Choice architecture promotes sustainable choices in online food-delivery apps

Lohmann, Paul M, Gsottbauer, Elisabeth, Farrington, James, Human, Steve and Reisch, Lucia A (2024) Choice architecture promotes sustainable choices in online food-delivery apps. PNAS Nexus, 3 (10). ISSN 2752-6542

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Abstract

Greenhouse gas emissions from the food system constitute about one-third of the global total, hence mitigation in this sphere of human activity is a vital goal for research and policy. This study empirically tests the effectiveness of different interventions to reduce the carbon footprint of food choices made on food-delivery apps, using an incentive-compatible online randomized controlled trial with 4,008 participants. The experiment utilized an interactive web platform that mimics popular online food-delivery platforms (such as Just Eat) and included three treatment conditions: a sign-posted meat tax, a carbon-footprint label, and a choice-architecture intervention that changed the order of the menu so that the lowest carbon-impact restaurants and dishes were presented first. Results show that only the choice-architecture nudge significantly reduced the average meal carbon footprint—by 0.3 kg/CO2e per order (12%), driven by a 5.6 percentage point (13%) reduction in high-carbon meal choices. Moreover, we find evidence of significant health and well-being co-benefits. Menu repositioning resulted in the average meal order having greater nutritional value and fewer calories, whilst significantly increasing self-reported satisfaction with the meal choice. Simple back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that menu repositioning would be a highly cost-effective policy instrument if implemented at scale, with the return on investment expected to be in the range of £1.28 to £3.85 per metric ton of avoided CO2 emissions, depending on implementation costs.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2024 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Grantham Research Institute
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HF Commerce G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
Date Deposited:	22 Oct 2024 09:39
Last Modified:	18 Nov 2024 18:48
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/125835

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