Make them aware and they will save
Most humans, by default, know that wasting anything is a bad idea. Whether our parents have ingrained the notion into our subconscious, or we've seen first hand the negative effects that can occur...we just seem to know, wasting is bad. When a meeting breaks up and everyone leaves the conference room with the lights still on it is often just accepted or unnoticed. When the last person out pauses to flip the switch off (or better yet the occupancy sensor does it for you) we do notice, and know it was a good idea. Somehow "we" have become, for lack of a better word, lazy. It has become widely accepted to leave the lights on "someone will be using the room in a little while anyway". We use the example of lights here, but the same applies to air conditioning systems, water, trash/recycling, gasoline, etc.
As the latest "Green Movement" begins to gain traction people are becoming more aware of waste. It is being talked about all around them, it is becoming popular to be energy efficient, to not waste.
Don't get me wrong, I love it. I'm one of those annoying people who is always turning off unnecessary lights (among other things). I've often wondered what it would take to get others to do the same more consistently. Certainly a grassroots movement that has made its way to The White House is getting the message out right now, making people aware of our wasteful, but accepted ways.
That's really the key concept here, awareness. If people can see the benefit of their actions, if they can see that they are making a positive impact, they will do the right thing.
In this digital age, helping people be aware has never been easier. Our buildings are smarter and more connected now than they ever have been. We can deliver key messages and metrics to measure building performance in real time on digital signage in public areas, as desktop gadgets on employee's workstations, send live text messages or Tweets to mobile phones. When this type of data (kWh usage today vs. yesterday, projected usage vs. targets, etc.) is made available to people it can have a tremendous impact. Suddenly colleagues and neighbors are comparing notes with each other, competitions can develop to see who can save the most. All in the spirit of good fun, but certainly helping to eliminate waste and have a positive impact on the environment and the corporate bottom line.
When people can see that by turning off lights the energy usage really does go down, they'll turn them off more often...it is after all ingrained in us.
