Nudging Employees to Make More Sustainable Choices

How Porsche challenged its culture to embrace electric vehicles.

February 14, 2024

Andreas Arnold/picture alliance/Getty Images

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Decarbonization efforts across various sectors have affected the car industry tremendously — especially sports car manufacturers. At Porsche, efforts such as the development of the electric Taycan in 2019 have begun to change a culture enamored with the Porsche’s traditional, distinctive flat-six engine. The company itself has endeavored to encourage “employee sustainable behaviors,” such as the voluntary adoption of electric vehicles for leasing by authorized employees eligible for company cars. As a result, over half of this employee group have elected to drive electric vehicles. The authors outline how they did it using the behavioral science of nudge management.

In the fight against climate change, decarbonization efforts have had a significant impact on the development of the car industry in recent years. Naturally, sports car manufacturers find themselves especially challenged.

Wolfgang Freibichler is a Partner at Porsche Consulting, one of Germany’s leading management consultancies with more than 900 employees and 12 offices around the globe. Freibichler has advised board members and executives on more than 100 major reorganization and change programs in 14 countries across a multitude of sectors. He collaborated with leading academics to identify the most powerful concepts and tools that support managers in driving change and building high-performance organizations.

Daniela Rathe is the Director of Politics and Society at Porsche AG. She is responsible for managing social sustainability, steering ESG communication, and the central coordination of all political issues. She studied Eastern European Studies, History, and French Philology at the Universities of Freiburg, Berlin, and Paris. Before joining Porsche, she was a department head at the City of Tübingen. She held a position at the Goethe Institute in Egypt, worked in Russia, and was sent to Romania on behalf of the Robert Bosch Foundation.

Lucia A. Reisch is the inaugural Director of the El-Erian Institute for Behavioural Economics and Policy at Cambridge Judge Business School in the UK and a Professor of Behavioural Economics and Policy for Sustainable Development. Her research focuses on the theory and application of behavioral insights to promote behavioral change in individuals and organizations to promote sustainability. She consults international organizations and governments worldwide and chairs the Sustainability Council of Porsche AG.

Sebastian Rudolph holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and is a trained journalist. Since 2019, he has been Vice President of Communications, Sustainability, and Politics at Porsche AG. Previously, he held the position as Head of the Central Division for Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at the publicly listed industrial service provider Bilfinger. Prior, he has served as Director of Communications at the Federal Ministry of Transport. At the onset of his professional career, he spent several years as a TV journalist — at ARD, Bayerischer Rundfunk, and n-tv.

Cass R. Sunstein is the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard and serves as founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. From 2009 to 2012, he was the Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and he has held positions in the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. His books include Decisions About Decisions (Cambridge University Press, 2023) and How to Become Famous (Harvard Business Review Press, 2024).

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