Making Shift Happen:
Designing for Successful Environmental Behavior Change
The changemaker’s guide to catalyzing environmental behavior change for a healthy future
To tackle our urgent environmental problems and achieve positive, durable change, we must design solutions based directly on how people think, make decisions, and act.
From hotels that save water and money using simple signage, to energy suppliers that boost participation in renewable energy programs through mere enrollment form tweaks—shifting the behavior of millions for the better is possible.
Based on decades of research into what drives behavior change, Making Shift Happen provides a suite of powerful tools to transform the world. It features A to Z guidance on how to design a behavior change initiative—from choosing the right audience and uncovering what drives their behavior, to designing, prototyping, testing, and implementation.
Clear instructions and real-world examples empower you to apply hundreds of behavioral science solutions including:
- Using social norms to spread positive environmental behaviors
- Selecting and testing stories, metaphors, and values to frame information for each audience
- Capturing your audience’s attention and reducing barriers to action
- Catalyzing action by aligning your initiative with your audience’s personal and social motivators
- Breaking bad habits and building positive ones
- Connecting people with nature and building empathy for the environment and its inhabitants
Making Shift Happen is a must-have guide for practitioners in non-profits, governments, and businesses looking to design successful campaigns and initiatives that shift behaviors and mindsets toward positive environmental outcomes and a better future for all.
TESTIMONIALS














WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR
Professors
Developed with upper-division & grad students in mind, Making Shift Happen offers clear, step-by-step guidance that will empower your applied environmental class to start designing projects today.
PRACTITIONERS
This comprehensive playbook provides a proven step-by-step method guaranteed to help you design and execute meaningful behavior change initiatives that transform the world.
PHILANTHROPY
Rich in methodology and practical tools, Making Shift Happen is the perfect guidebook for nonprofits and grantees needing to shift behavior and reach sustainability goals.
EVERYONE
This book is brimming with interesting studies and vivid anecdotes that can help you employ techniques grounded in science to adopt positive behaviors of your own!
ABOUT ROOT SOLUTIONS
We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing conservationists and policy makers with tools and resources informed by the proven methods of behavioral science, allowing them to create more effective campaigns, policies, and strategies that reflect how people actually make decisions and the factors that motivate behavior that is good for the environment.
MEET THE AUTHORS

Nya Van Leuvan, MA, is a leader in designing and executing programs that accelerate social change by shifting human behavior. She co-founded and directs the not-for-profit Root Solutions to increase the effectiveness of conservation advocacy and policymaking through the use of behavior change, design thinking, and systems thinking. She holds an MA from the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. She’s from San Francisco, California.
Nya Van Leuvan, MA, is a leader in designing and executing programs that accelerate social change by shifting human behavior. She co-founded and directs the not-for-profit Root Solutions to increase the effectiveness of conservation advocacy and policymaking through the use of behavior change, design thinking, and systems thinking. She holds an MA from the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. She’s from San Francisco, California.

Lauren Highleyman, MS, is a communications and behavior change strategist with experience designing and implementing effective and engaging initiatives across a variety of environmental issue areas. She is passionate about applying insights from the social and behavioral sciences to inspire action and strengthen collaboration among diverse environmental stakeholders. She holds an M.S. in Natural Resources & Environment with a focus in Environmental Behavior, Education and Communication from the University of Michigan and a B.A. from UC San Diego. She lives in Marin County, CA.
Lauren Highleyman, MS, is a communications and behavior change strategist with experience designing and implementing effective and engaging initiatives across a variety of environmental issue areas. She is passionate about applying insights from the social and behavioral sciences to inspire action and strengthen collaboration among diverse environmental stakeholders. She holds an M.S. in Natural Resources & Environment with a focus in Environmental Behavior, Education and Communication from the University of Michigan and a B.A. from UC San Diego. She lives in Marin County, CA.

Rod Fujita, PhD, is a leader in the theory and practice of aligning incentives with good conservation outcomes. He co-founded Root Solutions and is the Director of Research and Development at Environmental Defense Fund’s Oceans Program, where he has been working to improve fisheries for more than 30 years. Rod has served on numerous state, regional, federal, and international advisory bodies and has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, as well as many popular articles and the well-received book, Heal the Ocean. He lives in Oakland, California.
Rod Fujita, PhD, is a leader in the theory and practice of aligning incentives with good conservation outcomes. He co-founded Root Solutions and is the Director of Research and Development at Environmental Defense Fund’s Oceans Program, where he has been working to improve fisheries for more than 30 years. Rod has served on numerous state, regional, federal, and international advisory bodies and has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications, as well as many popular articles and the well-received book, Heal the Ocean. He lives in Oakland, California.

Ashleigh Kellerman is a Senior Associate at Root Solutions, where she focuses on framing for improved environmental communication and behavior change. An alumna of UC Berkeley with a background in Psychology and Economics, she has dedicated her career to shifting the frames, narratives, metaphors and values that underpin many of the world’s most pressing social issues. She lives in Berkeley, California.
Ashleigh Kellerman is a Senior Associate at Root Solutions, where she focuses on framing for improved environmental communication and behavior change. An alumna of UC Berkeley with a background in Psychology and Economics, she has dedicated her career to shifting the frames, narratives, metaphors and values that underpin many of the world’s most pressing social issues. She lives in Berkeley, California.
Meet the rest of the team
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