Gamification in the company for more sustainability: guidelines for playful transformation

Sustainability has long been an integral part of Strategic topic. Gamification in companies can help to promote sustainability. Even if goals, mission statements and action plans exist, less often happens in everyday life than management and sustainability officers would like. Employees know „in theory“ what would be important, but routines, time pressure and habits slow down implementation.

This is exactly where gamification comes in. In this article, we explain what gamification means in the corporate context, which effects have been proven in studies and practice in the field of sustainability and which gamification approaches are particularly suitable for sensitising, activating and motivating employees. Sustainability strategies to life.

What does gamification mean in the context of companies?

By gamification in the company for more sustainability, we mean the use of game elements in everyday working life to make sustainable behaviour more attractive, visible and effective. It's not about turning the company into a playground, but about shaping change in such a way that people enjoy taking part. Voluntarily, motivated and with a clear goal in mind. You can also find out more about motivating employees in our blog article.

Gamification therefore describes the use of typical game elements in a „non-game“ environment. Instead of developing a complete game, individual game mechanics are used. The aim: desired behaviour is rewarded, made visible and emotionally charged. For companies, this means designing processes, campaigns and workshops in such a way that employees not only understand sustainability, but actively experience it.

This makes gamification in the company a building block of targeted change management and strategic cultural development - not a detached game action - and thus part of the sustainability transformation (Click here for our guide to sustainability transformation in companies).

Why can gamification promote sustainability in a company?

In order for gamification to effectively support the transformation towards greater sustainability in a company, it is worth taking a look at the psychological mechanisms behind it. Many studies draw on well-known motivation models (e.g. self-determination theory, behavioural research) and show a positive effect of gamification.

1. autonomy: voluntary instead of prescribed

People are more motivated when they have the feeling that they can make their own decisions. Good gamification approaches in the corporate context therefore focus on voluntariness and choice, e.g. through the following elements:

• Teams select the most suitable from several sustainability campaigns
• Employees can set their own goals or make suggestions
• There are „opt-in“ formats instead of mandatory tasks

This creates the feeling: „I'm taking part because I think it makes sense“ - and not because the company is „prescribing“ something.

2. transparency: making effectiveness visible

Sustainability in the corporate context often seems abstract: whether someone comes by bike today or eats vegetarian in a fortnight' time seems to make little difference in the big picture. Gamification makes progress visible, e.g. through the following elements:

• A dashboard shows how much CO₂ a team has saved in a challenge
• Progress bars show how close an area is to its common goal
• Badges recognise individual contributions (e.g. „Energy saver of the week“)

Employees experience this: „My behaviour has an effect and I can see it immediately.“

3. connectedness: together instead of alone

Many gamified sustainability projects create positive group dynamics:

• Teams motivate each other
• Small challenges are created between locations or departments
• Celebrating successes together

This social component helps to understand sustainability as a joint task for the organisation - not as an additional individual task.

4. immediate feedback: reaction instead of radio silence

In traditional sustainability programmes, there are often months between a measure and reporting. Gamification shortens this time gap, e.g. through the following elements:

• Every action immediately triggers points, progress or feedback
• Employees receive feedback in real time, not just in the annual report

This immediate feedback is a decisive factor in bringing about lasting changes in behaviour.

5. salami tactics: tangible progress despite major tasks

Gamification for more sustainability in the company works particularly well when the „big goal“ (e.g. climate neutrality, resource conservation, sustainable mobility) is translated into smaller stages, e.g. through the following elements:

• Campaigns with monthly targets
• Milestones per area
• Clear milestones

In this way, large strategies are translated into small, feasible steps - and that is motivating.

What can gamification achieve in a company in terms of sustainability?

The scientific literature and practical projects give a relatively clear picture: well-designed gamification approaches can noticeably promote sustainable behaviour in the corporate context.

More sustainable behaviour in everyday working life

Experiments with gamified apps or platforms show, among other things:

• Employees who take part in gamification formats use sustainable mobility options more frequently (cycling, public transport, carpooling)
• In office buildings, energy consumption can be reduced if employees are encouraged to switch off appliances or heat their homes economically through play
• Waste separation and waste avoidance improve when they become part of clear challenges

The effects naturally depend on the industry, starting point and design. The decisive factor here is that behaviour usually changes measurably through gamification, precisely where traditional information campaigns often reach their limits.

Higher commitment than with pure information transfer

Several studies compare gamified formats with purely informative approaches (e.g. e-learning, posters, emails). The pattern that emerges here is:

• Gamification leads to higher participation among employees
• Employees can remember content better
• Employees rate playful formats as more relevant and motivating

For companies, this means that if you are already investing time and budget in sustainability communication, gamification can help you utilise these resources more effectively.

