Developing Gamified Elements to Influence Positive Behavioural Change towards Organisational Energy Efficiency

Demands for energy within public sector buildings, such as administrative offices, cultural heritage sites, and museums, represent a significant financial and environmental burden. With issues relating to climate change now more prominent than ever, energy efficiency is an important aspect for consideration at both organisational and occupant levels in public buildings. Occupant behaviour plays a key role in the process of saving energy, with the major areas of wastage being directly linked to the use of heating, lighting and electrical devices. Automating these devices can provide a partial, if costly, solution; however, the influence of personal preferences on comfort levels and productivity must also be considered. Strategies may thus seek to enhance organisational energy efficiency in the public sector by promoting positive behavioural changes amongst occupants or visitors. However, such strategies must be informed by knowledge of related behaviours, business processes and best practices for saving energy within specific workplace contexts. To encourage and support participants in adopting energy-conscious behaviours, the incorporation of serious games and gamification offers potential to bring about positive behavioural change. This paper presents the OrbEEt Behavioural Change Framework and its application through the development of a gamified ecosystem consisting of three interfaces; a smartphone game, an intranet portal, and an in-office display. This involves the incorporation of behavioural triggers through an infrastructure of high granularity sensor data, the identification of which are informed by the results of a questionnaire targeting 28 participants across four European pilot sites, representing a diverse range of cultural, climatic, and operational settings for public sector buildings. The work herein represents the pre-intervention stage of the ongoing 3-year OrbEEt research project, with the potential application of these behavioural triggers and interfaces extending to various organisations that are looking to improve overall energy efficiency, while maintaining business productivity and ensuring best practices.