The sustainable behavior changes we need to address the climate crisis have to happen at all levels, from individuals to large national governments and multinational businesses, and everything in between. Now in 2026, decades after the science became clear and the Great Sustainability Transition had begun, the good news is that no one has to start from scratch – no one has to reinvent the wheel. Success stories are everywhere, serving as role models, and just needing to be disseminated and scaled.
What determines what’s considered a success? That varies, depending on the particulars of each change. Ideally, greenhouse gas reduction is paired with a reasonable financial payback period, plus side benefits, plus behavioral acceptance/adoption by those affected *and* behavioral maintenance over time. Behavior analysis potentially applies at a number of points.
But how do we and others access these successes, so we can start the implementation process? (There’s another story…) They often do not get written up in academic journals, or even conference proceedings.
Some are on the freely available Tools of Change website already discussed in this blog:
Tools of Change blog post part 1
Tools of Change blog post part 2
This post will focus on the many networks sharing successful approaches to cutting greenhouse gas emissions and achieving sustainability. I referred to some of them in the first Tools of Change blog post. Encouragingly, just about every kind of organization you can think of has one: Businesses, local government, K-12 schools, health care… And, of course, higher education, with both local and national networks. Some networks are even international, and that’s the case for both of my examples in this post.
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The higher ed network with which I’m most familiar is the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, or AASHE. Indeed, I’ve presented on behavior-analytic and related benefits for several institutions as part of an AASHE program.
The AASHE website is a treasure trove of resources. Anyone with an email address from one of the hundreds of associated institutions can join for free… and most US institutes of higher ed appear to belong to AASHE, plus others around the world (over 30 nations, including Canada and the UK). AASHE offers an annual US conference, an e-newsletter, webinars, summaries of successful projects, a mentorship program, and an awards program. Its “STARS” is a standardized, quantified system used by many institutions to objectively assess their progress toward sustainability, including the critical measure of greenhouse gas emissions.
Can’t find what you’re looking for on the website? Ask a question on one of the AASHE discussion boards.
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Sample news items on the AASHE Campus Sustainability Hub include campus programs that: reduce food waste (a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions); support plant-based meals; establish thrift stores and campus exchanges; help with bicycle repair; share Earth Day ideas; post sustainability curricula and project ideas; offer guides for sustainable campus purchasing; and decrease waste/increase recycling and composting. Lots of behavior change possibilities…
Other networks share many of these features. Health Care Without Harm, for example, is an international organization that offers a large range of resources for every aspect of hospital operations and healthcare systems.
Its climate action playbook includes energy efficiency, renewable energy, transportation, food and medical waste, operating room procedures, and, of course, preparedness for handling climate emergencies. We are seeing more climate emergencies as temperatures rise… and hospital administrators around the world are fully aware.
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Plenty of concrete examples are included: a hospital rooftop farm, for example. And I was delighted to see the World Resource Institute’s CoolFood Initiative mentioned – that’s been discussed on this blog. Perhaps some behavior analysts are already familiar with the Health Care Without Harm network?
For anyone knowledgeable about other sustainability networks – please do spread the word. (And contact me – I’d love to add them to my list.) We behavior analysts can help meet the challenge of scaling up solutions by getting more organizations on board: our workplaces and neighborhoods and schools and nonprofit groups… any organization we’re part of or have connections to. And of course we can help share the successes of our local institutions in return. Wouldn’t it be great if more people were aware of the progress we’re making? Wouldn’t it be great if more of our organizations would contribute to that progress?