More identification with sustainability issues

It has also been shown that narrative elements, e.g. a shared „mission“, a future scenario or a fictional story, significantly increase identification with sustainability issues. Instead of abstract goals („Reduce CO₂ emissions by 30 %“), the focus is then on a narrative, e.g:

• „We will make our site the most climate-friendly in our industry by 2030.“
• „Our team takes on the role of ‚climate team‘ and tests new solutions for everyone.“

Such storylines can be combined well with gamification and make sustainability more emotionally tangible.

What opportunities and risks does gamification harbour for companies?

As with every instrument in the transformation process, there are clear strengths and points that you should pay attention to.

Surveys of employees who take part in gamification projects repeatedly reveal similar points that you should also pay attention to:

• The format should be voluntary
• It should be fun, but not childish or too playful
• Transparency, fairness and data protection are important
• Rewards must fit the company and the culture (recognition vs. material prizes)

You should definitely take these points into account when designing your own gamification approaches.

How can gamification be implemented for more sustainability in the company?

Gamification approaches for more sustainability in the company can look very different. In the following, we present common approaches - focussing on what they are suitable for, for whom they are worthwhile and what results can typically be achieved.

Points, Badges & Leaderboards (PBL systems)

It is important not to design points and rankings as a purely competitive system, but to frame the results in a positive way („celebrate progress together“ instead of „expose the losers“).

Team challenges and interdepartmental competitions

Here, teams, departments or locations compete against each other in a friendly competition, for example as part of a „Mobility Week“ or a „Sustainability Month“.

Team challenges are also a good starting point for building up longer-term gamified programmes later on.

Storytelling and mission design in workshops and change processes

Gamification elements can be combined well with storytelling in strategy workshops, management formats or change processes. Participants then work on missions („Design your roadmap to 2030“), for example, collect insights and solve tasks together.

This is less about points and rankings and more about a A narrative that reflects the company and its employees.

Business games and simulations (serious games)

Simulation games depict complex decisions relating to sustainability as a game, for example:

• Investment decisions on climate-friendly technologies
• Conflicting objectives between the dimensions of sustainability (e.g. costs, emissions and social criteria)
• Different scenarios for market, regulation and climate impacts

Simulation games are generally more time-consuming to prepare, but can trigger strong realisation and aha effects.

Digital tools & apps for continuous behavioural change

Digital platforms or apps are suitable for permanently anchoring gamification in the company's sustainability. Typical functions are

• Personal and team-related statistics
• Challenges and memories
• Integration into existing tools (e.g. intranet, collaboration platforms)

Careful coordination on the topics of data protection and co-determination is particularly important here.

Gamification for more sustainability in the company: A step-by-step guide

Our plant values practical example: „Using gamification for digital data cleaning“

We used gamification ourselves to make a rather tedious and often postponed internal task in the company fun and stimulating: digital tidying.

What did we do? For one evening, we spent around 2 hours, guided by a game leader, tidying up email inboxes together, clearing out old project folders, whiteboards that were no longer in use and much more.

Why? Because it frees up storage space in the cloud and we reduce our digital footprint by using less energy and server capacity. In addition, we were able to reminisce about old project memories and sensitise ourselves to the topic of data cleaning. There was also pizza and drinks for our physical well-being. We collected points with every clean-up activity and advanced a few steps on the game board. At the end, a winner was chosen and there were small prizes for hard work cleaning up. In the end, we were delighted with a successful team evening and many gigabytes of deleted data.

In response to popular demand, we have created the game instructions and are sharing them here for anyone interested to click through directly or download:

Conclusion: When sustainability becomes a shared game through gamification in the company

Gamification in companies for more sustainability is not a panacea, but it is a potentially very effective tool for translating sustainability strategies into practice. When used correctly, gamification helps to raise employee awareness, increase participation and anchor sustainable behaviour in everyday corporate life.

It is crucial to understand gamification in the context of sustainability not as a decorative add-on, but as a consciously designed component of change and cultural work in the company. If goals are clear, target groups are taken seriously and formats are carefully developed, gamification can achieve exactly what many sustainability projects lack: motivation, the joy of co-creation and tangible progress - playfully and step by step.

More on the topics in this article in our blog:

• Sustainable corporate culture: how to use it to your advantage...
• Why does climate-friendly behaviour fail in everyday life and at work? - Interview with psychologist Prof. Thomas Brudermann
• The comprehensive guide to setting up a sustainability strategy
• Sustainability transformation in companies: a guide

Further information in external sources:

• BDEW article: Playing for environmental awareness - What can gamification achieve?
• haufe.de: Gamification - What climate protection apps bring for employees
• Federal Environment Agency: Topic page on serious gaming and sustainability
• Klima-Taler.com: Examples of successful gamification projects