本文是关于消费者的。这也是沃尔沃的方法与电力行业中的一种比较对比的作品。这是为什么当我们试图实现更可持续的未来时，试图让消费者自愿改变自己的行为的原因并不总是最好的选择。

"What?" you say. "Shelton Group’s all about creating behavior change-it’s one of the three things your group does besides telling corporate sustainability stories that build brands and marketing products that are more efficient and sustainable!" Yes, sometimes the faster path to change is simply to take away the less sustainable option and force the change.

In 2008, U.S.-based Walmarts and Sam’s Clubs不再出售洗衣粉的巨型投手in favor of smaller pitchers containing concentrated formulas. That meant using and shipping less water across the country and using a lot less plastic (at the time, Walmart estimated this move would save 400 million gallons of water, more than 95 million pounds of plastic resin and more than 125 million pounds of cardboard). It also meant that Walmart freed up shelf space for more products-everyone wins!

The consumer piece was this: none of us had to agonize over whether to buy the giant container we were used to lugging home vs. the smaller one that would require us to remember not to fill the whole cap up with detergent. We were only given one option and that’s what we chose. To my knowledge, there was no massive consumer pushback or wailing and gnashing of teeth; we just went with the flow and bought what was on the shelf.

（公平地说，在我看来，洗涤剂制造商花了很长时间才停止将盖子制成旧的大小，这可能导致消费者过度占地-and buying more laundry detergent.)

关键是，洗衣业改变了产品，消费者也效仿了。沃尔玛当时说：“该公司的目标是成为整个零售业整个液体洗涤剂类别的转变的催化剂，并节省大量的自然资源。”根据今天的架子上可用的东西，他们成功了。整个类别发生了变化，消费者随之而来。

沃尔沃的模型也是如此。他们将在几年内停止制造仅限燃烧发动机，其他汽车制造商将效仿，直到有一天人们购买的唯一选择是环保的选择。毫不痛苦地购买您知道的东西，并习惯了新的绿色东西。没有关于环境影响和权衡的心理计算。这只是唯一的选择，因此我们将购买。

环境变化的模型是迫使消费者通过不给他们任何其他选择来学习它。

Will we have to learn a few new operational behaviors? Probably, if my experience with my EV is any indication. But just like we’ve all learned how to work with concentrated laundry formulas, we’ll learn how to drive hybrids and EVs.

In these two cases, the model for environmental change is to force consumers to learn it by not giving them any other option. And in both cases, it allowed the companies to make a bold environmental commitment and tell a brand-boosting sustainability story.

电工的难题

经过contrast, the electric industry is dealing with a giant sustainability problem, and the industry itself seems to be agonizing over whether to adopt the Volvo and Walmart model of forcing behavior change.

The problem is this: As more of us add solar systems to our homes and buildings, there’s a glut of solar energy being generated on sunny afternoons, and nobody to buy it.根据最近的一篇文章，去年305,241兆瓦小时的太阳能和风能尚未使用 - 损失了足够的无碳电力，可以为约45,000辆加利福尼亚州的房屋供电。（该行业称这种未使用的电力为“限制”，听起来比“浪费”更加良性。）

似乎加利福尼亚可以将多余的权力卖给邻国，但au contraire,our grid doesn’t work like that. It’s actually multiple grids, and the rules/permissions for selling from one grid to the next are complex and arcane. Another solution, then, is to force consumer behavior change.

这可以通过在全国范围内实施使用时间（TOU）计费来完成。目前，我们大多数人都为电力支付相同的固定费用，无论我们使用什么时间，这实际上是非常疯狂的，因为在一天中和某些条件下，在一天中和其他条件下生产电力要比在其他情况下要花费更多的钱。

根据TOU费率计划，您为一天中最昂贵的时间（需求量高）和在一天中最便宜的时间使用的电力支付更多高的）。如果您想为电子支付最少的钱，请调整行为以效仿和/或购买将自动为您调整的设备。

然而，大多数公用事业公司仅提供TOU计划作为可选的计划，这意味着我们中很少有人会报名参加这种自愿行为改变。加利福尼亚州已在2018年对TOU计费进行了更改，希望该行业将从消费者的理解/采用角度来学习有关如何最有效地做到这一点的重要课程，与消费者强调的角度相比。

然后是时候让整个公用事业行业继续前进，并将TOU计费作为全国的新常态。没有更多的试点计划，公用事业高管和监管机构不再痛苦。去做就对了。并讲述了一个提高品牌的可持续性故事 - 沃尔玛（Wa竞彩足球app怎么下载lmart）对浓缩植物（Compinates）和沃尔沃（Volvo）的混合动力和电动汽车（Evs）所做的方式也一样。

Will Americans bellyache about having to pay attention to their electricity usage and actually take responsibility for their consumption? Of course. My 6-year-old bellyaches every time I make her pick up her toys instead of doing it for her. But she’s learning to pick up her toys.