Question

Hello, I'm the sustainability manager for a large urban housing authority and would like to know if there are successful case studies of housing authorities implementing a "utility savings" resident benefits program. For example, most of our residents don't pay their own utilities, as our agency receives a utility allowance from HUD. This provides challenges in encouraging residents to decrease their energy and water consumption, as they're not seeing the dollar value associated with those behavioral changes. To overcome this challenge, we're curious of any initiatives/programs that other housing agencies have implemented in putting utility cost savings towards resident programs (scholarships, community events, workforce development, etc.) as a means of incentivizing residents to implement behavioral changes.

Answer

Thank you for your question! Reducing utility consumption is an important step toward decreasing the environmental impact of your buildings. Behavior-based programs can be an effective way to reduce consumption and increase financial savings, though it’s important to understand the context of your community and to design a program that is accessible and beneficial to residents, too. In my experience, the success of programs designed to drive this kind of behavior change among residents varies immensely based on the existing culture of the community and the condition of the housing. 

Residents who feel supported and cared for by those maintaining their living space will be more likely to participate in these programs. If maintenance requests are not being resolved in a timely manner, leading to frustration and erosion of trust, or if the building itself is in poor condition, residents may not feel compelled, or that it is even fair to be asked, to change behaviors or participate in programs. 

Housing authorities should therefore prioritize implementing behavior-based utility savings programs in buildings they know to maintain strong relationships between staff and residents, and to build on those relationships to make the program a success. Conversely, if there are buildings in your portfolio that you would like to target with these types of programs, but there are not strong relationships between staff and residents or the housing is needing significant upgrades, it is essential to address this before attempting to implement such programs.

Once a building has been selected for program implementation, you should next determine which behaviors you would like to target and identify the actions associated with them as well as any potential barriers. For instance, encouraging residents to turn off the lights when they're not in use seems simple, but if there is fear around safety and security and the lights being on makes residents feel less vulnerable, this behavior will be difficult to change. It is necessary to address these root causes to make the desired behaviors easier for residents to adopt. If the behaviors and barriers are clearly understood, then there are several programs that could be implemented based on the community and context, such as gamification, choice architecture, incentives, and resident-driven committees.

In 2014, the Denver Housing Authority (DHA) designed and implemented a comprehensive resident engagement program at one of their properties with the goal of reducing utility use by 4% through changes in resident behavior. After an extensive program development phase, including high-utility-user audits, workshops with DHA stakeholders, focus groups with residents, and door-to-door resident surveys, DHA identified the major behaviors and their barriers the program would target. 

Several resident engagement strategies were then implemented, including giveaways of items such as smart power strips, shower timers, plants. The residents also received a community incentive of $300 for meeting their site-wide goal of 4% utility savings. The culmination of all engagement activities resulted in the participation of more than 60% of residents for a 4.5% reduction in electricity use. The team leading this program found it to be a success. Their findings are shared in the report, “Engaging residents in affordable housing – resident engagement pilot at Denver Housing Authority’s Westridge apartments.” 

This example underscores the importance of thorough program development, community engagement, and addressing root barriers to behavior change. By prioritizing resident input, offering incentives, and implementing tailored strategies, DHA achieved success in reducing utility consumption. For more information that may help your housing authority implement a successful utility savings resident benefits program, BECC (Behavior, Energy and Climate Change) is a great organization to consult on this topic.