In a new study - Choice architecture promotes sustainable choices in online food-delivery apps - by Elisabeth Gsottbauer, Director of the Competence Center Sustainability at unibz, and colleagues from the University of Cambridge and the Behavioural Insight Team, they tested three different interventions on a simulated food delivery platform to reduce the carbon footprint of meal choices: carbon footprint labels, a meat tax, and repositioning low-carbon options at the top of menus. Using an incentive-compatible online experiment with 4,008 participants, the study mimicked popular platforms like Just Eat and Deliveroo.

The results showed that only the menu repositioning intervention significantly reduced meal carbon footprints, achieving a 12% reduction (0.3 kg CO2e per order). Importantly, this intervention also led to unexpected co-benefits: orders had better nutritional value, and fewer calories, and customers reported higher satisfaction with their choices. Neither carbon labels nor the meat tax produced significant effects for the average consumer, though they did influence participants who already knew food's climate impact.

The researchers estimate this simple menu repositioning would be highly cost-effective at scale, with implementation costs of just £1.28 to £3.85 per metric ton of CO2 emissions avoided. If implemented by Just Eat alone, the intervention could save 78,000 metric tons of CO2 annually in the UK. The study suggests that subtle "nudge" approaches focusing on menu design may be more effective than explicit information or price interventions in promoting sustainable food choices on delivery platforms.

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