Moral licensing
A tendency to feel freer to act less responsibly after doing something seen as virtuous.
Example
A shopper who brings reusable bags may feel more relaxed about booking an extra flight.
The catch
Evidence is mixed, and one green habit can also encourage others.
In more depth
Moral licensing, explained.
Moral licensing can work at the scale of whole organisations as well as individuals. A company that buys credits for carbon offsetting, or announces a distant target, may feel less pressure to cut its own emissions, and so may its customers and investors. A related idea in climate policy, mitigation deterrence, describes the risk that promised future removals delay cuts today.
Some studies suggest that framing shapes what follows. Presenting an action as part of who someone is tends to encourage further steps, while presenting it as a duty discharged can invite a pause. For programmes aimed at behaviour change, the practical response is to make each step lead to the next. The term names a risk worth designing against. It gives no grounds for sneering at small actions.