Incentives & Sustaining Culture10 / 12
Sustaining Habits & Avoiding Rebound
Initial change often reverts (rebound 20-30%); maintenance campaigns needed.
10 min read · Jacob Willis, Net Zero Lead · Last reviewed July 2026
The hardest part of behaviour change is not starting new behaviours but sustaining them. Initial enthusiasm fades, old habits reassert themselves, and savings drift away. Sustaining change - turning behaviours into lasting habits - is where many programmes fail.
In this lesson
- 01The sustainability challenge
- 02Why behaviour reverts
- 03Building genuine habits
- 04Sustained reinforcement
- 05Embedding in systems and procedures
- 06Embedding in culture
- 07Guarding against drift
- 08The long game
- 09Sources and further reading