Study Suggests Changing The Default Dairy Option To Oat Milk Can Cut A Coffee Shop's Carbon Footprint By A Third – CoffeeTalk

A study conducted at Plymouth Marjon University examined the impact of changing the default milk option in a café from dairy to oat milk, demonstrating significant potential for increasing the adoption of plant-based alternatives and reducing environmental impact. The research found that when oat milk was offered as the default, customers were three times more likely to choose it over dairy milk. This switch resulted in a notable reduction in the carbon footprint of coffee beverages, with emissions decreasing by 25-34%.

The experiment, set in Barjon Café, highlighted oat milk as a popular non-dairy option among customers, known for its lower environmental impact. Signs at the café informed patrons that they could choose other milk types if desired. Data revealed that when dairy was the default, only 17% of drinks were modified to include oat milk, whereas this figure rose to 51% during the intervention with oat milk as the standard option. Even after reverting back to dairy, oat milk consumption remained higher at 23%. A subsequent return to oat milk as the default saw orders for oat milk double again to 46%, although this was a slight decrease from the initial intervention.

Control data from a second café without the default nudge indicated no significant changes in plant-based milk consumption, reinforcing the conclusion that the default option significantly influenced customer choices. Furthermore, oat milk’s environmental advantages were emphasized, as dairy production generates more greenhouse gases, requires extensive land and water use compared to oat milk, ultimately leading to reduced emissions during the intervention phases.

Positive customer feedback was gathered informally, indicating acceptance of oat milk as the default choice. The findings, published in Global Environmental Psychology, align with previous research showcasing the effectiveness of default nudges in promoting plant-based diets and decreasing food-related emissions. Successful initiatives across various settings, such as LinkedIn’s corporate experiment and New York City’s plant-based scheme in hospitals, demonstrate the scalability of such default nudges in enhancing plant-based food consumption.

Overall, the study advocates for the broader application of default nudges to foster sustainable dietary choices, potentially aiding organizations in achieving sustainability goals tied to climate footprint reduction. The research underlines that default nudges are among the most effective behavioral techniques for promoting plant-based diets and significantly can support sustainability strategies across diverse environments.

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