Since the publication of the book “Nudge” by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein in 2008, various projects have been implemented in Switzerland to encourage people to adopt more ecological behaviour using psychological approaches. Those who study the topic more intensively quickly come across criticisms of nudging and undesirable consequences. The aim of the present study was to investigate the actual effects of nudging as it has been and is practiced in Switzerland in the environmental and sustainability field.

Within the framework of six case studies as well as expert interviews, more than 25 learnings were elaborated and can now be derived from the existing experiences. These learnings were discussed in an expert roundtable and were aimed directly to people and organisations who are interested in the usage of nudging.

Prior to the publication of this report, the results were presented and discussed with researchers from psychology, sociology and ethics at the conference “Designing Moral Technologies: Theoretical, Practical and Ethical Issues” in Ascona (Switzerland) on 13 July 2016.

In summary, it can be stated that nudging in the field of environment and sustainability in Switzerland, as it has been practised so far, shows only a few negative effects. The public supports the desired goals (sustainability, environmental protection, etc.) to a large extent and therefore all the nudges were carefully selected and implemented. Moreover, the implemented and used measures are not controversial themselves. Nevertheless, the situation would be different if nudges were made in the direction of climate engineering.

However, the expert interviews pointed out, that certain risks could arise from the combination of nudging, big data and machine learning.