– Sustainability is about twenty centimeters

03. november 202303. juli 2024

– Sustainability, fundamentally, is about twenty centimeters. That’s approximately the distance between our ears. And that’s where our brain is located.

Professor Morten Kier lets the message linger in the air for a brief moment. When it comes to sustainability—and the efforts required—action often starts with ourselves. It’s our own psychology that drives us to change our behavior for the better.

And that’s precisely the foundation of the course “The Psychology of Sustainability” that Morten Kier teaches in IBA’s Executive MBA in Sustainability program.

– We need to change our behavior. There’s no doubt about it. If we want to make the world a better place to live, we can’t just keep doing what we’ve always done. Psychology has many insights into this; it has a long history of working with human behavior, Morten Kier explains.

Digging Deeper

He himself holds a master’s degree in well-being and resource psychology. He firmly believes that for sustainability to succeed—both for private businesses and public administrations—it takes more than rules and signage. It’s crucial to consider psychology, Morten emphasizes:

– Psychology explores what is ethically and morally correct to do. It also delves into what makes sense for individuals. This plays a crucial role. When people feel that something makes sense for themselves, they are more willing to change their behavior.

To reach that point, one must delve deeper into the human psyche. This happens in the course “The Psychology of Sustainability”—both on a theoretical and practical level.

Using psychological tools, Morten Kier delves into specific examples that demonstrate how to get people to change their behavior. This applies both within and outside an organization.

– The course equips you to be a “change agent”. Because you learn to understand the motivations people might have for doing one thing or another, Morten Kier says.

A Powerful Motivator

He believes that, in general, people always react rationally and sensibly. However, Morten adds, what we perceive as rational can vary greatly.

This means that if I want to reach you with my message, it’s important that I understand your perception of rationality. Here, psychology is a powerful motivator. If we succeed in this, we have the opportunity to create lasting changes together, Morten Kier concludes.

Image Captions

Sustainability psychology is about getting people to change their behavior, and that’s what we need to do, says Morten Kier.

Anyone can have an eco-friendly Friday in the cafeteria. But how do we get people to change their behavior for the rest of the week? It requires deeper insights, and that’s what we address when we use the tools of psychology, says Morten Kier.