knittel did not take any funds from Takeda. Cappellucci, Honig, Vetter, and Wilner worked on this project as part of their day-to-day responsibilities at Takeda. AEA RCT ID: AEARCTR-0011118. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3386/w33120
- Pages
- 43
- Published in
- United States of America
Table of Contents
- Introduction 3
- Empirical Context 5
- BioLife's Green Project 5
- Pilot Experiment 7
- Experimental Design 7
- Data 8
- Empirical Strategy 10
- Panel Fixed Effects Approach 10
- Event Study 11
- Results 13
- Discussion 14
- Conclusion 17
- Main Figures and Tables 21
- Figures 21
- Tables 27
- Summary statistics 37
- Pilot Study 40
- Signage 41
