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Gamifying Sustainability: Encouraging Sustainable Practices Through Gamification

Written by
Yuval Mechoullam
Published on
Apr 26, 2023

Gamifying Sustainability: Encouraging Sustainable Practices Through Gamification

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Gamificationis an innovative approach that incorporates gaming features to influence real-life conduct. It has proven to be a highly effective tool in engaging with sustainability activists and is now emerging as a new weapon in the battle against the surge in carbon emissions.

The rise in atmospheric CO2 levels, which is presently at 50% above pre-industrial levels, has resulted in worrisome consequences such as soaring temperatures, melting glaciers, frequent extreme weather events, and displacement of climate refugees from their homes. Therefore, developing a solution that inspires people to take serious action is vitally important.

While most people in Western societies are concerned about the environment, climate change can still be an abstract concept for many. It is difficult to imagine how it affects daily life when living in comfortable suburban areas, where the only evidence of climate change is seen through photos of starving polar bears and shrinking rainforests. Consequently, it can be challenging to motivate people to modify their behaviors.

Adopting new behaviors can be difficult, such as cycling to work instead of driving or avoiding disposable products. However, there may be an alternative approach.

Increasingly, there are numerous examples showing that change can be much simpler than we anticipate, and gamification could hold the key. For a while, gamification has been utilized effectively in areas such as medicine and education. Now, it is being leveraged to transform the way we tackle environmental issues.

For example, well-designed games can transport players to the distant past, teaching them to appreciate the evolution of life. Additionally, they can allow us to experience the consequences of our actions or inaction in the future. Games can both entertain and scare us, but they can also motivate us and inspire novel solutions to complex dilemmas.

In this article, we will explore how gamification can serve us to tackle problems concerning sustainability.

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What Is Gamification?

The term "gamification" describes the use of game mechanics and design elements in non-game contexts to engage and inspire people to accomplish particular goals or objectives. In other words, it entails using game-like elements to encourage people to engage in certain behaviors or accomplish particular goals, such as points, badges, and leaderboards.

Gamification can be used to promote desired behaviors or outcomes in a variety of contexts, including education, health, marketing, iGaming, and environmental sustainability. Gamification aims to improve the experience by making it more entertaining, motivating, and enjoyable to increase participation, retention, and loyalty.

The term "gamification" describes the use of game mechanics and design elements in non-game contexts to engage and inspire people to accomplish particular goals or objectives. In other words, it entails using game-like elements to encourage people to engage in certain behaviors or accomplish particular goals, such as points, badges, and leaderboards. Gamification can be used to promote desired behaviors or outcomes in a variety of contexts, including education, health, marketing, iGaming, and environmental sustainability. Gamification aims to improve the experience by making it more entertaining, motivating, and enjoyable to increase participation, retention, and loyalty. What Are The Benefits Of Gamification In Sustainability?

The use of gamification in promoting sustainability engagement has become increasingly popular in recent years due to its potential benefits. Some of these benefits include:

1. Increased engagement

Gamification can increase engagement and motivation among people by making sustainability more enjoyable and interactive.

2. Behavior Change

Gamification can encourage individuals to adopt sustainable behaviors, such as reducing energy consumption, recycling, or using public transportation, by providing immediate feedback and rewards.

3. Rewards

Gamification uses rewards, such as badges or points, to incentivize users to achieve certain goals or behaviors. These rewards can motivate users to engage in sustainable actions and create a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment.

4. Learning and Knowledge Retention

Games and simulations can help people understand complex environmental concepts and remember them more effectively.

5. Reaching a Wider Audience

Gamification can attract people who may not otherwise be interested in environmental issues, motivating a more diverse group of users to participate in sustainability efforts and reach carbon reduction goals.

6. Increased Awareness

Gamification can increase awareness about sustainability issues and the impact of individual actions on the environment.

7. Encouraging Competition

The element of competition introduced through gamification can drive behavioral change. For example, Opower, a US-based company, uses social competition by providing sensors to homes that enable residents to compare their energy consumption with their neighbors and then broadcast their achievements on Facebook. This strategy has proved so effective that they have been able to achieve the equivalent of 2 terawatt hours of electricity savings, enough to power every home in Miami for more than a year.

8. Scalability

Gamification can be easily scaled and replicated across different contexts and audiences, making it a cost-effective way to promote sustainable behaviors.

9. Data Collection

Gamification platforms can collect data on individual behaviors and preferences, providing valuable insights for future sustainability initiatives.

