INCENTIVIZING A LOW-IMPACT DIET: An Analysis of Food Product Databases and Behavior Change Techniques

Abstract

To effectively address the climate crisis, emissions of greenhouse gasses must be curbed in all sectors. Given that one-third of all global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) are attributable to the food and agriculture sectors, diets heavily reliant on carbon-intensive foods must change in response to climate change. (Tubiello, 2021). Our client, GreenSwapp, sits at the intersection of climate action, consumer behavior, technology, and the food industry. As such, if it can effectively promote the adoption of climate-friendlier food choices, GreenSwapp’s business can limit food-related GHGEs. Our project aims to compare two food product life cycle assessment (LCA) databases via statistical analysis to identify significant differences at the category, subcategory, and product type resolution so that GreenSwapp can incorporate lessons learned from this comparative analysis in order to better estimate carbon footprint. In addition, our team also derived a list of behavior change techniques for our client’s implementation into its consumer-facing business and an experimental design to test the effectiveness of the implemented techniques.