Recycling isn't the true solution to consumerism; it's buying fewer products. "Free one day delivery" has become an Amazon core promise and the foundation of its brand. This branding capitalizes on our tendency to prioritize immediate rewards (like the bat and pumpkin garlands we order on October 30th) over future goals (keeping the environment safe) – also known as our present bias.

The free delivery service for Amazon Prime customers removes the incentive to consolidate orders, resulting in frequent deliveries to the same address. This not only increases costs for Amazon but negatively impacts our environment. To address this challenge, Amazon recently implemented a solution using – you guessed it – cognitive dissonance.

They brilliantly introduced a dilemma to all Prime customers after they selected their desired products. The thought-provoking choice confronts Prime users with a significant opportunity to make a real impact: They can either choose to succumb to present bias and buy what they want whenever they want or to opt for 'Fewer boxes, fewer trips,' contributing to a more sustainable approach by waiting a day or two for the product.

By consciously opting for the environmentally friendly option, users are encouraged to reevaluate their usual habits and contribute to a sustainable future. For the sake of feeling consistent with their popular pro-environment ideas, many Amazon Prime customers (myself included) will delay their orders.

By reducing the number of individual deliveries through this strategy, Amazon can help users fill in the intention-behavior gap and promote pro-environmental actions as well as decrease costs while significantly reducing carbon pollution. It's a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Numerous restaurants discard significant amounts of fresh produce and prepared dishes at the end of each day due to inaccurate sales estimations. This wasted food, which could feed others, ends up in the trash, squandering valuable resources like land, water, and energy invested in its production.

‘Too Good to Go’ app connects customers to restaurants and stores with surplus food. That pizza place down the street that would otherwise toss their leftover Hawaiians at the end of the day can instead sell them for a discounted rate. The app provides a range of tailored incentives that resonate with different personas, making the app compelling to a diverse audience.

As we navigate a world filled with both convenience and consequence, the power to drive change rests in the decisions we make each day. From the shower taps to the online checkout, our choices echo beyond immediate gratification, shaping the future of our planet.

It's through these small, significant nudges, guided by behavioral product design, that we unearth the potential to shift collective mindsets and practices. With each conscious decision, we sow the seeds for a more sustainable tomorrow.