Behavioral Roots

Behavior drives change

We help restaurants, bars and cafés understand and shrink the environmental impact of what they serve.

Book a chat with us

Hi! We’re Nanon and Jim, and we’d like to help you reduce the impact of your menu. Behavioral Roots is our way to use our skills to help keep the earth alive.

We map the impact of every dish you serve, then use proven behavioral science to gently nudge your customers toward lower-impact choices, without preaching, pressuring or restricting. Nothing gets taken off the menu.

Small design changes like renaming a dish, reordering a menu or swapping a default measurably shift what people order, without anyone feeling pushed.

When a plant-based lunch was made the default option at conference registration, uptake jumped from 2% to 87%, with meat still freely available to anyone who wanted it.1 And over 60% of diners picked a wrap when it carried no label, but only around 35% chose the identical wrap once it was labeled “vegan”.2 This shows the words on a menu matter as much as the dishes on it.

Some facts

  • ~26% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from food3
  • 70% of the world’s freshwater withdrawals are used by agriculture4
  • 50% of all habitable land is used for agriculture4
  • ¾ of farmland is used for livestock, yet meat & dairy provide just 18% of calories4

How it works

Our process follows the Behavior Change Wheel, a scientific framework used in health and sustainability projects worldwide.

  1. 1

    Baseline

    We assess the environmental impact of every product on your menu and combine it with your sales numbers, giving you a single figure for the footprint of what you sell.

  2. 2

    Introduce changes

    Using techniques proven in behavioral science, we propose small, practical changes to your space and the design of your menu. Low-cost, respectful, and easy to try.

  3. 3

    Measure the impact

    We keep measuring, so we can prove the changes actually worked. You get tangible results, we get to improve our method over time.

Why it’s free

We’re not a consultancy and we’re not selling you anything. We believe real change comes through individual action. This is how we take ours, and how we help you take yours. We offer our time for free because the mission matters more than a fee.

About us

We’re two people who care about the environment and want to put our professional skills to work on it.

Portrait of Nanon Wollenhaupt
Nanon Wollenhaupt Psychologist, specialized in behavioral change Nanon holds a master’s degree in behavior change; her thesis explored how default nudges steer people toward sustainable food choices. Works in German, English, Dutch and Spanish. LinkedIn
Portrait of Jim van der Voort
Jim van der Voort Data and software engineer Jim is an experienced software and data engineer. Currently working in the container shipping industry to improve efficency and reduce emissions through better data and software.

Interested?

The best place to start is a short conversation.