10. Demonstrating Social Norms

Studies show that people are more likely to adopt a behavior if they believe that others are also doing it. Gamification often features leaderboards that allow users to see others taking action, normalizing sustainable behaviors. For example, a study found that guests in hotel rooms were more likely to reuse their towels if they received a message stating that 75% of guests who stayed in that room had reused their towels.

Gamified Sustainability As A Motivational Mechanism For Employees

By implementing a gamified approach, companies can encourage individual contributions from their employees toward sustainability. This approach can help companies shift the mindset of their staff towards sustainability and engage them more actively through various challenges. As a result, employees can contribute their ideas during subsequent rounds of the gamified approach.

In addition to promoting individual contributions, this approach also fosters team building and employee retention. By working together towards a common goal and having the opportunity to suggest their ideas for implementing the sustainability strategy, employees become more invested in the company's success.

As the gamified approach progresses through each round, the company can set increasingly ambitious goals and challenges that align with the evolving needs of the staff, thereby driving the sustainability transformation forward.

Gamification As A Tool For Tackling Climate Change

The issue of climate change presents a significant danger not only to the natural world but also to human societies, as extreme weather conditions and rising sea levels continue to wreak havoc on the planet. Despite widespread public concern, it is crucial that all members of society actively engage with the issue and take responsibility for creating meaningful change. Unfortunately, psychological and social factors often hinder effective engagement, making it necessary to explore new approaches that can help people connect with the complexities of the crisis. This is where public engagement strategies that consider the specific contexts and perspectives of individuals become crucial.

One promising area of research is gamification, which involves using concepts like commercial games, serious games, and game-based learning to foster engagement with climate change.Gameful experiences can motivate and immerse players, providing hands-on learning experiences in real or simulated settings and creating safe spaces for collective engagement.

Summary

The use of gamification in promoting sustainability engagement has become increasingly popular in recent years due to its potential benefits. Gamification has proven to be a highly effective tool in engaging with activists and is now emerging as a new weapon in the battle against the surge in carbon emissions. Gamification has numerous benefits, such as increased engagement, behavior change, rewards, learning, reaching a wider audience, increased awareness, encouraging competition, scalability, data collection, and demonstrating social norms.

Furthermore, gamification can be used in companies to shift the mindset of their staff towards sustainability and foster team building and employee retention. In conclusion, gamification is a promising tool for motivating individuals and companies to adopt sustainable behaviors and tackle climate change.

When it comes to Gamification,Smartico.aiis a trusted and globally recognized leader in the field. And while it has a tight focus on the iGaming, Casino, and Sports Betting industries, Smartico.ai can be integrated with and help any business, including sustainability, reach new levels of success.

Smartico.ai is a leader in providing state-of-the-art Gamification and CRM automation software solutions. Its CRM tool combines player analytics data with machine-learning algorithms to help businesses of various industries gain a deeper understanding of people and their needs while also providing valuable data insights to ensure retention, loyalty, and much more.

Unlocking the Power of Gamification: Advanced Techniques for the iGaming Sector

As a leading Gamification & CRM Automation solution, Smartico offers the following:

  • Various intuitive challenges and gaming techniques.
  • High-value incentives that encourage long-term loyalty and retention, elevate player value, strengthen engagement, and boost user acquisition.
  • Multi-Currency/Language/Deep Brand Support.
  • Missions – Engage players with fun real-time solo or multiplayer tasks.
  • Points – Encourage players to keep coming back through point-based incentives and unlockables.
  • Badges – Stand out from the rest with sleek badges and earn free spins for each earned badge.
  • Levels – Players gain experience and special perks after each successful level or tournament completion.
  • Incentives – Motivate players to come back for more with unique rewards and bonuses.
  • Marketplace – Players can actualize their points by cashing them in for free game spins or other awards, such as online shopping vouchers.
  • Minigames – Players can reset their senses through short, award-earning games.
  • Tournaments – Set your own qualification rules and offer your customers a powerful endorphin rush with Smartico's special tournament system.
  • Leaderboards – Set daily, weekly, and monthly prizes and watch your user engagement skyrocket.
  • Bonus Engine Integration – Cash bonuses, free spin bonuses, and more.

And that's just a small sample of what's on offer.

No matter what kind of Gamification solutions you may be interested in, Smartico.ai can help you meet yourshort and long-term goalsby supplying the solutions needed to bring customer engagement and employee/learner motivation to a whole new level. 

To start building a more successful business through Gamification, join the winners club and book your free demo today at: 

https://smartico.ai/request-a-demo 

The Smartico.ai team wishes you the best of luck on your business journey forward. 

Want to find out how our event triggered campaigns can raise your customer engagement through the roof? Contact one of our experts for a free demo.

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