A URKI Smart Data Programme:
Data Donation for Climate Action
Many people worry about climate change, but few studies have examined whether their concerns translate into actual behavioural change. This new programme links supermarket loyalty-card data, donated by participants, to self-reported perceptions about food and the environment – using AI techniques to understand the difference between intentions and real world actions to close the gap.
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A new way of understanding your environmental footprint
Smart data arises in our everyday interactions with the digital world, via loyalty cards, mobile apps, social media and transactions. Yet it offers a powerful opportunity to understand both society and improve lives. In this Smart data partnership between University of Nottingham and University of Cardiff our team of international experts will create:
Objective measure of Sustainability
We plan to develop a new objective indicator of environmental food purchasing behaviour using store card data and novel machine learning algorithms, building on prior academic advances.
Linkages to Food Products
We will produce algorithms able to link these new indices with products across major supermarket chains, including Tesco and Co-op, allowing individuals to “see” their footprint for the first time.
Understanding of Perceptions
We will examine (mis)perceptions of the environmental impact of food via new surveying studies able to link participants’ views to their donated shopping data, and real world activity.
New Behavioural Models
The programme, a collaboration between Psychology and Data Science, will test and extend behavioural models of food purchasing, and explore practical issues involved with processing digital footprint data.
Public Outreach
The programme is managed by a team with wide expertise in Environmental Psychology, Smart Data, AI and Social Data Science, joined by an international advisory team – all committed to engaging UK citizens by design.
The Public Web Portal
The team will also create an exciting new public web portal, where you can upload your own purchase card data – and find out for the first ever time the environmental effects of your shopping, to help support pro-environmental behaviour change.
An Experienced Team of researchers
This smart data programme is a collaboration between experts from the University of Nottingham and University of Cardiff, including:
Investigator Team
- Prof Alexa Spence – Psychology
- Prof James Goulding – Data Science
- Prof Lorraine Whitmarsh – Environment
- Dr John Harvey – Network Science
- Dr Charles Ogunbode – Applied Psychology
- Dr Evgeniya Lukinova – Behavioural Science
Research Team
- Dan Fletcher – Psychology
- Jo Parkes – Smart Data
- Gavin Long – Computer Science.
To meet climate targets we need to make significant changes to the way that we live and there is a general public drive to be more sustainable, but people need to be supported in making behaviour changes. This project will make existing store card data usable for a variety of stakeholders with the potential to enable the public to make more sustainable food choices
Alexa Spence
Professor of Psychology, University of Nottingham