Behavior-Centered Design (BCD)

BCD is an approach that blends behavioral science and design thinking to create breakthrough solutions to environmental challenges. It can also be referred to as human-centered design. Design approaches put people at the heart of solutions using a creative methodology and is built with behavior change in mind. The video highlights an 8-step approach, that

Reducing Energy Through Behavior Change Requires Multi-Pronged Approach [ASQ]

This is an article I wrote that was published by the Energy and Environment Division of ASQ in Sept 2018 When evaluating energy reduction ideas within your organization, employee behavior changes are usually the most cost-effective solutions.  These require less approval from management, very little up-front investment, and can engage employees in ongoing improvements. However,

Book Review for “Fostering Sustainable Behavior”

“Fostering Sustainable Behavior” was written to provide resources to those designing and implementing sustainability initiatives, such as reducing waste, increasing energy efficiency, reducing water consumption, and altering transportation patterns. (p.x) Fostering Sustainable Behavior >>> Mackenzie-Mohr and Smith promote an effective concept called “community-based social marketing”. At first, I didn’t understand what this meant, and almost

Use post-it notes to change other people’s wasteful behavior!

Where I work, I see a lot of people leaving their computers on, leaving lights on in their office. Those that work in the factory leave the test equipment and other electronic devices on as well. Instead of complaining, I decided to make up some bright green post-it notes, and place them on the device,

Electricity metrics: Driving the wrong behavior!

I am working on some energy reduction projects at work. One potential project is to improve the efficiency of some of our equipment, so it uses less electricity. The problem is that the savings don’t actually reduce our electric bill, but it does reduce the electricity that our energy provider would have to supply to

E116: Using Energy Treasure Hunts and Energy SWAPs to Engage Employees and Reduce Costs

In March of 2024, the Iowa Sustainable Business Forum (ISBF) and Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS) were still separate organizations, and they agreed to host a joint webinar to promote Energy Efficiency and Lean. I was fortunate to connect up with Paul Lemar, Jr. from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), who has

E111: Apply Lean to Nonprofit Boards with Sally Toister

Sally worked many years in the hospitality industry applying Lean Six Sigma, and she shares her experiences to improve the guest experience. She also shares an example of a project that determined the optimal reward points to get customers to agree to reduced or no housekeeping, which was good for the environment, resulting in less

E107: Lean Methods for Sustainable Businesses – ISBF Webinar Series

In this podcast, I share a presentation that was Part 1 of a 2-part sustainability webinar series sponsored by Iowa Sustainable Business Forum and Iowa Lean Consortium (part of CIRAS). It was geared towards introducing those in sustainability roles to Lean methods, which have become some of the most popular improvement methods used in high-performing

E103: Applying Lean and Social Responsibility within Interface with Billy Ingram

In this episode, I speak with my good friend Billy Ingram, who is the Director of Lean Product and Process Development at Interface. We discuss his process improvement background prior to Interface, then talk about his current work that is extending the environmental sustainability vision provided by founder Ray Anderson. He has helped developed more