Beyond Awareness: Sparking Behavior Change for the Environment
Join us for our second guest speaker in this engaging series where leading experts in behavior change and conservation will share valuable insights on key sustainability topics.
Presenter: Jennifer Tabanico
Our most pressing environmental problems – climate change, plastic pollution, water shortages, waste generation, and biodiversity loss – are driven by human behavior. Consequently, addressing these environmental problems will require individual and community-level behavior change. While many efforts have focused on raising awareness and educating the public, these information-heavy approaches tend to fall short in producing lasting behavior change. In this 45-minute webinar, Jennifer Tabanico will present evidence-based strategies for promoting sustainable behavior, with a special focus on community-based social marketing (CBSM). This evidence-based framework has helped organizations worldwide design and implement more effective environmental programs. Drawing on real-world case studies and over two decades of experience in the field, Jennifer will discuss how to identify priority actions, uncover barriers to change, and design scalable interventions that resonate with target audiences. Join us to explore how the principles and tools of CBSM can transform your sustainability efforts into high-impact, behavior-focused initiatives.
About the Presenter:
Jennifer Tabanico owns and operates Action Research, a firm that specializes in applying behavioral science principles and the community-based social marketing framework to a wide range of behavior changes, including those impacting water, air quality, biodiversity, waste, and climate. For over twenty years, she has worked with federal, state, and local government agencies, private companies, and community organizations across the globe. Her work has been published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, Social Influence, Energy, and Social Marketing Quarterly. She has also contributed chapters to books on hazardous waste management, social marketing, and producer responsibility. She coauthored the 4th edition of Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing, published in December 2024. Jennifer serves as an editorial board member for Social Marketing Quarterly and has been an instructor for the Behavior Change and Sustainability and the Sustainable Business Practices Certificate Programs at UC San Diego Extended Studies since 2016. Jennifer has an MA in experimental psychology from California State University, San Marcos.
If you are having trouble registering, please email us at unex-environmental@ucsd.edu.