Les nudges appliqués à l’économie verte

• The nudge is a concept derived from behavioral economics, a discipline at the intersection of economics and psychology, which teaches us that social, situational, or personal factors strongly influence our preferences and behaviors. This concept was first presented by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein: "A nudge is an aspect of the choice architecture that alters people's behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives. To count as a mere nudge, the intervention must be easy and cheap to avoid." (Nudge: The Gentle Push to Make Better Decisions - 2008).

• Since 2013, the general commission for terminology and neology has recommended using the term "ecological emulation" instead of green nudge to describe an "incentive, through a ripple effect within a group, to adopt behavior more respectful of the environment." However, this definition seems overly restrictive to some. Indeed, it does not emphasize the individual motivation of individuals or the rational motivation of legal entities. In fact, the nudge is a relatively recent tool of economic analysis, and still subject to debate among specialists.

The use of nudges in public policy interests and inspires various French public institutions, particularly the general secretariat for the modernization of public action (now the interministerial directorate for public transformation - DITP), which saw in nudges a new tool contributing to the improvement of public service.

• In partnership, the Ministry of Ecological Transition, the NudgeFrance association, and the SGMAP—now DITP—launched the NudgeChallengeCOP21 competition in 2015 for students worldwide to imagine tomorrow's green nudges. • The grand prize from the jury proposed reducing food waste in university cafeterias through a collective game, with a reward: waste avoided collectively during one week determined the dessert offered the following week. Since then, the winning nudges from this competition have been tested by the association, thanks to a grant from the General Commission for Sustainable Development (CGDD). Results largely confirm the effectiveness of the nudges implemented to help develop sustainable behaviors. The results of this research are being submitted for publication at a scientific conference.

As part of the exemplary administration plan led by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, with the circular of December 3, 2008 on the State's exemplary role in sustainable development in the functioning of its services and public institutions, activating double-sided printing by default within the ministry made it possible to achieve significant paper savings.

The Ministry of Ecological Transition, after a pilot phase, decided to generalize the rollout of Linky smart meters. Providing households with real-time consumption data will allow them to better monitor energy consumption in their homes.