Life, whose complexity increases, seems an exception to the second law of thermodynamic. However, life’s order is created by the constant flow of energy from the sun. In order to survive, human beings have to consume food, which is an ordered form of energy and convert it into heat, which is a disordered form of energy. Reading the information contained in this web site will have increased the amount of ordered information in your brain. However, during that period, you will have converted hundreds of calories of ordered energy, in the form of food, into disordered energy, in the form of heat that you lose to the air around you by convection and sweat. In total, this small amount of ordered information will have had a much greater effect increasing the disorder in the rest of the universe.
• source: Entropy • See also XlnkS535

Any closed system disorder, or entropy, increases with time. Why? In “a brief history of time” Steven Hawking gives the following explanation: Consider the pieces of a puzzle. There is one and only one arrangement where the pieces make a complete picture. On the other hand, there are many arrangements, in which the pieces are disordered and don’t make a picture. Similarly, the second law of thermodynamics results from the fact that they are many more disordered states than there are ordered ones. Without external energy or information which may reconstruct the puzzle, the system will evoluate toward the more probable state of complete disorder and meaningless set of pieces.
• source: Entropy • See also XlnkS535

According to social marketing theory, the following are the stages of behaviour changes:

• Pre-contemplation ( I don’t want but …)
• Contemplation (I should…)
• Preparation (Reading about, gathering information)
• Action (do-it!)
• Maintenance

• source: Behaviour • See also XlnkS596

According to marketing theory, the following are the key determinants of behaviour changes:

• Benefits (self-interest and beyond)
• Perceived consequences
• Barriers (real or perceived)
• Social norms and influencers
• Self-efficacy
• Competition

• source: Behaviour • See also XlnkS596

As part of the SMS, an Action Plan has been developed to communicate the committee’s messages to its intended audiences. It also outlines means of establishing and maintaining two-way communication between the committee, the Association, and relevant audiences.
• source: SMS – Communication • Cross-Ref: Sustainability Initiative Communication Plan • See also XlnkS46C

Sustainability Now’s strategy for voluntary adoption of the sustainability principles uses the well-established technique of social marketing. Accordingly, the target audience is sub-divided into 5 groups:

• Innovators: The pioneers who are actively working at creating solutions, new technologies and new processes to address the issue of sustainability. The main communication issue for this group is of maintenance and keeping information up-to-date.
• Early adopters: Those who are already integrating the concept of sustainability in their activities. This group bridges the so-called “chiasm” or knowledge gap between innovations and leading edge discoveries and their applications. This is an area where good and progressive engineers thrive.
• Early majority: A larger group of people who are generally agree with the concept of sustainability but find it difficult to apply it to their businesses, profession or activities. The main communication issue here is to overcome real aor percived barriers (time, access to knowledge, $). The sustainability primer, currently developed by APEGBC, is targeting to address the concerns of this group.
• Late majority: Another large group that will simply follow the former group. A common objection from this group is: Sustainability is for me because […] ( for example I am a structural engineer and my only function is to calculate structures). Programs that raise awareness and explain why sustainability is relevant, best address the concerns of this particular group. For example, explaining the relationship between greenhouse gas emission and the production of construction material may show to a structural engineer that indeed his professional decision, in determining type and quantity of material is linked to climate change. Once understood the relevancy, the next question from this group is: How to? and it joins the early majority group.
• Laggards: The ones against. A smaller group unconvinced, and often unwilling to change their mind. In marketing, this group is generally considered as a lost cause not worth of spending time and resources. In governmental program, this group will typically comply through laws and regulations rather than voluntary compliance.

• source: SMS Raising Awareness and Knowledge • Cross-Ref: Social Marketing • See also XlnkS46B