Abstract
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their corresponding logos have become ubiquitous in Japan. While not legally binding, they allow us to choose how to contribute or not to the SDGs. Considering that SDGs share characteristics with nudges, we investigated whether SDGs, with their term and logos, have functioned as a nudge before and during the COVID-19 outbreak. Using Japan as a case study, we analyzed newspaper articles to explore how the term SDGs has spread before and during the outbreak. We also conducted a questionnaire among college students (n = 421) to explore how exposure to the term or its logos has steered the behavior of the younger generation toward SDGs. Our analysis revealed that the use of the term in newspaper articles has rapidly increased and spread across newspaper sections, whereas the COVID-19 outbreak has slowed its spread. The results showed that 68.9% of the respondents were familiar with the term or logos. Of these, 25.4% had changed their behavior toward SDGs. Surprisingly, COVID-19 has had a rather positive influence as a catalyst in that more respondents have overall become more proactive or maintained previous behaviors (28.3%). This indicates that COVID-19 may be an opportunity to make a shift toward a more sustainable society.
Highlights
Following the Delphi method [36], in the second-round questionnaire, we provided the respondents with the behavioral changes in their peers and their opinions on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and COVID-19, which were reported in the first-round questionnaire
In contrast to concerns over the negative impacts of COVID-19 on SDGs [21] and some reports regarding the negative impacts of COVID-19 on the environment, the results show that most respondents who were exposed to SDGs maintained or even strengthened their interest (64 and 33%, respectively) and behavior (85 and 11%, respectively)
SDGs and their logos appear to be ubiquitous in Japanese society
Summary
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