This article by Sriram Kuchimanchi, co-founder at 500eco, was published in issue 07 of Social Technology Quarterly. Summary: Gamification is being used to drive sustainability and many companies believe this is an opportunity to create engaging applications for initiatives towards sustainable living for the future.

1. Gamification is being used
to drive sustainability and
many companies believe
this is an opportunity
to create engaging
applications for initiatives
towards sustainable living
for the future.
by Sriram Kuchimanchi
Photo Credit: epsos
Gamification is here to stay. There are no
two ways to this notion. It is a statement
strongly backed by a Gartner prediction -
“By 2014, a gamified service for consumer
goods marketing and customer retention
will become as important as Facebook,
eBay or Amazon, and more than 70% of
Global 2000 organizations will have at least
one gamified application.”
All of us have converted flight and credit
card points into free tickets and gift cards.
Indulging thus, we have already become
‘gamers’. To define, gamification is the use
of game design and mechanics to engage
people in non-sport situations. In doing so,
gamification has succeeded in blending fun
to influence human behaviour.
The globally accepted definition of
sustainability has been, “Development
that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.”
However, subsequent changes have thrown
up plenty of different interpretations. For,
the term itself is vague enough to allow this
flexibility. Hence, in line with the objective of
this article, let us consider this contemporary
version given by Forum for the Future,
“Sustainable development is a dynamic
process which enables people to realize
their potential and improve their quality of
life in ways which simultaneously protect and
enhance the earth’s life support systems.”
The magnitude of the societal change
necessary for such sustainability would
have to begin with a paradigm shift in
behaviours. This behavioural change
can ultimately bring about the realization
towards maintaining quality of life while
not compromising on protecting the planet
for future life sustenance. Triggering such
a change needs a personal connection
with individuals while inducing cooperative
social interaction.
Communities
Gamification as a
Promoter of
Sustainability

2. Kuliza Social Technology Quarterly Issue 07
Unlike traditional marketing, gamification
brings social cooperation into focus.
Technology plays a big role to make this
happen. Coupled with creative thinking,
online games have the potential to foster
collaboration while being motivated enough
to address any challenge. Jane McGonigal
opines, “A game is an opportunity to focus
our energy, with relentless optimism, at
something we’re good at (or getting better
at) and enjoy.”
As for a challenge, humanity need not look
any further. The very sustenance of life on
this planet is at stake, with the increased
implications of climate change - a major
influencer being human actions. This is
where games come to the party. Well-
designed games can be great at inducing
positive traits in humans for a better world.
Motivation towards relatable and achievable
goals, instant feedback, and rewarding
success - these are typical qualities of
any game which make gaming enjoyable
while delivering measurable activities.
These can be green behavioural changes.
In fact, this synergy between gamification
and sustainability is increasingly exciting
individuals in social technologies with
a focus on the environment. Several
companies are considering it as an
excellent opportunity and are coming up
with highly engaging applications which can
advance sustainable initiatives. The impact
ranges from rewarding simple, yet effective,
everyday green actions to corporations
incentivizing employee green behaviour.
After all adopting greening is as important
at the community level as much as it is
necessary at an individual level. In doing
so, typical challenges that mar adoption
of sustainability - outreach, employee
engagement, and branding, have been
successfully addressed by early visionaries.
Here are a few success stories which can
be easily adopted around the world.
Case Study 1: Sacramento Reduces
Energy Consumption
Sacramento, the capital city of the state of
California, was known for its forward thinking
policies and has been one of the leaders
in city-level green initiatives. In 2008,
they innovated on energy consumption.
The Sacramento Metro Utility company
decided to send more informative the bills
to customers. They picked 35,000 residents
and sent them the following information in
each bill:
• Monthly consumption
• The lowest energy consumers in their
neighbourhood
• Current average of energy
consumption in about 100 similar sized
households
Over 18 months, they saw an average
reduction of around 15 percent across the
board.Akey learning here is the difference in
the approach. Typically, government bodies
take the high-ground method. They would
make policy changes and soon implement
policing to force residents to reduce energy
consumption. However, this is a more novel,
bottom-up approach, wherein the residents
were engaged without any form of coercion
but by using basic game elements.
Case Study 2: Online Applications
The other end of the spectrum is how
modern start-ups are coming up with
simple applications to encourage
sustainable behaviour.
1. Oroeco is dedicated to the idea of fostering
sustainability, has built game elements into
its offerings. With instant feedback and
informative suggestions, they help their
customers make eco-friendly choices. The
tools are easy to use and the intersection
of sustainable values and financial comfort
level is always at the centre of their thought
process. This is only one of the many such
applications that have recently mushroomed
in the marketplace. However, it is perhaps
the most comprehensive solution amongst
them all.
2. 500eco is [full disclosure: the contributor
is co-founder at 500eco] modelled on the
popular photo sharing site, Pinterest. This
is a visual, one-stop solution for sharing
and learning about anything sustainable.
The application was originally built for an
individualasaudience,buthasbeenadopted
by large, mid-sized, and small businesses,
and communities. The ease of use coupled
with seamless social connectivity with the
pictures based application has made them
gamify the usage. Companies are today
using it to challenge employees to share
green actions while others are using it to
showcase their internal green initiatives.
With typical social workflows such as ‘Like’,
‘Follow,’ and ‘Share’, the vernacular is
nothing new.
There are others, such as TrashTycoon, that
are popular Facebook games. Guaranteed
to induce positive green actions among its
players, TrashTycoon stands at the forefront
of digital and physical world meeting in a
Farmville kind of setting.
Games encourage people to take small
steps first and over a period make these
develop into good habits. These, then
help leverage reforms and changes at a
community and societal level to improve
sustainability.
References
Bruntland Report of the World Commission on
Environment and Development: Our Common
Future,1992
“What Quality? Whose lives?.” Greenfutures
Magazine.Forum For the Future,19 May 2001.