Designing digital technology to empower climate-sensitive food purchases

Abstract

A shift towards climate-sustainable diets is essential to achieve climate targets and mitigate disaster risks. Despite many people valuing climate-sensitive behaviours, a lack of knowledge and skill undermines action. Digital technology can aid this transition but faces ethical concerns with persuasive methods that may undermine autonomy. Also, prevalent design decisions may not always align well with actual usage patterns, which may undermine the potential of designs. This thesis examines how to design digital technology that supports climate-sustainable diets while addressing these considerations. The study includes: • A systematic literature review on opportunities and challenges of food purchase choice applications. • Three empirical design chapters detailing participatory input and theory-driven proce dures culminating in ’MyFoodprint’, an app prototype tested in real-world settings. • Atheoretical debate on protecting individual autonomy with behaviour change design. Key insights reveal: • Digital tools should focus on educating users about ’foodprint’ tailored to their purchasing behaviour. • To preserve autonomy, attempts to motivate behaviours directly are best avoided. • Design should not rely on consistent or long-term use. • Positive support for the potential of MyFoodprint to empower sustainable choices. • The use of word clouds visualizing product contributions to one’s overall foodprint ap peared particularly effective alongside support for finding alternative products. • Indirect benefits included sparking discussions around foodprint. iii Contributions include: • Design implications from various study designs, including field observations. • Insights into the practical and ethical feasibility of different design options. • Theory-backed design artifacts available as resources for researchers. • Categorization of intervention techniques based on their alignment with autonomy. This work enhances understanding of how digital technology can empower individuals towards sustainable behaviours without compromising personal autonomy.