Leonie Dorresteijn
Manager nlmtd
Daphne Schipper
Consultant nlmtd
Leonie and Daphne combine expertise in behavioral psychology, sustainability, and co-creation. Leonie brings insights from climate psychology and behavioral science, while Daphne energetically facilitates organizations from a strategy and Design Thinking perspective. Together, they help organizations translate complex transitions into concrete, supported solutions.
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During Create the Future 2025, key decision-makers from the energy sector gathered to work on the major challenges of our time. In a co-creation workshop, we delved into an issue that is often underestimated but essential for the success of the energy transition: how do we stimulate sustainable behavior among citizens?
The technology is there, and often the financial arrangements too. But behavioral change remains the missing piece of the puzzle.
Unconscious nudges
A more sustainable energy system not only requires technological innovations but, more importantly, people’s willingness to adapt their behavior. To choose a heat pump instead of a central heating boiler, to invest in insulation, or to opt for green energy.
For this, so-called behavioral nudges are important. Small, strategic adjustments in communication, product design, or environment that unconsciously steer people towards more sustainable behavior. This helps people switch to green energy, energy-saving measures, and more sustainable technologies faster.
The case
“how Can We Ensure Peter Installs a Heat Pump Tomorrow?”
Peter, 53 years old, lives with his wife Monique and their two children, Sofie (26) and Bob (21), in Purmerend. He wants to make his house more sustainable but simply doesn’t know where to start. Monique is hesitant. She mainly sees practical objections; ugly pipes, a cold house. Peter is a bit further along in his search but gets stuck on questions many people will recognize. Does a heat pump make a lot of noise? Does it work in an older house? Will we really get off gas? And what does this do to the already overloaded grid?
Meanwhile, he is looking for a reliable party that can guide him. He ends up at Heat Transformers, gets an extensive consultation, but still, doubt remains. Although he would like to contribute to a more sustainable Netherlands, his uncertainty currently outweighs his intention. It is precisely this doubt that we focused on in the session. Because Peter is not alone. And it is precisely with people like him that gains can be made.
Together with experts, we investigated how we can get Peter, and thousands of others like him, to act. Using the Design Thinking Methodology, we developed several solution directions, based on proven behavioral techniques.
During the session, a top three of creative concepts was selected, each focused on one central question: “How can Heat”Transformers positively influence the behavior of a consumer like Peter?
Each concept starts from a specific behavioral approach, with the aim of making the threshold to action as low as possible.
- Simulate your own heat pump
A simulation that allows you to visualize what a heat pump looks like, sounds like, and performs in your home. By making it concrete, you remove doubt and make the choice tangible and familiar.
- Airbnb for sustainability
A sustainable demo home with a heat pump available for rent, where you can literally experience how comfortable and quiet the technology is. By experiencing it yourself, resistance disappears and the experience acts as conviction.
- Social proof in your neighborhood
Show that others in your immediate vicinity, within 100 meters, already have a heat pump. Combine this with a plug-and-play message to inspire people to make the world greener and better.. People follow people, especially if they are close.
What did we find? The choice for a heat pump is rarely just about technology. It’s about trust, about imagination, about what others are doing. By putting behavior first, you change the conversation and the result.
Heat Transformers Was Immediately Inspired by the Session and Has Already Taken Follow-Up Steps to Put these Insights into Practice.
From doubter to doer
The energy transition is not just about megawatts and grid maps. It’s also about people like Peter. With the right interventions and creative behavioral strategies, we can make a big difference.
Want to get started with behavioral change within your organization or project?
Check out our workshop: “Sustainable thinking, sustainable doing”
Create the Future
Are You Inspired by the Session and Want to Know how your Organization Can Contribute to a Smarter Energy Grid? We’d be Happy to Brainstorm with You!
Building a sustainable future together
The possibilities to create a better future for organizations, society, and our planet are endless. The future begins today, and that’s why we get to work immediately. It’s not for nothing that we call ourselves nlmtd, – without vowels or capital letters, because we think and act without limitations.
With a team of more than 90 experts, with experience at leading strategy consulting firms, innovative companies, and startups, we help organizations with strategy, innovation and transformation. From vision to execution, worldwide and with measurable impact.
