Private energy saving goals actually work, but telling other people about green targets makes them completely ineffective.
April 24, 2026
Original Paper
THE DESIGN OF GOAL-SETTING FOR ENERGY CONSERVATION： PRIVATE VS. PUBLIC GOAL DISCLOSURE IN A FIELD EXPERIMENT
SSRN · 6624793
The Takeaway
Households that kept their electricity conservation goals to themselves saw a significant drop in their monthly power bills. Making those same goals public through disclosure programs resulted in no statistical change in behavior at all. The common belief is that social pressure and public reputation are the best ways to motivate people to be sustainable. This research shows that the desire for public approval can actually neutralize the internal drive to save energy. For real environmental change, we should focus on personal commitments rather than public performances.
From the abstract
Abstract. Reducing residential electricity consumption is a key component of climate mitigation, and goal-setting is a widely used low-cost behavioral intervention. However, it remains unclear whether making self-set conservation goals and subsequent goal achievement publicly visible improves or undermines effectiveness. Public disclosure may strengthen conservation through social accountability and reputational incentives, but it may also backfire by creating pressure or reactance. We conducted