Interview with Rosa Strube
Today we're featuring Rosa Strube from the Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP). She is one of our partners for this year's NudgeNight. Working on projects for the European Commission, German ministries, and German foundations, Ms. Strube and her team develop and implement behavior change interventions. These include nudges, e.g. for more circular behavior, reduced food waste or sustainable diets.
We asked Ms. Strube the following questions:
From your experience in the field of sustainable nutrition, how effective are “nudges” for more environmentally conscious behavior?
Nudges are a great tool to change dietary behavior. They can be used without a huge financial outlay, and they are a much gentler measure to get people to try a healthier or more sustainable food option. Especially with such a sensitive topic as nutrition, they are less conflictual than bans or price interventions.
What has been your greatest success so far with a “nudge” (in nutrition, if applicable)?
Our favorite playground for nudges are the buffets that we offer again and again as we organize events. For a long time now, there have only been vegetarian or vegan options (strictly speaking, this is not a nudge, but choice editing) and we work here with small plates that can be refilled several times, so that when you feel full, there is no food left on the plate. We also like to provide cardboard boxes at the end of the meal break for participants to wrap leftovers in, so we have never had to deal with food waste from events for years.
In 2021, you were already a partner of our NudgeNight, what are your expectations for this year’s event?
I’m looking forward to seeing the students’ creative ideas for nudges that play into different behaviors around food. At the last NudgeNight, I was very impressed by how professionally the student teams had worked out and presented their ideas, and how great the whole event was organized. This definitely sets a high bar for NudgeNight 2023, but since it will even take place as a physical event, I’m already full of anticipation.