With Net Zero Week beginning tomorrow (4th July) Steve Harding explains why behavioural change may be our most overlooked climate technology

As Britain prepares for another summer of heatwaves, attention will focus on water shortages, electricity demand and the resilience of critical infrastructure. Yet while policymakers debate reservoirs, grid upgrades and renewable generation, one of the most powerful tools available is often overlooked – behavioural change.

For decades, climate discussions have centred on technology. Smarter buildings, renewable energy, AI-driven optimisation and digital infrastructure all have an important role to play. But during periods of extreme weather, our collective habits can be just as important as the systems we build.

The challenge is becoming increasingly interconnected. A hot day does not simply increase water consumption. It drives higher energy demand through cooling systems, places greater strain on the national grid and fuels growing demand for digital services that rely on energy and water-intensive data centres.

The result is a chain reaction that links three of the UK’s biggest infrastructure challenges – water, energy and digital consumption.
Water use in the UK is largely habitual, with most people not calculating how much water they are using when they shower or leave a tap running, because there is little visibility. The average person uses around 139 litres of water a day, more than in many other European countries, and most have no idea how much they use.

Behavioural science offers a different lens. It shows that small, well-designed interventions -nudges, prompts, feedback loops – can significantly alter how people interact with resources. Crucially, these interventions do not rely on sustained willpower. They work by making the desired behaviour easier, more intuitive, or more salient.

Studies show that for behaviour change interventions to be effective, ‘nudges’, (for reducing single-use plastics, for example), and reminding people to bring reusable bags when they go shopping, are a useful tool – along with policymakers ensuring that people have access to plastic-free options.

And Academics at the University of Surrey are currently studying behavioural change tools and how they impact water use, and say to be effective, they must be accompanied by technological innovation.

The hidden connection between water, energy and AI
Most people understand that leaving a tap running wastes water. Fewer realise that water and energy are deeply intertwined.
Every litre of water abstracted, treated, pumped and delivered requires energy. Every litre of hot water consumed requires even more. When households, hotels, offices and public buildings reduce water use, they simultaneously reduce energy demand and associated carbon emissions.

The same principle increasingly applies to our digital lives.

Artificial intelligence has become a transformative force across industry, helping organisations optimise operations, identify leaks, improve energy efficiency and accelerate innovation. These are positive developments. However, AI workloads also require significant computing power, and computing power requires energy, cooling and water.

The debate should not be whether AI is good or bad. The question is whether we are using it wisely.
Using AI to reduce waste, manage infrastructure and improve environmental outcomes can deliver net-positive benefits. Using ever-increasing computational resources for low-value activities or unnecessary consumption creates additional pressure on already stretched systems.

As temperatures rise, these connections become harder to ignore.

Small actions, big system impacts
The UK’s infrastructure challenges are often framed as problems that only the government or industry can solve. Yet history shows that behavioural shifts can have remarkable impacts when adopted at scale.

Take the drought of 1976 for example. The nation was gripped by a heatwave and drought so severe that standpipes were rolled out onto the streets and homes across the country were forced to ration their water. It was an era when the inconvenience of not being able to bathe or flush freely brought a powerful, if temporary, shift in public behaviour.

Fast forward to 1985 – less than a decade after the crisis – and domestic water use per person had plummeted to its lowest recorded level. But since then, we’ve reversed the trend. Today, average daily consumption has surged by 70%, from around 85 litres per person to around 139 litres. With the UK population also growing by nearly 12 million since 1976, the total demand for water has ballooned.

Research published this summer shows that, if a 1976-type heatwave occurred today – 50 years later – temperatures would be 3-4 degrees hotter and the UK’s peak heatwave temperatures could actually be up to 45’C in the next three decades.

Opportunities for making a difference still exist. Taking shorter showers, running washing machines only when full, fixing leaks quickly and avoiding unnecessary outdoor water use may seem insignificant at an individual level. Yet multiplied across millions of households, these actions can save hundreds of millions of litres of water every day.

Similarly, reducing unnecessary energy consumption during peak periods eases pressure on the grid precisely when demand is highest.Digital habits also matter. Streaming content in ultra-high definition when unnecessary, storing vast amounts of redundant data or relying on AI tools for tasks that add little value all contribute to growing computational demand.

Behavioural change is often dismissed because it lacks the excitement of new technology. In reality, it may be one of the fastest and cheapest climate interventions available.

Smarter buildings help people make smarter choices
Of course, behavioural change cannot succeed through goodwill alone.
People need better information, clearer feedback and systems that make sustainable choices easier. This is where technology genuinely adds value.

Smart meters transformed household awareness of energy use by making consumption visible. The same principle can be applied to water. Real-time monitoring, intelligent building management systems and digital feedback tools can help individuals and organisations understand how their actions translate into resource consumption.

Hotels, student accommodation, offices and large residential developments offer particularly significant opportunities. These high-consumption environments can use data to identify inefficiencies, encourage better behaviours and deliver measurable reductions in water, energy and carbon emissions without compromising comfort or operational performance.
In hospitality, behavioural technology is already delivering measurable results. UK pilot programmes have demonstrated that simple digital interventions and behavioural nudges can reduce shower water consumption by more than 50%, cutting both water use and the energy required to heat it.

The future is not a choice between technology and behavioural change. It requires both.

Resilience starts with responsibility
Heatwaves are becoming more frequent, drought risks are increasing and infrastructure systems are operating under growing pressure. The instinctive response is often to look for large-scale engineering solutions. New reservoirs, upgraded grids and more efficient data centres.

But resilience is not built solely through infrastructure.

It is built through millions of daily decisions made by households, businesses and organisations. Decisions about how much water we use, how we consume energy and how responsibly we engage with digital technologies.

The climate transition is often portrayed as a technological race. Increasingly, it may prove to be a behavioural one as well.

As the UK heads into another summer of extreme weather, perhaps the most important question is not whether our infrastructure can cope with growing demand.

It is whether we are prepared to change the habits that create it.

Steve Harding, is the founder and CEO of climate tech Showerkap

Photo: Pattrarapong Morkmued

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